Liverpool are one of a number of top clubs eyeing up a potential move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Wirtz a huge talent

The 19-year-old has emerged as arguably one of the most exciting young players in the Bundesliga in recent years, already becoming an important figure at Leverkusen.

Wirtz has made 91 appearances for his current club, despite his tenders years, with an impressive tally of 21 goals and 28 assists coming his way in the process, outlining his end product.

This season, the German has scored twice in the Europa League and assisted four times in the league, as his reputation continues to be enhanced all the time.

Wirtz’s performance appear to have caught the eye of some of Europe’s top clubs, which is where Liverpool come into play, as Jurgen Klopp eyes up significant midfield reinforcements this summer.

The Latest: Liverpool in the mix

Taking to Twitter on Thursday, Romano claimed that the Reds are monitoring Wirtz’s current situation, even though Leverkusen are extremely hesitant to sell him at this point in his career:

“Florian Wirtz, attracting lot of interest as one of the best talents in the world – but Bayer Leverkusen remain convinced he will stay at least until 2024

“Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool keep following the situation — the race is 100% open.”

The Verdict: Could be a special signing

The thought of Wirtz in a Liverpool shirt is a mouthwatering one, considering his reputation as arguably one of the standout midfielders of his generation, perhaps alongside fellow Reds target Jude Bellingham.

Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso has even compared the teenager to Lionel Messi, in terms of his use of the ball, which is about the highest compliment possible in football.

Predominantly an attacking midfield who can move wide at times, Wirtz already has four caps to his name for Germany and is someone who could added much-needed guile and youth in the middle of the park at Anfield.

Too often, Liverpool’s midfield can look one-dimensional, with no current central player scoring more than once in the Premier League this season, so he would add a spark in that area.

Whether or not he can be prized away from Leverkusen remains to be seen, though – his current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2027 – but if the funds are there and a big offer can be tabled, the Reds would be acquiring the services of an exceptional talent.

It has been revealed that West Ham United are unhappy with Czech Republic's decision to select Vladimir Coufal during the international break.

What's going on with Coufal at West Ham?

The right-back has missed West Ham's last two games after being substituted at half time against Nottingham Forest, but was called up to play for his country despite fears over his injury.

He started and played 71 minutes in Czech Republic's victory over Poland, in which he provided an assist, but his club are unhappy with his selection, as they would have preferred the 30-year-old to remain in London and fully recover from his injury.

In a report from The West Ham Way, the club's frustration was revealed, as David Moyes prepares his squad for a crucial run-in as the Hammers battle relegation.

"Despite having missed recent games for West Ham with a foot injury the 30 year old started the Czech Republic’s international match against Poland which they won 3-1 with Coufal registering an assist in the first minute of the game! Tomas Soucek was captain of the side and played in midfield alongside former hammer Alex Kral (who also registered an assist).

"There has been some disappointment from West Ham with his national side as they would have preferred the player to have remained in England to fully recover from his injury and not risk aggravating it before our crucial home match against Southampton.

"The Czech Republic have one more fixture before that relegation 6 pointer with an away trip to Moldova tomorrow. It will be important to see how the player fairs during that and hope he does come through unscathed."

Should Coufal start for West Ham if fit?

The £35k-per-week defender has been a solid signing overall, with Jamie Carragher even calling him "brilliant" in West Ham's successful 2020-21 season.

He still remains first choice ahead of Ben Johnson and Thilo Kehrer, and has started 16 Premier League games this season despite his injury struggles.

With his contract expiring at the end of the season, it is unclear if he will depart East London, but the club have an option to extend his deal for two seasons.

Johnson ranks higher for tackles, blocks and clearances than Coufal as per FBref, and as a younger option, he could be selected as the long-term pick at right back. Whilst Coufal could prove a useful senior figure for the 23-year-old to learn from, an eventual shift towards Johnson moving up the pecking order could help the club in the long run.

The agent of Neal Maupay has hinted at a potential exit away from Everton this summer.

The Lowdown: Not worked out

Unfortunately for Maupay, it has not quite worked out at Goodison Park since making the £15m switch from Brighton and Hove Albion last summer.

He has fallen out of favour under Sean Dyche, having only played Premier League football in Everton’s last three games, and was not even used from the bench in their recent 2-2 draw away at Chelsea over the weekend.

In 22 appearances in total, Maupay has only managed to score one goal and make one assist (Transfermarkt), and has not had the impact that Toffees supporters would have hoped, as they face another relegation battle in the top flight.

The Latest: Summer exit?

Speaking to Italian news outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Maupay’s agent Federico Pastorello has claimed that his client could potentially move to Italy this summer after just one season on Merseyside:

“We had a strong negotiation with Salernitana, then he went to Everton. There has been the technical change, we are at the end of the season and we will see what to do. He sees the Serie A as a place to go, we will work to please him, there will probably be work for him to do in Italy…”

The Verdict: Cut their losses

After a poor season at the Blues, they simply need to cut their losses with Maupay, and try to sell him for the best possible price this summer.

He will still have two years left on his contract, so should hold a sizeable market value, while Everton would also do well to get his £50,000-per-week wages off of their books.

Journalist Paul Brown has described Maupay’s conversion rate for the Toffees this season as ‘absolutely woeful’, and the Frenchman is simply not scoring enough goals to justify keeping him for another campaign.

Aston Villa have endured a tumultuous past decade or so, consisting of Championship football, Premier League football, and all the trials and tribulations that straddling that line can bring.

As such, the club have experienced both great loss and euphoric highs, arguably none more so than seeing their academy graduate Jack Grealish lead the club back to the big time.

Not only that, but the 27-year-old would only go from strength to strength, establishing himself as one of the top division's most creative threats from the left wing.

His final season at Villa Park saw him score six and assist 12, unsurprisingly drawing suitors. However, few would have expected a British transfer record to be smashed to pry him away. Manchester City, however, willingly paid the £100m asking price.

It shocked fans and likely staff alike, but it was an offer that could not be refused. It injected precious funds to reinvest in the squad as a whole and ultimately has kept the club afloat since.

Therefore, it could be argued that the meagre sale of Idrissa Gana Gueye was far more of a gut punch, considering the profit Everton would eventually earn because of the Villans' inability to stay in the league.

How much did Idrissa Gueye cost Everton?

Having featured heavily for the Midlands side, the Senegalese midfielder was incapable of stopping their miserable relegation which activated his release clause. The Toffees were willing suitors, and he would join for just £7.1m, leaving Roberto Di Matteo with no choice.

He has since gone on to star, leave for huge money, and even make a comeback for a cut price.

The 33-year-old has now made 132 appearances for the Merseyside club, with the apex of his career at Goodison Park arguably coming in his debut year.

He would maintain a 7.25 average rating whilst upholding a mammoth 4.1 tackles, 2.5 interceptions and 0.8 key passes per 90 (via Sofascore).

Gueye was everywhere, and he could do everything. This was form that would hardly relent too, eventually encouraging French champions Paris Saint-Germain to spend a mouth-watering £30m for his services. Thomas Tuchel then quickly became enamoured with the current £80k-per-week maestro too, branding him a "machine".

Not only had Villa lost his exploits on the pitch, but an enormous sum of money too. It is for this reason that his exit was far worse than Grealish's, as the English wide man did not leave unceremoniously.

The Cityzens star would exit in triumphant fashion, forcing a huge fee to be paid that allowed him to reach the pinnacle of world football. Meanwhile, Gueye was only joining a club of similar stature to theirs for next to nothing. It was embarrassing, frustrating, and a microcosm of their failures of the time.

Fortunately, there is now a new dawn under Unai Emery, who promises to once again bring them back to where they belong. They can continue to do so due to the money gained from that 2021 sale, not from the measly fee gained in 2016.

Leicester City are reportedly interested in making Graham Potter their new manager after Brendan Rodgers' exit over the weekend.

Who will replace Rodgers at Leicester?

The Foxes have found themselves in a terrible run of form recently, getting into a relegation scrap and now sitting in 19th place in the Premier League table. Saturday's 2-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace proved to be the end of the road for Rodgers, who left by mutual consent the following day.

The Northern Irishman enjoyed a successful stint at the King Power Stadium overall, famously winning the FA Cup in 2021, but it felt like the right time to make a change after things had grown increasingly stagnant.

The hard work now begins to find a successor to Rodgers, with the appointment needing to be nailed, in order for Leicester to avoid relegation to the Championship. A host of names are likely to be linked with the job in the coming days, but it looks as though the Foxes are potentially lining up one individual already, following a fresh update.

Could Potter head to Leicester?

According to The Daily Mail, Leicester "would be interested to know" Potter's plans after being sacked as Chelsea boss on Sunday night, in what was yet another managerial casualty. It is claimed that the 47-year-old was "admired by the Leicester hierarchy long before he moved to Chelsea" and he looks like a potential front-runner to take charge, with Khun Top on his way to Leicester.

It is "unclear" whether or not the Englishman would want a new job immediately, but if he is intending to wait until the summer, he is "likely be top of their long-term list".

Potter could be a perfect appointment by Leicester – hopefully as soon as possible – with the Chelsea job such a poisoned chalice that it is harsh to be too judgmental of his time there. Instead, it is better to assess how much he worked wonders at Brighton, playing some great football and earning praise for his tactical acumen, with one unnamed player during his Swansea City days hailing him as a "genius".

There is still the talent there at Leicester for a new manager to get the best out of, from Youri Tielemans to James Maddison, and Potter looks like the best available option to fill the Rodgers' shaped void, hopefully coming in straight away and steering them clear of dangers, or joining in the summer if they have avoided relegation.

West Ham United picked up a massive three points on Sunday afternoon as they defeated relegation rivals Southampton 1-0 at the London Stadium.

The performance was far from comprehensive against the Premier League's bottom side but David Moyes' side did enough to secure the win, with a result which moves them out of the relegation places and puts them a step closer to safety.

Who was West Ham's best player v Southampton?

Nayed Aguerd handed the Hammers the lead slightly against the run of play, as he was left unchallenged to head home Thilo Kehrer's free-kick, with Jarrod Bowen close to making it 2-0 when his right-footed curler hit the crossbar.

Moyes' side lived dangerously at times, with Lukasz Fabianski producing a strong hand to deny Romain Perraud, while he had his crossbar to thank for keeping out Paul Onuachu's header.

While Aguerd grabbed an impressive goal and clean sheet for the Hammers, it was arguably Lucas Paqueta who was Moyes' star performer on Sunday with attention deserving of diverting away from the backline.

The Brazilian has come in for his fair share of criticism since signing from Lyon last summer and was expected to be a creative force in the Hammers' midfield.

However, the club-record signing put everything on the line for the Hammers in a gritty win on Sunday, producing the most tackles by a West Ham player (10) in a Premier League game since 2012, which saw Opta Joe label him "relentless" on Twitter.

As per SofaScore, the 25-year-old would earn an impressive 7.1/10 rating for his performance, registering 78 touches and completing an impressive 40 passes, which was a slight improvement on the 38.3 he has averaged in the Premier League so far this campaign.

He also completed 100% of his dribbles and won a remarkable 15 duels, more than Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek combined, emphasising just how strong the Brazil international was in Moyes' midfield.

It was almost completely out of character for Paqueta to register ten tackles in just one game, as he has averaged just 2.2 per game in the top flight so far this season, but Moyes and West Ham fans will not be complaining if he continues to dominate the midfield in this way during his Hammers career.

If the former AC Milan man can add more goals and assists to his game, to go with his new-found defensive abilities, then West Ham could soon have a top midfielder on their hands and will surely continue to rise up the Premier League table.

A number of fans online have reacted after spotting Pep Guardiola seemingly celebrate a Manchester City goal right in the face of Kostas Tsimikas.

What did Pep Guardiola do to Kostas Tsimikas?

In what was a huge game at the top of the Premier League, Liverpool made the trip to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday lunchtime hoping to aid their push for Champions League football.

Jurgen Klopp and co actually took the lead too when Mohamed Salah finished emphatically in the 17th minute. However, City took just ten minutes to respond when a flowing move saw Jack Grealish put one on a plate for Julian Alvares to equalise.

No doubt, Arsenal fans at home would have been watching on nervously as they were hoping for Liverpool to take some points off their title rivals, with the home team eight points behind the Gunners at the start of play.

With that deficit in mind, Guardiola was evidently kicking every ball and deeply immersed in the game and couldn’t hold back his emotions when Alvarez pulled his side level in the first half.

Indeed, as footage here shows, the City manager punched the air and celebrated in front of his own fans, before he then seemed to direct a few air punches in the direction of Tsimikas who was just walking past at the wrong moment.

Fans online spotted the footage and were pretty taken aback by the incident. Here are some of the best reactions…

Some actually thought it was Darwin Nunez, and that could have been a lot worse seeing as the forward did headbutt Joachim Andersen earlier on in the season.

Even some neutrals were shocked by the behaviour.

YouTuber Conor McGilligan has slammed the Leeds United board and Victor Orta amid the "complete embarrassment" of the Jean-Kevin Augustin transfer saga.

What's the latest on Leeds and Jean-Kevin Augustin?

While the Whites have plenty to worry about on the pitch having suffered a demoralising 5-1 Premier League defeat to relegation rivals Crystal Palace on the weekend, the picture doesn't look any prettier off it.

Indeed, after years of issues, it now seems as though the club are set to be hit with a massive bill for a deal that happened in 2020.

Indeed, Leeds initially agreed to a January loan deal for Augustin with an alleged obligation to buy him from Red Bull Leipzig for £18m if promotion was achieved.

While the club went into the Premier League, the striker saw just 48 minutes of action and ultimately the club didn't make the transfer permanent.

However, in a new ruling, the Whites must now pay Augustin £24.5m after being found to have breached the player’s contract by not completing the deal (via The Athletic).

Amid this mess, McGilligan took to Twitter to voice his immense frustration at sporting director Orta who was in charge of the deal, saying: "For people who defend the cheap deals this guy has made, fair enough.

"But the ridiculous transfer fees we have paid this last 3/4 years on players – massively outweighs any bargain we have got through the door.

"This alone is a complete embarrassment."

How much will Leeds have to pay for Jean-Kevin Augustin?

As mentioned above, the Whites will now potentially have to pay the player £24.5m – although the club have actually appealed against the decision.

This is made clear in The Athletic article which also points out that the player could have been entitled to a five-year contract on a reported €90,000 per week (about £80k-p/w) deal had the obligation been taken up – which may explain that high fee now owed.

What's more, the club also had to pay a £15.5m settlement with Leipzig last year, having previously lost their case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

So in total, the club could have to fork out a combined figure in the region of £40m to finally put this whole fiasco to bed.

Seeing as Leeds signed Georginio Rutter just last January for what was thought to be a club-record £35.5m transfer, it now looks as though Augustin could actually take that crown despite having only ever played three times for the Whites.

West Ham United are ready to table a bid for Manchester United right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka, providing they avoid relegation from the Premier League, according to a report from Football Insider.

Do West Ham need to sign a new right-back?

West Ham may need to enter the market for a new right-back in the summer, given that they have not yet chosen to extend Vladimir Coufal's contract, which runs out in the summer, by an additional two years, despite having that option available.

Thilo Kehrer has slotted in at right-back nine times in the Premier League this season, however, he has failed to live up to expectations since arriving for an initial £10.1m from Paris Saint-Germain, ranked 25th in the squad for his average Sofascore rating.

Wan-Bissaka has been a long-term target for the Hammers, with a loan move being touted last summer, while he was also of interest in the January transfer window, and they could soon formalise their interest with an official offer.

According to a report from Football Insider, West Ham are monitoring the 25-year-old ahead of the summer, and are ready to table a bid if they avoid relegation to the Championship.

The defender has fallen down the pecking order behind Diogo Dalot at Man United, with the Red Devils also in the market for a new right-back in the summer, which means he could be shown the exit door.

The Irons are not the only Premier League team interested in signing the "monster" full-back, as former club Crystal Palace are also keeping tabs on the £90k-p/w ace.

Would Aaron Wan-Bissaka be a good signing for West Ham?

It seems a little unusual that Man United appear so willing to let him go, as the 25-year-old has impressed whenever he has been given the opportunity this season.

Most recently, the former Palace man received a 7.8 Sofascore rating, the second-highest of any United player, in a 2-0 victory against Everton, having made two tackles and won five ground duels.

The Croydon-born ace has recorded stellar defensive stats over the past year, ranking in the 89th percentile for interceptions per 90, and in the 85th for clearances, with both of these figures better than Coufal's in the same time period.

West Ham will undoubtedly need to strengthen at right-back this summer, and Wan-Bissaka would be an excellent addition to the squad, with proven Premier League experience, having made 143 appearances in the competition.

Newcastle United will need to fork out €120m (£105m) if they want to sign Benfica's Goncalo Ramos this summer, with the striker's value tripling in value since the start of the season, according to a report.

Which clubs are interested in signing Goncalo Ramos?

Newcastle emerged as potential suitors for Ramos back in August, at which point the club were desperate to bring in a new striker, however he pledged his loyalty to Benfica, the club he has played for since the age of 12. The Magpies are not the only Premier League club eyeing the forward, with Portuguese outlet Record reporting Manchester United could make a move, amid reports he has grown weary of waiting for a pay rise at Benfica. (via Football365)

Chelsea are also said to be considering a move for the Portugal international, however he is under contract until 2026, meaning his current club are under no obligation to sell him for lower than his release clause any time soon. That release clause could scupper Newcastle's chances of signing the 21-year-old this summer, as Jornal de Noticias are now reporting Benfica are set to demand the full €120m (£105m) (via Sport Witness).

The new price is a huge increase from earlier on in the season, when the Olhao-born marksman was valued at just €40m (£35m), but the Portuguese club feel they can now demand far more, given his impressive form for club and country this season. It is detailed that Newcastle, Man United, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain are the clubs most linked to the starlet, but it remains to be seen whether any of them will be willing to match the figure Benfica have in mind.

Should Newcastle make a move for Goncalo Ramos?

The Benfica youth product impressed out in Qatar at the World Cup, with Gary Lineker hailing him as "remarkable" for being able to handle the pressure of replacing Cristiano Ronaldo, scoring a hat-trick against Switzerland in the round of 16.

At club level, the youngster has been formidable in front of goal, netting on 16 occasions in the Primeira Liga, averaging 0.88 goals per 90 in the process, the joint-highest figure of any player with at least five goals.

That said, spending £105m on a player unproven outside of Portugal would be a real risk for Newcastle, and they should look to negotiate a lower transfer fee, which they may be able to do, given that he is growing unsettled about having to wait for a pay rise.

Considering the level of interest in Ramos, the Magpies will still need to spend big to secure his signature in the summer, but he would be an excellent addition to the frontline, judging by his goal return, and his proven ability to perform under pressure.