According to the Daily Record, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard is interested in signing Nottingham Forest centre-back Joe Worrall on loan. This is a deal that would benefit both parties. 

The England under-21 international has not featured in the Championship this season, as it appears that he has fallen out of favour with new manager Aitor Karanka.

The Spanish manager has opted for centre-backs Tobias Figueiredo and Danny Fox, and occasionally Michael Dawson, this season over the 6ft 4 Worrall. That is why a loan move obviously makes sense as Worrall will want as much game time as possible.

Gerrard has been pursuing a number of defenders this summer, as he hopes to shore up a defence that was very weak last season, and sees Worrall (valued at £7.2m on Transfermarkt.co.uk) as an answer to his defensive woes. From Forest’s perspective this works as well, because it avoids having to loan one of their players to a rival side. There is no risk of this deal backfiring.

But it is imperative that this is just a loan deal. Forest could be in trouble if they sell the 21-year-old to Rangers. Alongside the rumours that striker Ben Brereton may be sold to Blackburn, The Reds will not want to lose too many of their young prospects.

Even if these players are to be sold, it should be done in a season or two, when their value has increased a lot more. Selling them now would be a divestment that they may regret.

Although Worrall played over 50 times for The Reds over the past two seasons, and captained an England under-21 side that won the 2017 Toulon Tournament, this was still not enough to work his way into Karanka’s plans.

There is no point letting a player waste away with no game time, particularly when they have as much potential as Worrall. That is why loaning him to a Rangers side that will appreciate him suits both clubs perfectly.

Caleb Ekuban can safely be described as a flop at Leeds United. The Ghanaian striker joined the club in summer 2017 from Chievo Verona for around half a million pound and the club will be lucky to get that money back. However, with him leaving on-loan for Turkey, at least they won’t have to see him play.

The striker was horrendous last year as he bagged himself just one goal in 20 Championship appearances and it’s hard to see why anyone was willing to take him on loan for the season. Fortunately for The Whites, though, Trabzonspor have taken a punt on him on a season-long loan and it will be very interesting to see whether or not he can make the grade in Turkey.

Being just 24-years-old will certainly work in Ekuban’s favour, as he’ll be able to improve as a player with time as he matures into his career. He will have to act fast in Turkey, though, or he could be left out in the cold when he heads back to Elland Road at the end of the season. The aim for Leeds fans will be for him to impress in the Turkish Super Lig and have Trabzonspor pick him up on a permanent deal, although that looks unlikely.

You can read The Whites’ verdict on Ekuban here:

The Leeds fans will be hoping he comes good in Turkey and gets his move away but for now will just be pleased he’s not in the squad.

Marco Silva tried to put his stamp on the Everton team when he brought in a handful of signings in the summer transfer window.

One of those new faces was left-back Lucas Digne from Barcelona, where he made 46 appearances, scoring two goals and creating three assists.

Since making the move to Goodison Park, the Frenchman has had to fight for his position against veteran Leighton Baines, who at the age of 33 is reaching the latter stages of his career.

During Baines’s injury absence last season, it became clear that the left-back position was a problem area with regards to cover.

Predominantly right-footed Cuco Martina was asked to fill in, but he struggled to thrive on his less favoured side of the pitch.

Digne’s arrival was met with joy but he has had to settle for a bit-part role at the moment.

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However, after playing the entirety of Everton’s EFL Cup tie against Rotherham United, he started the 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town in the Premier League at the weekend.

Digne showed glimpses of quality, but still has a way to impress, and with that in mind, should Silva be starting the left-back on a regular basis?

Let us know by voting below.

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Loads of West Ham fans have been giving their verdict on the loss to Wolves, and they’re absolutely fuming at Michail Antonio.

West Ham are still the only side in the Premier League without a point, as the Hammers fell to a 1-0 home defeat to newly promoted Wolves.

Manuel Pellegrini and the Hammers’ bosses were very active in the summer market, so it was slightly surprising to see Antonio get the nod once again, as did Robert Snodgrass.

Neither of them were very impressive, but Antonio in particular is taking loads of stick from fans.

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The 28 year-old was linked with a move away from East London in the summer, and while most fans would agree he is good to have as depth, he is simply not good enough to be one of the main men for Pellegrini’s side.

The 28 year-old managed just 38 touches in the 1-0 defeat, completing 61 per cent of his passes and taking four unsuccessful touches, the most of any West Ham player.

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You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, look away now Michail…

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Watford currently sit third in the Premier League table and, at first glance, it may be shocking to some to see them doing so well.

They’ve scored nine goals across their first four games, which is the third most in the division, and only conceded three goals – the second least so far.

However, there are clear signs of impending regression from the club. First off, they are currently ranked 11th in the league in terms of expected goals but are scoring at a rate much higher than that.

Roberto Pereyra himself has scored three goals this season, outperforming his expected goals number of .58. Historically, the team does not regularly outperform their expected goals projection. The last time this occurred they outscored their projection by four to score 40 goals in the 2016/17 season.

Additionally, during their last three seasons in the Premier League, Watford have scored a maximum of 44 goals in a single season and this may prove to be a problem for a team that has aspirations to finish in the top seven this term.

Over the last three years no team in the Premier League has finished between 5th and 7th without scoring at least 49 goals. In order for them to continue to perform this way, they are going to need to start getting some sort of contribution from Gerard Deulofeu, who has yet to play a single minute this season following his £14million move from Barcelona during the last transfer window. Deulofeu is not the only attacking player who needs to contribute for Watford, though.

Both Troy Deeney and Andre Gray must be very effective throughout the campaign for Watford to maintain their current form, or to finish in a European place. In their games thus far Deeney has scored twice and Gray once, but only Deeney ranks in the top 30 for expected goals for individual players.

In order for Watford to reach the aforementioned number of 49 goals, Deeney will need to improve or at least match his career high total of 13 goals in a single season.

Similarly, Andre Gray will certainly have to exceed his career high goals total of nine, which he accomplished for Burnley in the 2016/17 season – that led Watford to spend a new club transfer record of £18.5m for the striker. Thus far, Gray has scored just six goals in 35 appearances for Watford and is scoring a goal once every 292 minutes.

The overarching problem for Watford seems to be the amount of shots they have on goal. In the last three years Watford haven’t finished higher than 12th in the Premier League in terms of shots taken.

While shots taken is not a direct indicator of the amount of goals a team scores, a team like Watford cannot rely on their defence to lead them to a record finish in the league.

Watford boss Javi Gracia will learn a lot about his squad and what it’s capable of in the coming games, which includes tough fixtures against the likes of Man United and Arsenal. If they can come through those unscathed, then perhaps Watford can continue to overachieve for a little while longer.

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FootballFanCast.com’s Transfer in Numbers coverage is brought to you by 5p0rtz. Try 5p0rtz’s Beat the Streak Predictor and you could win £1million! Click here to play. 

Liverpool have tied down two thirds of their electric front three to new contracts, but the Reds should be keeping an eye on West Ham’s Felipe Anderson in case Sadio Mane leaves the club.

While there are no obvious signs of the Senegalese superstar wanting out, Liverpool fans are getting nervous of the lack of contract news on Mane.

New deals were wrapped up fairly quickly for the likes of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Jordan Henderson, but Mane’s deal runs out in 2021, and the 26 year-old was linked with a move to Real Madrid in the summer.

If Mane were to leave, Jürgen Klopp should seek his replacement from within the Premier League, and Anderson should be the first port of call.

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The West Ham winger joined this summer for a fee of around £36m, and had his best performance yet against Everton on Sunday.

The 25 year-old has a unique ability to pop up in various positions on both wings, centrally, and even creating from deep, an ability that Mane also boasts.

Anderson was absolutely everywhere in the Hammers’ 3-1 win over Everton on Sunday, completing two dribbles and making three delightful key passes.

The tricky Brazilian also has the work rate and athleticism to thrive in Klopp’s high tempo system, making four tackles and three interceptions in the win at Goodison.

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Anderson hasn’t been a natural goalscorer throughout his career, but Klopp is a specialist at turning talented wingers into goalscorers, and he could do the same thing with the Brazilian.

Liverpool fans won’t want to lose Mane, and West Ham fans won’t want to lose Anderson, but if Real Madrid come calling for the former with a ridiculous bid next summer, then the Reds would be foolish not to go after the latter to replace him.

So, Liverpool fans, would you take Anderson if Mane were to leave? How impressive has he been since arriving from Lazio? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Wolves fans on Twitter were ecstatic with Joao Moutinho’s equalising goal in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Saturday.

The newly promoted side tested United goalkeeper David de Gea a number of times in the opening stages, with the Spanish goalkeeper proving up to the task.

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It was the home side who then opened the scoring, as Paul Pogba set up Fred with a brilliantly disguised pass that the Brazilian midfielder turned home past Rui Patricio in the Wolves net. However, just eight minutes after half-time, summer signing Moutinho gave de Gea no chance with a fantastic strike into the top corner to equalise.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, who had already held Manchester City earlier in the season, more than matched United and had chances to win the game. Their fans on Twitter though were ecstatic with Moutinho’s goal. Check out some of the best reactions to the Portuguese international’s strike below.

Chelsea and Manchester City have both gotten themselves off to excellent starts in the Premier League this season, and both sides look well equipped to make a real challenge for the title.

For the Blues, manager Mauro Sarri has made an unbeaten start to life at the Bridge, and dealt Liverpool their first loss of the season this past week with a League Cup win at Anfield.

Man City and Pep Guardiola on the other hand have been consistently getting results on the board, and will be hopeful of even more improvements when star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne returns to the fold in the coming months.

With both clubs no doubt vying for the top spot, the January window will be an interesting time for both managers, when the temptation to dip into the transfer market and sign those one or two players who can help the squad in the tough final months can become all too appealing.

However, there is one man we at the Tavern think both the Blues and City could look to sign in Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans.

The £18m-rated midfielder is one of the most sought after young talents in Europe, and is already something of a regular for Belgium after an impressive few years with Monaco.

Tielemans has all the ability in the world really to go on and become a dominant force for years to come. Both City and Chelsea have squads which could be described as ageing, and signing one of the best young talents in the world would make a huge difference to either squad both for this season, and the coming years.

Blues and City fans what do you think? How good can Tielemans be? Let us know in the comments!

West Ham have hit some sort of form lately, despite losing out this weekend at Brighton and Hove Albion.

After four consecutive losses to kick off the season, Manuel Pellegrini’s charges seem to have got some sort of system going, and key players like Marko Arnautovic appear to have turned up to the party.

However, despite spending a chunk of cash in the summer, it’s clear the Hammers need more, and one area of the pitch which could do with adding too is in midfield, where Mark Noble often burdens a little bit too much of the responsibility.

That’s why we at the Tavern think that signing Stoke City midfield general Joe Allen would be a superb piece of business in January, with the Welshman currently holding a value of £16.2m on Transfermarkt.

Allen would be an excellent addition for the Hammers, bringing top flight experience and class to a squad who might just need that sort of presence come the winter  months.

The Welsh midfielder has been a regular for the Potters already, but the signing of Ryan Woods might well mean manager Gary Rowett is open to letting one of his squad leave, which could open the door for a club like West Ham to make their move.

A player with undoubted quality and who would improve most squads, Allen would be a shrewd if not spectacular addition to the Hammers squad.

West Ham fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!

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Gareth Southgate’s latest England squad includes plenty of new faces with a number of key regulars missing the international break through injury, but one department that has largely stayed in tact – barring the unless-in-extremis-retirement of Jamie Vardy – is the forward line.

Indeed, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck are all available for the coming clashes against Croatia and Spain. So with captain Harry Kane nailed on to start, we asked fans earlier this week to vote for who should lead the line alongside him when the Three Lions travel to the Balkans on Friday night.

And our poll has revealed that the Manchester United youngster is by far the most popular choice to partner the Tottenham striker – who Transfermarkt value at £135million – with a huge 83% voting in Rashford’s favour.

Sterling was left with just 13% of the vote, despite starting regularly for England at the World Cup, while Arsenal’s Welbeck took a mere 4%.

So, England fans, how would you line up Southgate’s side against Croatia? Let us know by commenting below…

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