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Marcelo Bielsa has said that Adam Forshaw remains an “important” player for Leeds United as he nears his return from a long-term injury absence.

The 29-year-old has suffered terrible misfortune in the injury department in recent seasons, not playing for the Whites since early on in the 2019/20 campaign. A serious hip problem has continually halted Forshaw’s progress, but he could now be set to return to the fold before the end of this season.

The midfielder, who earns £20,000 per week at Elland Road, has made 52 appearances for Leeds to date, but it should have been so many more.

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Bielsa positive about Forshaw return

Speaking after Saturday’s 2-1 win at home to Sheffield United [via BBC’s Adam Pope on Twitter], Bielsa gave an update on Forshaw’s chances of playing again this season, saying:

“Even in a positive moment for 10 days, need to be measured in months. Hasn’t played for two seasons, to be able to play 90 minutes at a high competition, there’s a while to go. He is healthy and he has two months left of the season. Important player.”

Transfer Tavern take

It would be heartwarming to see Forshaw take to the field again in the final six weeks or so of the 2020/21 campaign following such a tough time in his career.

Whether he manages to return as the same player as before is up for debate, but giving him the opportunity to taste Premier League football would be just desserts for the work he has put in to regain match fitness and the torment he has endured over the past 18 months.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly ready to offer a Premier League youngster a pathway into the first team. Read more about it here.

Liverpool should strengthen their forward line in the summer with the signing of Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins.

Despite Dean Windass suggesting that the Reds could go for a “bigger name” in an exclusive interview with Transfer Tavern, Watkins could be the perfect candidate to replace Roberto Firmino in the forward line at Anfield.

The current Villa man is currently in the midst of a fantastic debut campaign in the Premier League.

He has scored 12 goals in 31 appearances in the league this season following a big-money move from Brentford, an extremely positive return.

The 25-year-old has also managed to display his talents on regular occasion against Liverpool having netted four goals against the Reds throughout the campaign which includes a hat-trick in the infamous 7-2 defeat at Villa Park – form that has seen him labelled as “unbelievable” by Windass.

Rated at £28.8m, he could certainly then be the perfect replacement for the out-of-form Roberto Firmino.

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The Brazilian has scored just six goals in the league this season and reports from Spain suggest that Atletico Madrid are apparently contemplating a move for the current Reds’ striker.

When comparing the two forwards and their respective performances, Watkins continues to come out on top.

According to WhoScored, the Villa man contributes more shots per game with 2.6 to 2.3 whilst he also produces marginally more key passes – 1.2 to 1.1.

Meanwhile, Watkins is also an extremely potent threat in the air, winning a huge 3.9 aerial duels per game in the Premier League compared to Firmino’s paltry 0.6.

So, whilst Windass might well be expecting a more high-profile arrival for the attacking areas at Anfield, the current Villa striker certainly deserves to be amongst the Reds’ transfer targets and could be the perfect replacement for Firmino should he depart.

AND in more news, take a look at Liverpool fans’ opinions on the failed European Super League…

After signing from Manchester City for a reported fee of around £15m back in the summer of 2019, it’s fair to say Douglas Luiz has really come on leaps and bounds at Aston Villa.

The 22-year-old has been a permanent fixture in Dean Smith’s side since making the switch to Villa Park, already making 67 appearances for the first-team.

His form has even earned him international honours, picking up his first couple of senior caps for Brazil. It’s been no surprise then that his market value has absolutely sky-rocketed, more than doubling in value.

According to Transfermarkt, it now stands at £31.5m, and that’s a real testament to just how much his own play has improved, and how much Smith himself has helped him develop under his wing.

Speaking earlier in the summer, The Athletic journalist Gregg Evans, said of him: “He’s an absolute joy to watch now and I never thought I would be saying that. Villa have got a fantastic player in Douglas Luiz now, he looks like an absolute star, he could have played in that Man United team.

“He was better than (Paul) Pogba, I thought. I thought he was brilliant, hardly did anything wrong, hardly put a foot wrong. He won so many interceptions and made so many important blocks. When he gets the ball, he passes it nicely. He’s the best player in that Villa team at the moment because it’s just not working for John McGinn.”

Make no mistake about it, given how Luiz has developed at Villa Park since his move to the Midlands, Johan Lange played an absolute blinder in signing the Brazilian for the club.

If Villa ever contemplate selling him, or if rival clubs start showing some genuine interest in signing him, they know they could bring in a massive fee.

Meanwhile, this Villa man was shocking in the defeat to Spurs…

A lot of the clamour at Spurs this season has been about the progress of Oliver Skipp in a very lucrative loan spell at Championship front-runners Norwich City.

And quite rightly too as the 20-year-old has emerged as a genuine option for Jose Mourinho to consider in his first-team come the summer.

Skipp is just one of two players to feature and start every single one of Norwich’s 34 league games this term, while he’s making his presence felt at the base of midfield by averaging 2.1 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

Canaries boss Daniel Farke has constantly raved about the Spurs gem, most recently dubbing him the “perfect lad” whilst there have been calls for Mourinho to get him involved, as per Dean Ashton at talkSPORT.

However, he’s not the only young midfielder impressing in a loan spell and as a result, he may well face competition for that spot alongside arguable Player of the Season, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

Harvey White is also picking up invaluable game time at a senior level, featuring for League One promotion chasers Portsmouth, where he has finally cemented his place amongst the starting XI.

Indeed, the 19-year-old maestro has started their last three league outings and even scored on his full debut, heading home the winner at Oxford United.

And whilst Skipp is proving to be a solid defensively-minded option – very much in the same vein as Hojbjerg – White is showing a different ability in the sense of contributing in both boxes.

As per WhoScored, the teenage prodigy has averaged 1.6 tackles and 1.1 shots per game, which only emphasises his ability as a box-to-box option in the long run. His impressive work-rate helps stop the opposition, and clearly, he’s getting far enough up the pitch to have a pop at goal too.

This is something reinforced by HampshireLive’s Jonty Colman, who claimed to football.london that he’s been versatile enough to play as a narrow left-winger. He also added:

“On the face of it, he looks small compared to the average brute of League One, but he battles and is relentless. Plenty of encouraging signs so far,” said the Pompey reporter. “They [fans]have been very impressed in the last two games, as he has shown some real quality on the ball.”

He ended by saying that “Mourinho is bound to be impressed by the progress he is making.”

White has even been likened to Harry Kane by Joe Gallen since joining the League One giants in January – the Portsmouth assistant was at Millwall when a fresh-faced Kane rocked up at the Den.

“Harvey’s definitely got a big future. He’s got a lot of ability, but his mentality is also very, very good, especially for such a young player,” said Gallen before adding: “He [Kane] and Harvey are very similar people, they have very similar attitudes, a similar mentality.”

So, can he contend with Skipp?

You’d have to say yes as he offers something vastly different to Hojbjerg, whereas Skipp would create a more defensive double-pivot, White could be a long-term heir to Moussa Sissoko – or if Harry Winks’ Spanish interest comes to fruition.

Mauricio Pochettino was said to rate Spurs gem highly whilst White’s involvement in the first-team earlier this season would have undoubtedly made the decision to ship him out on loan a tricky call to make, especially when you see the youngsters involved in the Europa League.

He’d be a more perfect fit alongside the Danish powerhouse, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, £35m-rated flop could see his Spurs career saved if Levy appoints Nagelsmann…

Leeds United look to be scouting for future talent and this has seen them linked with a move for a Championship starlet in Osaze Urhoghide.

The latest transfer rumours

According to Football League World, a host of clubs in England are keeping tabs on his situation.

The young defender is expected to be a free-agent in the summer (Transfermarkt), with Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Watford among those monitoring the 20-year-old.

This could be a good signing for Leeds

The 20-year-old defender started to emerge from the Sheffield Wednesday academy at the end of last season and has featured 12 times for the club since making his first-team debut in January 2020 (Transfermarkt). Ten of these appearances have been in the Championship.

With various sides interested in the player, he clearly has some potential and Leeds would do well to pip the other interested parties to his signature. They already have quite a strong starting eleven, proven by the fact that they are eleventh in the top flight, so a player like Urhoghide who likely wouldn’t break into the first XI immediately is a risk worth taking, as there is no immediate need for mass changes in the first team.

In other news, Leeds received a welcome transfer boost!

Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli was once one of the most valuable youngsters in world football.

In 2018, a study conducted by CIES Football Observatory concluded that the Englishman was the most valuable midfielder in the world, ahead of the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante.

Just a year earlier, former Spurs boss Martin Jol claimed Alli wasn’t too far off being a £100m player, as per football.london, and that was reflected by Transfermarkt at the turn of 2019, where they valued the attacking playmaker at a whopping £90m.

Value plummeting

Things are vastly different now.

CIES’ latest update (8th March 2021) sees the 24-year-old valued at just €30m (£26m), which emphasises just how drastic a downfall he has had in recent seasons.

By comparison, Manchester United’s Bruno Fernandes is now the most valuable midfielder at an astonishing €151.1m (£130m), with Chelsea’s Kai Havertz closely following behind at €136m (£117m).

Alli has never been one to be overhyped, but his increased exposure at the elite level since a £5m move from MK Dons aged just 18 has levelled out the public’s expectations of him somewhat.

But what are some of the factors behind his seismic collapse?

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False dawn under Mourinho

After Mauricio Pochettino was sacked in November 2019, the arrival of Jose Mourinho handed Alli an opportunity to reinvent himself – to shake off that annoying tag of ‘Dele’s brother‘ often showing up rather than the player himself.

Indeed, this looked to be the case almost instantly, as a reinvigorated Alli delivered three goals and three assists in the first four matches under the ‘Special One’ but that would upturn in form turned out to be ever so short-lived.

Since then, Amazon’s ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries has come out, and there’s a clip of Mourinho calling Alli “lazy” but in more colourful language. As a result, the Pochettino favourite has only played 964 minutes in all competitions this season, of which 11 of 22 appearances have been starts, via Transfermarkt.

A move to Paris Saint-Germain, the new home of the Argentine boss, fell through in January and now he cuts an often isolated figure in the Spurs team or more so, on the Spurs bench.

Out of England reckoning

With a lack of game time and consistent performances, comes a consequence at international level – unless you’re called Jordan Pickford or Eric Dier.

Having racked up 37 caps for England, Alli was axed from Gareth Southgate’s squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers and hasn’t actually been seen since their UEFA Nations League third-placed playoff win over Switzerland in July 2019.

It’ll come as a bitter blow to Alli that he won’t be involved in a major tournament this summer but given his age, he has every chance of salvaging his Three Lions career in time for the Qatar World Cup.

He could take a page out of Jesse Lingard’s book after the West Ham loanee earned his first call-up since the very same game.

Where now?

It wasn’t too long ago that Alli managed a whopping 31 direct goal contributions in one season (2017/18) and at just 24 years of age, he is still nowhere near his peak.

Around this time, he was being lauded as a “competitive animal” and a “freak of a talent” – also drawing lofty comparisons to the likes of Steven Gerrard and co.

Now the forgotten Spurs man has only contributed towards seven goals, which is still respectable considering the lack of minutes on the pitch.

Though he may well need to force an exit this summer and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy ought to cash in before his value sinks even further under Mourinho.

AND in other news, Spurs handed Sergio Reguilon transfer boost…

Manchester City stormed to the top of the Premier League table on Tuesday night with an emphatic 5-0 win against West Bromwich Albion.

Whilst there were no poor performers for the Citizens after a superb display against Sam Allardyce’s side, it was perhaps the performance of Ilkay Gundogan that stood out the most.

The German midfielder scored a first-half brace to continue his recent excellent goalscoring form but was also superb in all other aspects from his game, and he arguably outshone Joao Cancelo, who contributed a goal, an assist and a clean sheet from right-back.

As per SofaScore, the former Borussia Dortmund man would earn a 9.0 match rating for his performance, which was only bettered by his Portuguese teammate, who earned a 9.4.

Despite only being on the pitch for 52 minutes, Gundogan would have 47 touches and contribute 32 passes, which was more than West Brom midfielder Romaine Sawyers, despite him playing the full match.

The 30-year-old opened the scoring after brilliantly bringing down a pass from Cancelo and curling past Sam Johnstone from the edge of the area, before robbing Sawyers and finishing confidently for his second, and City’s third.

Impressively, the experienced midfielder would complete all three of his dribble attempts during the game despite having averaged just 1.3 dribbles per game in the Premier League so far this season.

He also won all five of his duels during the game, resulting in a 100% success rate, whereas in his last Premier League appearance against Aston Villa, he would win just 2/6, emphasising that it really was a near-perfect performance from Gundogan at the Hawthorns.

Therefore, it seems clear now that the £36 million-rated midfielder is enjoying one of his best seasons in a Manchester City shirt, as this is now his best ever goalscoring campaign in the Premier League and he has stepped up superbly in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne.

And, in other news… Manchester City can sign their next Kyle Walker in £18m-rated PL speed-demon

Glasgow Rangers sporting director Ross Wilson must prioritise giving Glen Kamara a new contract after Steven Gerrard pleaded with the board to tie him down to a new deal.

What’s the word?

Kamara has been an integral part of Gerrard’s side so far this season, having played six games in the Europa League, whilst he has averaged a solid 7.04 statistical rating, which makes him one of Rangers’ top performers in the European competition, via WhoScored.

The Finland international has become a first-team regular starter since he joined from Dundee in January 2019 after he signed a four-year pre-contract deal with the club, as he has made 77 appearances in Rangers, scoring three goals and supplying three assists in all competitions.

He played a key part as the Light Blues beat Lech Poznan to finish top of Group D in the Europa League on Thursday night.

Speaking after the game, Gerrard said: “I thought Glen Kamara again showed why everybody is talking about him and there’s a lot of fuss about him.

“I thought he was outstanding from start to finish and my advice to the club is to move that situation along as quickly as they can.”

Reports in recent times revealed that Kamara is still of interest to Leeds United, whilst Burnley, Brighton, Newcastle and Sheffield United remain interested in signing the defensive midfielder at the earliest opportunity.

Keep Kamara at all costs

Therefore, it’s imperative that Wilson ensures the 25-year-old is rewarded for his efforts so far this season with new and improved terms to fend off interest from elsewhere.

The Finn is one of several midfield options available to Gerrard, including Scott Arfield, Steven Davis, Ryan Jack and Bongani Zungu, but it’s clear as day that Kamara is a class above the rest, which is precisely why Wilson must keep him at all costs.

In 6 appearances in the Europa League this season, Kamara has scored one goal so far, whilst he is averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 1.2 dribbles per game via WhoScored.

Of all of his closest rivals, only Steven Davis has averaged a higher rating in the European competition, as he ranks higher than Arfield, Jack and Zungu as it stands.

Gerrard has made no attempts to disguise his admiration for the midfielder, either, with the Ibrox boss describing him as a “fantastic” player back in October.

It seems obvious that the board must offer him a lucrative contract to persuade him to stay with the 54-time Scottish champions, as Gerrard can’t afford to lose one of his key players with so much still at stake this season.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers winger Ianis Hagi defied the critics against Lech Poznan in the Europa League…

Leeds clearly have some work to do this month.

They lost to Tottenham in the Premier League but a week later, they embarrassingly tasted defeat at the hands of League Two Crawley. It’s just as well a transfer window is here.

What’s the word?

It feels unlikely that Leeds will do any business this month but according to one report, they could be in the market for a rising star in the Championship.

According to TEAMtalk, they are one of a number of teams who are interested in Middlesbrough’s Marcus Tavernier.

The report suggests that Everton, Leicester and Wolves are all contemplating a swoop for the 21-year-old but Leeds are merely keeping tabs on the youngster at this stage.

It’s thought that Tavernier, who is on £8k-per-week at Boro, doesn’t want to leave the north-east behind this month and will only consider leaving if a formal bid arrives.

A number of teams have also reportedly enquired about the player’s availability.

Bye-bye Costa

Leeds are hardly strapped for options in wide areas. Raphinha and Jack Harrison have been Marcelo Bielsa’s primary options this term but the Argentine also has Pablo Hernandez, Rodrigo and Ian Poveda who can play in those areas.

However, if Tavernier arrives, it would be Helder Costa that should be in the biggest trouble.

The Portuguese has already been touted with walking through the exit door just months after arriving permanently but the fact of the matter is that he’s not been good enough.

Costa hasn’t found the net since September and put in a dismal showing against Crawley, failing to achieve anything in the final third. The winger failed with all four of his crosses into the box and somehow managed to look out of depth against weaker opposition.

In Tavernier, however, they’d have an ideal replacement. We already know that Bielsa likes versatile players and the Boro prodigy epitomises that.

He’s played on both wings this season, as well as behind the striker in a number 10 role and as a central midfielder. Throughout his career, he’s also featured at left-back and in a holding position. Though, it’s out wide where he seems most comfortable, scoring 15 times from the left flank.

This term, Tavernier has found the net three times, registering three assists and has proven to be a valuable asset for Neil Warnock’s side. For Tony Pulis that will come as no surprise. Although he stated the youngster needs to work on his consistency, he tipped the midfielder for the top when he was still at the Riverside.

Pulis once stated: “Some days he comes in and he’s brilliant, some days he’s a bit lackadaisical. He’s going to be a top player. He’ll eventually play in the Premier League.”

Indeed, his top-flight dream could become a reality in the immediate future. Considering his age, he’d be a top-drawer addition for the club.

That being said, Costa will be running for cover if he does walk through the door.

AND in other news, “A good fit for him” – Exclusive: Pundit makes claim on potential Leeds return for £140k-p/w ace…

Despite there still being plenty of games left to play in the current Scottish Premiership season, Celtic undoubtedly will already have one eye on the next campaign.

Neil Lennon’s side are in the midst of their worst period in recent history, seeing their ten-in-a-row hopes go up in smoke and having to watch Rangers run away with the title.

But ahead of their Scottish Premiership clash against Kilmarnock tonight, the Hoops could take an important step to realising a brighter future by giving one of their stand-out young talents a chance to shine: Stephen Welsh.

The 21-year-old has played just 218 minutes of league football this season, and has hardly put a foot wrong, including a fine display in the Old Firm clash against Rangers – speaking on A Celtic State of Mind podcast, Paul John Dykes thought he had an “excellent game” against Steven Gerrard’s men.

Writing in a post-match Q&A for The Athletic last year, Kieran Devlin described him as a “very intelligent and modern defender, not just a bruiser”.

The Hoops have had to bear witness to Shane Duffy taking to the old-fashioned approach a bit too much this season, showing little poise on the ball and invariably hoofing it into row Z or trying to play it long – his total of 3.8 long balls per game ranks him fourth in the entire Celtic squad, whilst his pass accuracy is the worst of any centre-back.

It’s no surprise that many Celtic fans have been frustrated with Lennon’s refusal to give Welsh a genuine chance in the first-team, instead sticking with Duffy through his woeful performances, and shoehorning Bitton – a natural midfielder – into the centre of defence.

The 6 foot 3 Welsh is the man Lennon should be building Celtic’s future around, whether he remains the club’s manager for the long-term or not.

The rebuild needs to start here, and it needs to be centred around players who could form the spine of this Hoops team for the next several years.

Welsh falls into that category, just like the 22-year-old Ismaila Soro. The latter’s already made his mark on this side and ousted Scott Brown.

Now it’s surely time for Welsh to be given the same opportunity, starting with a game against Kilmarnock tonight.