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Matthew Etherington says he is puzzled by Stoke players being continually overlooked for England recognition.

The Potters winger has urged Three Lions

boss Roy Hodgson to visit the Britannia Stadium and cast his eye over striker Peter Crouch

and defender Ryan Shawcross.

Crouch, 31, scored both goals as Stoke won 2-0 against weekend visitors Swansea, taking his tally to five goals in seven games this season. However, he has not played for his country since scoring in the 2-1 home defeat by France in a November 2010 friendly.

Potters captain Shawcross is still to make his senior international bow after representing England Under-21s and recently turned down an invitation from Wales boss Chris Coleman to switch allegiance. Etherington told Sky Sports:

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“Perhaps the England manager needs a map. You would think so because there’s no doubt Crouchie should be in the squad. His international record is second to none and since he’s came here he’s been scoring regularly. He’s priceless for us. Ryan should be in the frame as well, but you play for Stoke and there seems to be a certain stigma.”

Liverpool have performed so well en route to the Champions League final and their already thin squad contains so many injuries that Jurgen Klopp’s side for Saturday’s showpiece in Kiev almost picks itself.

There are precious few selection dilemmas but the return of Nathaniel Clyne may just provide Klopp with one as he considers how best to prevent an attack containing Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and potentially Gareth Bale as well.

Trent Alexander-Arnold – valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt – has enjoyed a staggering breakthrough season, becoming something of a cult hero at Anfield and essentially taking Clyne’s club and international spot.

The teenager is the one heading to the World Cup, while Clyne will be watching at home like the rest of us, but is there a case to be made that Klopp should opt for experience on this huge occasion?

Let us know which way Klopp should go by voting in the poll below and keep your eyes peeled for the results on the day of the game…

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According to reports in The Sun, West Ham United are lining up a surprise move for £4m-rated Hibernian midfielder John McGinn, who has scored 13 goals in 115 appearances for the club.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Sun says that Irons boss David Moyes is a big fan of the Scotland international, who has been tipped to be a Premier League success if he moves south of the border.

The Sun says that the 23-year-old would cost around £4m if the Scottish Premiership side decide to cash in on him, with Moyes having identified the middle of the park as an area that needs strengthening during the January transfer window.

How has McGinn done this season?

He has done very well.

Even though he primarily plays as a central midfielder, he has made a big impact in the final third for his team by scoring four goals and providing a further four assists in 26 appearances in all competitions this term – including a brilliant brace against Celtic at Celtic Park in September.

His discipline is a slight issue though, seeing as he has already picked up 10 yellow cards before Christmas.

Would he be a good signing for West Ham?

He certainly would be, especially for £4m.

McGinn has scored 13 goals and provided a further 23 assists in 115 appearances in total for Hibernian, and his impressive performance away against Celtic shows that he can perform on the big stage too.

He would certainly add some bite and aggression in the middle of the park, while he has proven that he can be creative and a goal threat when he needs to be.

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West Ham certainly look as though they need strengthening in central midfield, but Irons supporters may not be so impressed with the addition considering they have been linked with the likes of Sporting Lisbon’s William Carvalho and Sevilla’s Steven N’Zonzi over the course of the last few weeks.

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Celtic manager Neil Lennon has told any interested parties to forget about a January deal for winger James Forrest.

Cardiff are the latest of a number of Premier League sides to have registered an interest in the Scottish international, who has been one of the SPL’s leading names for some time.

The 22-year-old is thought to have ambitions of playing in England, but has elected to remain in his homeland up until now thanks to guaranteed first-team action in Glasgow.

Lennon – who admitted recently that goalkeeper Fraser Forster may be sold – says that he understands why so many clubs are monitoring Forrest, but went on to issue a hands off warning.

“It wouldn’t be a surprised if other clubs were looking at James because he is a brilliant player,” Lennon told Sky Sports.

“But he signed a long-term contract 18 months ago. We are months and months away from the window – he is not for sale.

“We are in a very stable position as a club and that is something which is a rarity in this day and age.

“The players are happy, vibrant and we have a lot to look forward to.”

Forrest is a product of Scottish giants’ youth set-up and is a crowd favourite at Celtic Park.

He made his international debut in 2011, and is believed to be on Malky Mackay’s radar ahead of the New Year.

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Could James Forrest be a Premier League hit?

Join the debate below!

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Twitter is essentially a glorified Facebook status update, allowing you to share each and every thought that pops into your head with a global audience. In the right hands this can be a very powerful tool but in the wrong hands, it’s just straight up dangerous. Most of us have the foresight to consider our ‘tweets’ before we set them in virtual stone but footballers appear incapable of such logic, instead using the site to offload a few ‘brain dumps’.

The advent of social media has bestowed us with unprecedented access into the lives of our favourite superstars. We’re now all too readily exposed to an unfiltered stream of mundane and trivial information, which serves only to quash our once idolised view of our sporting icons. I’m sure most players don’t set out to infuriate, annoy or ‘wind-up’, some actually share interesting content, but that doesn’t stop them from further enforcing all the negative stereotypes associated with the modern day footballer.

Click on Pele below to reveal my Top 15 most annoying footballers on Twitter

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Leicester beat Arsenal 3-1 at the King Power stadium last night to earn their first win against the Gunners in 24 years as Arsenal’s dreadful away form continues.

Kelechi Iheanacho was a central figure putting in a man of the match display.

The ex-City striker calmly slotted the opener past Petr Cech after poor defending from Arsenal, who had 20-year-old defender Konstantinos Mavropanos sent off two minutes later after he brought down Iheanacho as he broke through on goal.

The young Nigerian put in one of his strongest performances for Leicester in what has been a stop-start debut season since his move from Manchester City.

Iheanacho scored only his second league goal for Leicester in the victory to take his goal tally to seven for the season.

After a slow start to his career in the East Midlands, The Sun linked the Nigerian striker with a move away from the club. However the 21-year-old is determined to prove his worth:

“That’s what every player wants, to play. When you work hard, you get your chance, so I’ll keep working hard and see what’s next.”

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Leicester supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on Iheanacho’s man of the match performance…

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As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers are interested in signing promising Arsenal midfielder Marcus McGuane during this month’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

With manager Graeme Murty now in place until the end of the season, there’s a bit of relative stability at Ibrox right now, especially after avoiding defeat to Celtic in thew recent derby clash.

This month’s January window offers the Light Blues a chance to refresh a squad that was assembled by now departed boss Pedro Caixinha. However, with resources stretched to their limit, the Ibrox side might have to pursue less traditional options to ensure quality arrives in Glasgow.

One player they’re interested in is Arsenal midfielder Marcus McGuane, according to The Scottish Sun.

The paper say that Rangers Director of Football Mark Allen will open talks with the Gunners this week to try and push through a loan deal, facing stiff competition from clubs like Napoli.

Who is he?

Still just 18 years of age, McGuane is nonetheless already talented enough to make his Arsenal first-team breakthrough, making appearances for Arsene Wenger in this season’s UEFA Europa League.

Primarily a defensive midfielder, he could offer competition to Graeme Murty’s first team and provide cover for likes of Graham Dorrans, who is still out injured for another couple of months at least.

Rangers have successfully utilised loan deals from the Premier League in the past with the likes of Emerson Hyndman and Jon Toral having decent spells with the club.

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With Murty’s coaching experience so far focused on youth football, Ibrox could be a great environment for young loanees like McGuane, also offering Rangers serious short-term quality on a budget.

Liverpool icon Ian Rush believes that Luis Suarez should be excited to return to the first-team.

The controversial Uruguayan openly chased a summer move away from Anfield, citing treatment he has received in the media and a lack of Champions League football as major factors.

He is yet to start a competitive match for the Reds this term, as he continues to serve a ten match ban for biting Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic.

But, with only two games left to run, Suarez is set to return to Brendan Rodgers’ starting XI soon.

Liverpool have enjoyed an excellent start to the season and are the only team in the Premier League with a 100 per cent record after the opening three fixtures.

Part of this has been down to the exciting attacking combination of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho.

Rush believes that linking up with these two and club captain Steven Gerrard should be an exciting prospect for Suarez, although he believes that he shouldn’t walk back into the team.

“Suarez, when he sees Sturridge and he sees Coutinho and he sees Gerrard, he will be thinking: ‘Hang on, I quite fancy this!’,” Rush told The Mirror.

“Especially with the prospect of getting on the end of those passes that Coutinho puts through. The team are on the same wavelength now and Suarez will be excited about coming back to play with these guys.

“It was a fantastic piece of business from John W. Henry to keep hold of Suarez. It’s great that he stuck to his guns in the face of the interest from Arsenal and the fact that Suarez was saying that he wanted out.

“The ideal scenario for me now would be Suarez still on the bench after six games – because that would mean that Liverpool have won them all.”

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Will Luis Suarez walk back into Liverpool’s starting XI? And should he take the centre forward role from Daniel Sturridge?

Have your say below!

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Joey Barton has confessed that he let himself down by being sent off on the final day of last season.

The QPR midfielder was dismissed for violent conduct in the Loftus Road club’s clash with Manchester City, and was subsequently handed down a 12-match ban from the FA.

Barton has since secured a season-long loan to French club Marseille, and has explained his actions at the Etihad Stadium.

“I completely let myself down but it’s not a rational situation. I knew we could be relegated, they could win the league and I’m captain,” he revealed to The Sun.

“There’s a bit of a media spotlight on me so if we go down, I’m going to take a lot of s***.

“I was already getting it on Twitter so pressure started building and I didn’t handle it well.

“My inner chimp doesn’t work well with injustice, it reacts too quickly. Tevez has done what he’s done, I have reacted and the aftermath is…

“I look at it now and it’s almost like it’s not me. I’m like ‘What the f*** were you thinking?’

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“At the time in some weird way I thought it was the correct way but, looking at it now, I know it wasn’t.

“I’ve got to learn a lesson from that. The thing it reiterated to me was just how far I am from the person I want to be,” he concluded.

Napoli midfielder Jorginho has regularly been mentioned in the transfer gossip pages over the last few weeks.

The 26-year-old has attracted the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Liverpool, if reports are to be believed.

Now, according to Spanish publication Sport, La Liga giants Barcelona have entered the fray for Jorginho.

The Italian, who joined Napoli in 2014 from Verona, has caught the eye this season for his performances deep in midfield.

In total, Jorginho has made 35 appearances in all competitions, including 31 starts in Serie A.

As well performing his defensive duties consistently, the midfielder has also contributed with three goals and four assists.

The Italy international would certainly give Jurgen Klopp another option in the middle of the park if he were to join Liverpool.

With Emre Can’s future at the club up in the air, Jordan Henderson is the only player that can take on that role, although Georginio Wijnaldum has trialed in that area this season.

The Daily Mail claims that Manchester City are leading the race for Jorginho’s signature, but it is the interest from Barcelona that is bothering them.

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Liverpool have history with the Catalan giants having been forced into selling the likes of Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho in recent years.

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