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Leeds United forward Patrick Bamford has a chance of returning from injury against Tottenham, Adam Pope reports.

The Lowdown: Bizarre injury

Bamford is yet to score in the Premier League this season in 10 appearances, missing games against Chelsea and Brighton earlier in the campaign.

The 29-year-old was also missing in the Whites’ dramatic 4-3 win over Bournemouth last weekend, with Jesse Marsch sharing why the forward was absent.

The Leeds head coach revealed that Bamford injured his hip after taking a penalty at Thorp Arch, but it looks as if he might return against Spurs on Saturday.

The Latest: Pope’s post

Pope took to Twitter following Leeds’ 1-0 EFL Cup defeat to Wolves on Wednesday after hearing from assistant manager Rene Maric.

He said that ‘Bamford has a chance to play on Saturday at Spurs’ in the club’s final game before the World Cup.

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The Verdict: Welcome news

Bamford, who Jurgen Klopp called ‘exceptional’ in 2021, may not be firing on all cylinders this year, however, knowing he could play a part on the weekend is still welcome news.

He still seems to be the club’s first-choice striker when fit, so hopefully, he can recover and make the matchday squad in north London.

Doing so will give Marsch another option in the final third, potentially from the bench, as Leeds aim to make it three games unbeaten in the league prior to the break in domestic action.

Mark Goldbridge has shown his support for Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes, following criticism of his performance against Fulham.

The Lowdown: Huge win for United

Erik ten Hag’s side picked up a massive 2-1 victory at Craven Cottage on Sunday in what was their final game before the World Cup break.

Christian Eriksen opened the scoring but former United winger Dan James equalised, before Alejandro Garnacho scored a dramatic late winner for the visitors.

It was a win which could prove pivotal in the top-four battle come May, in what looks set to be a tight scrap with several Premier League rivals.

The Latest: Goldbridge shows support for Bruno

Taking to Twitter after the match, Goldbridge showed his support for Fernandes after some criticism of the 28-year-old’s display.

The United Stand host said:

“Bruno criticism is really unfair today. Thought he was brilliant as the number 10 and his game fell off a cliff when he was unfairly put out to the right wing.”

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The Verdict: Overly harsh criticism

While Bruno can frustrate at times, ceding possession 17 times on Sunday and arguably trying to find killer passes too often, the positives comfortably outweigh the negatives.

That was the case against Fulham, with the Portuguese only averaging a 68% pass completion rate but also registering an assist for Eriksen’s goal and creating three of United’s six big chances on the day.

Ultimately, the Red Devils are more threatening when Fernandes is on the pitch, and while some criticism is warranted at times, he is someone who makes things happen and often proves to be a difference-maker in the final third.

Newcastle United are reportedly eyeing up a potential move for Lyon central midfielder Houssem Aouar in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Out of contract

Aouar is a player who is out of contract in the summer, meaning that he can leave Lyon as a free agent, or join another club for a cut-price in January.

He can also sign a pre-contract agreement with a non-French club in the winter window, and given that he did not make the France squad for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the 24-year-old may be keen on moving on in order to put pressure on future squads for major tournaments.

The Latest: Newcastle interest

As per La Repubblica (via Sport Witness), AC Milan ‘really like’ the player but he has ‘no shortage of offers’ from England – where Newcastle are named as an interested party.

The North East club are looking to sign him in January for a cut-price, but could also look to a pre-contract agreement if a winter move proves too difficult.

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The Verdict: Get it done

Aouar may have fallen off a little bit from the player that shone in the UEFA Champions League a few years ago, where Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola dubbed him ‘incredible’ after a 2-2 draw against his side.

In April 2020, Aouar was also labelled an ‘absolutely incredible talent’ by football presenter and pundit Jack Collins, who claimed that he ‘oozes class’.

Over seven seasons at Lyon, he has scored an impressive 41 goals and made a further 35 assists from the middle of the park (very well’ on the pitch.

If Aouar can re-find his form from a couple of years ago, he could be a shrew signing for Eddie Howe’s side, especially if he can rebuild his relationship with Bruno in midfield.

Bailey Wright may be one of just two Sunderland players at the World Cup but the experienced defender could soon be surplus to requirements at the Stadium of Light.

The 30-year-old joins Costa Rica’s Jewison Bennette in Qatar as the Sunderland players on show but is yet to play a single minute for Australia in their two group games so far.

The former Preston North End man played a huge part in the Black Cats finally achieving promotion back to the Championship last season but has been a peripheral figure for much of the Championship campaign thus far, and has struggled on his rare appearances in the first team.

Wright has started just four games for Tony Mowbray’s side in the second tier this term, all of which came in the four games leading up to the World Cup break.

His performances have seen him average a disappointing 6.45 rating from WhoScored, which ranks him as the 15th-best performer at the Stadium of Light so far this campaign.

This emphasises how much he has struggled and with the likes of Ajibola Alese, Luke O’Nien, Dennis Cirkin and Danny Batth all outperforming him according to WhoScored, he arguably needs dropping from the starting side.

Dominic Ballard is also set to return from injury after the World Cup, which could push Wright even further down the pecking order in Mowbray’s thinking, so it might be best just to sell the centre-back in January, rather than potentially losing him for nothing when his contract expires in 2024.

Since joining on a permanent deal in 2020, the Australia international has gone on to make 102 appearances for the Black Cats, scoring four goals and assisting one, but his lack of game time so far this campaign suggests that his Sunderland career could soon be over.

After some strong performances two years ago, Kevin Phillips likened the defender to Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk, saying:

“Sometimes the manager can only say so much and then you want of your senior experience players to pipe up and put a few people in their place and give encouragement and be a leader. He seems like that.

“The stats just show what an important player he is. He’s almost to Sunderland what van Dijk is to Liverpool at the moment with those incredible stats.

“It’s important he stays fit throughout the season.”

However, much like the struggling Dutch defender, his form has declined this season and with Ballard returning from injury, Mowbray might be best moving Wright on in the January window.

Fabrizio Romano has dropped an update on West Ham United striker Gianluca Scamacca after recent transfer rumours linking him with a move away from the London Stadium. 

The Lowdown: Scamacca linked with West Ham exit

Earlier this week, it was reported that Serie A leaders Napoli are monitoring the 23-year-old in regards to a potential future transfer, even though the Italy striker only joined the Hammers from Sassuolo during the summer in a £35.5m deal.

With rumours emerging that he’s on Napoli’s radar, it seems that Romano has shared an update on the matter.

The Latest: Romano’s update on Scamacca

In a recent column for Caught Offside, Romano gave his response to the recent rumours linking Scamacca with Napoli.

The journalist said: “I was surprised to see some speculation from Italy about Napoli being in for Gianluca Scamacca, who only joined West Ham in the summer.

“My understanding is that Scamacca is happy in London, he always wanted to try this Premier League experience and he’s determined to fight for his place at West Ham. Napoli will not change anything in January, so these rumours are not true as of today.”

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The Verdict: Good news for West Ham

Despite Scamacca only scoring six goals across his 21 appearances for David Moyes’ side this season, it should be a relief to everyone at the London Stadium that Romano has poured cold water on the recent links to Napoli

Across his 13 Premier League appearances, the 23-year-old has the third-highest rate of shots at goal per 90 minutes at the club (2.98) which showcases how much of a goal threat the £90k-per-week centre-forward can offer.

Given how young he still is and the short amount of time that he has been at West Ham, it would be a bad move by the club if were looking to get rid of him any time soon, especially considering the significant amount of money for which he was signed.

However, Moyes and Irons supporters will undoubtedly be hoping that the 23-year-old can start scoring on a more regular basis once domestic football resumes later this month, especially given their lowly position in the Premier League table.

Arsenal have had a lot to worry about at the World Cup in Qatar…

Back in England, the Gunners top the Premier League standings after an emphatic first half to the 2022/23 campaign and as a result, several of their star players were called up to their respective national teams for the biggest tournament they’ll ever play in.

What’s the latest?

The likes of Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, Matt Turner and Bukayo Saka have all started games but not everything has gone to plan. In Brazil’s recent outing, Gabriel Jesus was struck with an injury that has ended his time in the Middle East.

However, after this devastating blow, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has been handed some encouraging news – according to injury expert Ben Dinnery, Takehiro Tomiyasu should be close to full fitness after his recent setback.

“He returned from his own problematic hamstring injury – he is yet to start a game. In his first appearance of the World Cup, he tweaked that hamstring,” he told Premier FPL Injuries YouTube channel.

“We’re hoping – fingers crossed – that he managed to come through last night’s games without any kind of reaction or setback.

“If he can get some good minutes under his belt and come through that unscathed, then that will be a positive for Mikel Arteta for when the domestic season resumes again, because we know he came into that tournament, again, after another heavily disrupted spell on the sidelines.”

Arteta delight

Indeed, the versatile Japan star has struggled for regular minutes this term, featuring in just 770 minutes of action across 17 appearances in the Premier League and Europa League, of which just eight have been starts, via Transfermarkt.

It’s not the first time that the right-back has suffered from injuries as he also missed time during his maiden Gunners season with a calf problem.

However, whenever he has been fit and available, he’s been one of the standout and most consistent performers under the Spaniard; particularly impressing with his ability to play on the right, in the middle and on the left of the backline.

When compared to his positional peers across Europe over the last year, Tomiyasu ranks inside the top 3% for aerial duels won (2.05), the top 10% for interceptions (1.63) and the top 17% for progressive passes (3.98), pass completion (84%) and clearances (2.65) per 90, via FBref.

That level of consistency saw him rank as Arteta’s fifth-best performer in the Premier League last campaign, whilst only two other defenders have a better average WhoScored rating in the Europa League this term.

Once described as a “warrior” by former teammate Mitchell Dijks, this update on Tomiyasu will surely leave Arteta delighted after the worrying news to Jesus. Perhaps the Gunners will be able to return to domestic action with a near fully-fit squad, barring the likely absence of the Brazilian frontman.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Partey: Edu eyes Arsenal raid for the World Cup’s £15m “special talent”…

Manchester City are reportedly keen on signing Borussia Dortmund sensation Jude Bellingham and the England international could be Pep Guardiola’s next version of Yaya Toure.

City are one of the favourites to sign the 19-year-old but will face stiff competition from Liverpool and Real Madrid, with an exit from Dortmund looking likely in 2023.

Since joining the Bundesliga side from Birmingham City in 2020, the young midfielder has gone on to make 112 appearances for BVB, contributing an impressive 19 goals and 21 assists in that time.

The 2022/23 campaign has already been his best from a goalscoring perspective, as he has nine goals to his name in all competitions, including four in the Champions League group stages, so it is easy to see why he is attracting so much interest from Europe’s elite.

Real Madrid defender David Alaba was full of praise for Bellingham earlier this year in an interview with Welt (via Daily Mail).

He said: “As for Bellingham as a player, I can say that he is one of the greatest midfield talents in the world.

“And that at a young age! At just 19, he leads the team, doesn’t hide and already decides games with his style of play.”

Should he arrive at the Etihad next year, he could follow in the footsteps of City legend Yaya Toure, as while the Citizens boast a number of world-class midfielders, none possess the Ivorian’s ability to be incredibly effective in both boxes, in the same way that Bellingham has shown in recent performances with Dortmund and England.

Toure wrote about the English wonderkid in a recent piece for The Athletic and praised him for his ability in all areas of the pitch.

He commented: “Bellingham has been the star of all of England’s matches for me. Sometimes he’s scoring, sometimes he’s passing, and the timing of his box-to-box runs are perfect.

“He’s in good shape and came into this tournament with the right confidence from Borussia Dortmund. You can tell he sees himself as a potential top player in the world, and wants to show it at the World Cup.”

WhoScored suggests that Bellingham excels at passing, dribbling, through balls and tackling, all of which Toure mastered during his spell at the Etihad, contributing 79 goals and 49 assists in 316 total appearances for the Citizens.

Signing the Dortmund star could set City’s midfield up for easily the next decade and there seems no reason why someone of Bellingham’s talent couldn’t emulate Toure under Guardiola, should he make the move to the Etihad next year.

After securing a 1-0 win against Preston North End in his first game as QPR manager, it is starting to become clear which players will become crucial under Neil Critchley.

The Hoops disregarded the form table to earn three points against Ryan Lowe’s side on Saturday, with Jimmy Dunne’s goal enough to seal the win.

The former Blackpool boss made just two changes in the win, with Rob Dickie coming on to help secure the three points, while Olamide Shodipo came on for the final stages to give Chris Willock a rest.

It was a rare appearance for the 25-year-old, who can no longer be considered the exciting youngster that he once was viewed as at Loftus Road.

Shodipo has now made nine appearances in the Championship this season, with just two starts, averaging a shocking 6.16 rating from WhoScored which ranks him as the 21st-best performer in the Hoops’ squad.

Had Ilias Chair not been featuring for Morocco at the World Cup in Qatar at the same time as the game, then it seems likely that Shodipo would have been much further down the pecking order in Critchley’s thinking, so when he returns from international duty, the Irishman may continue to struggle for game time.

The former Oxford United loanee has now made 45 appearances for the Hoops, in which he has failed to score a single goal and has just one assist, which suggests that he is far from good enough to be a regular at Loftus Road.

Although he did catch the eye in his loan spell with Oxford, contributing 12 goals and three assists in League One, the £4.8k-per-week earner has failed to bring that form with him to the Championship.

Shodipo’s contract at QPR is set to expire at the end of the season, so Critchley must now look to sell him in January to try and get a fee for the winger, who has progressed from the academy to the first team, without ever really looking like he could be a regular.

Football is a ruthless business and Critchley needs better players if he wants to push QPR up the table in the second half of the season, so Shodipo has to go.

Fulham are reportedly ‘interested’ in signing Abdoulaye Doucoure from Everton in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Surplus to requirements

With the arrivals of Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gueye and James Garner in the summer, Doucoure has seemingly been pushed down the pecking order at Goodison Park, with the central midfielder making a mere eight appearances so far this season, and not starting a game in the Premier League since August (Transfermarkt).

He has struggled with a hamstring injury in this campaign, and has also had spells out on the sidelines in his previous two seasons on Merseyside (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, with his contract up next summer, Frank Lampard’s side may look to cash in on Doucoure in January.

The Latest: Fulham interest

Taking to Twitter, Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas has revealed that Fulham are ‘interested’ in signing Doucoure in January, as manager Marco Silva worked with him at Watford:

“#Fulhamfc are interested in a January move for #Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure. Worked under Marco Silva already at Watford and without a Premier League start since August.”

The Verdict: Get rid

With just a few months left on his contract, January presents the optimal time for the Toffees to get rid of Doucoure.

On £120,000-per-week, he is the joint-highest earner in the squad, and given how little game time he has had, this is simply too much to be paying a bit-part player, who is also susceptible to injuries.

The Blues could use the money saved on his wages (approximately £3m from now until the end of the season) to reinvest in another signing, or keep it in the bank for the summer.

Nonetheless, now is the time for all parties to part ways.

Everton will be aiming to bring in a couple of new signings to bolster their squad during the January transfer window, with Frank Lampard surely looking to add another attacker or two.

The club have recently been recently linked with Manchester United winger Anthony Elanga and Fabrizio Romano tweeted on December 31st regarding the player: “Anthony Elanga discussed between Lampard and the board as option for January window.”

With that in mind, he could well be the club’s first signing this month.

By luring him to Goodison Park, Lampard could sign his very own version of Jarrod Bowen, with the two similar in playing styles according to FBref’s player comparison model.

The West Ham United winger has been somewhat of a revelation since arriving in the Premier League from Championship side Hull in 2020, scoring 23 goals and registering 22 assists. Those numbers are something Lampard is dying out for.

Bowen is the seventh-most similar to Elanga according to FBref and the two have registered similar statistics when it comes to a number of metrics.

Indeed, they have a similar influence in the final third with regards to shots per 90 (2.13 to 1.68), shot-creating actions per match (3.60 to 3.14), and goal-creating actions per game (both 0.24).

Furthermore, they are both incredibly effective ball carriers with the United prodigy amassing 2.5 dribbles a game in European football this term compared to Bowen’s 1.4 a match on the continental stage in 2021/22.

Both players clearly excel in creating chances every match and this could only lead to Everton scoring a great deal more. The Toffees have netted just 13 times in the league this term and they could be dragged into a relegation battle once again if this isn’t improved during the second half of the season.

What should captivate Everton supporters further is that the 20-year-old has already been praised by Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Following his first call-up to the Sweden squad earlier this year, the mercurial forward praised the United winger, saying: “A great talent, we are proud and happy that he comes from Sweden. That he can represent Sweden now makes it even bigger.

“He [Elanga] has all the future ahead of him, and if he continues just as he has done, it looks positive. It’s just fighting, never being content, striving for more. How much he can develop depends on him.”

Praise from someone like Ibrahimovic doesn’t come often, and Lampard could certainly utilise the youngster’s talents in a stagnating Everton attack.

Bowen made an immediate impact after being thrust into regular first-team action upon his move to West Ham and with Elanga’s talent, there is no doubt he can’t repeat the trick and shine on Merseyside.