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The Athletic’s Phil Hay has delivered his verdict on Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa and the side’s struggles this season in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The Whites fell to yet another disappointing defeat in the top-flight at the weekend, this time slipping to a 1-0 loss against Southampton, and Hay has now commented on some of the key issues facing the club.

He said: “The bench is incredibly young. With the exception of Forshaw, one Premier League start between them. I can understand why, despite the past three years, that still worries people. You’re looking for proven options and there are very few.

“We’ve asked him about squad depth or written about it so many times. He always has the same answer which is to say that it’s how he wants it and it’s how it’s going to be. It’s worked for him up until now but looking at that bench today, you just couldn’t see where the impact was going to come from. Fully fit there are decent options but it has to be said that this squad is rarely fully fit.

“I don’t think they’re confused. I think people can just see that it hasn’t worked in the same way so far. And because Leeds are so drilled and have such a defined way of playing, when it doesn’t work it’s going to cause concern. Because you know Bielsa will stick to his plan.”

Worrying times for Leeds

Just as much as the result, the performance is what really would have caused Leeds fans to worry about their team going forward over these next few weeks in the Premier League.

The Whites could only muster three shots on goal in the entire game against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, while they also made significantly less tackles and won fewer duels too – an all-round abject display.

As Hay touched upon, strength in depth has been a glaring problem at Elland Road under Bielsa, with the Leeds boss preferring a tight-knit squad with little room for manoeuvre if things go wrong.

The big problem for him, is that anything that could go wrong, has gone wrong for him in these early weeks of the Premier League campaign.

Whether it be injuries, illnesses or the dreaded consequences of the international break, Leeds have been without a number of key first-team players for a good period of time, including the likes of Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford.

By not really strengthening the squad of the summer, and instead choosing to stick to his guns, Bielsa decided to play with fire. And everything that has come since has hardly been surprising. It’s sure to worry Leeds fans.

Meanwhile, Leeds are eyeing this La Liga starlet…

Newcastle United are reportedly now ‘trying’ to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Out of favour

Ever since Aubameyang was stripped of the captaincy by Mikel Arteta last month, he has not featured at all for Arsenal in the Premier League.

In that time, the Gunners have picked up a few convincing wins and scored a lot of goals – 15 in five games to be exact (Transfermarkt) – suggesting that the Gabon international would not be missed all that much if he left and perhaps paving the way for an immediate exit.

He is now at the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), although has recently tested positive for COVID-19, and it seems he may not be a Gooner on his return if the latest reports are anything to go by.

The Latest: In contact

As per Italian football journalist Rudy Galetti, the St. James’ Park faithful are now ‘trying’ to sign Aubameyang, and are already ‘in contact’ with the Emirates Stadium faithful about a potential loan move.

The striker ‘would like’ a switch to the North East, and so this is a saga to keep an eye on throughout the window.

The Verdict: Avoid

There is no doubt that ‘Auba’ has been a top player throughout his career, scoring over 300 goals at both club and international level combined.

However, he has Whoscored).

Coupled up with his mammoth £250,000-per-week wages and less than spotless injury record, he is a player that the Tyneside outfit should be avoiding, as they look to build the project for the future.

In other news, find out which 154-goal title-winner NUFC are now eyeing here!

West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a big injury blow on their midfield star Alex Mowatt.

What’s the latest?

That is according to the latest reports via the West Brom website, stating that the 27-year-old midfielder has undergone surgery to address the groin injury sustained against Nottingham Forest last Monday.

The Englishman will now commence a period of rehabilitation and is expected to be ready to “conduct a full pre-season alongside his teammates” this summer.

Big blow for Bruce

Mowatt’s spell on the sidelines represents a big blow for Steve Bruce, with the 27-year-old having played in 13 of the 14 league games that Bruce has been in charge.

He was a regular under former manager Valerien Ismael too, starting 79% of the Baggies’ games in total this season.

Considering the lack of consistency this season at the Hawthorns this season, Mowatt has somewhat maintained the esteem that we saw in his performances for Barnsley the season prior.

Among the West Brom squad, Mowatt ranks first for key passes per match with 1.4 per game, and has earned a FotMob rating that makes him the best rated Baggies player this season with an overall rating of 7.37 – with the 27-year-old justifying former Albion player Jonathan Greening’s claim that he was “one of the best signings of the season.”

His average of 30 accurate passes per match earn him a rank of second place in the squad, just behind Matthew Clarke – who has 31.

Mowatt will be a big miss for the Baggies, though it will be interesting to see who comes in for the former Leeds United man with Jayson Molumby surely looking to prove a point in these remaining three games.

Molumby replaced Mowatt in the 54th minute against Nottingham Forest and will be looking to get a run of games under Steve Bruce in a bid to end the season strong, before of course returning to parent club Brighton and Hove Albion.

AND in other news: West Brom now plot bid for “superb” £2.3k-p/w sensation, he “gets you off your seat”

An exciting update has emerged on Newcastle United’s pursuit of Sevilla defender Diego Carlos…

What’s the talk?

According to The Telegraph, the centre-back is keen on a move to St. James’ Park and talks are ongoing between the two clubs over a deal for the Brazilian.

The report claims that the Magpies are hoping to wrap up negotiations for the £40.5m-rated titan by the end of this week as they attempt to bolster Eddie Howe’s squad.

Delight

The ex-Bournemouth boss will surely be elated with this news as it is an exciting update on the club’s efforts to land Carlos. Their belief that they can have the deal done within the next seven days indicates that talks are going well and they are confident that he will be a Newcastle player sooner rather than later.

Carlos could be an exceptional addition to the squad and Howe will be buzzing with the prospect of being able to select him in his starting XI for the rest of the Premier League season. This latest update suggests that the head coach will be able to work with him on Tyneside this term, but what sort of player could he be getting?

Spanish football analyst Domagoj Kostanjšak previously outlined the defender’s key attributes and hailed his quality in La Liga, saying:

“He’s a really physical player – he’s built like a tank and they don’t call him ‘The Beast’ for no reason. He’s really good in the air and he’s decent on the ball as well – you have to be under Julen Lopetegui.

“He’s been in my top three or four centre-backs in Spain this season, along with Raphael Varane and Inigo Martinez – he’s been a bit of a revelation. He’s playing the best football of his career and he immediately settled in. I would say there is a shade of Kalidou Koulibaly about him – not the same quality, of course, but I would compare him to him.”

In the Spanish top-flight this season, Carlos has averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.14 – winning 64% of his duels overall. Meanwhile, Federico Fernandez’s score of 6.77 is the highest of any Newcastle centre-back this term, suggesting that the Sevilla man would come in and be a major upgrade in that position.

Therefore, Howe will be delighted with the news that the Magpies are hopeful of securing a deal for the Brazilian by the end of this week as he could provide an extra level of quality to his Premier League side.

AND in other news, “They’d like to sign..”: Reporter delivers big NUFC transfer claim, it’ll excite Howe…

At just 20 years of age, Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer is already a well-known figure amongst the first team, having made his Premier League debut this campaign.

Moreover, a hat-trick against Barrow and a goal against Chelsea in the EFL Cup, as well as six goals in four EFL Trophy appearances for the U23s, has shown that the Englishman is on the verge of regular game time for the Villa first team.

There has been evidence of youngsters becoming first-team regulars for Villa, with 20-year-old midfielder Jacob Ramsey an excellent example.

To ensure that his progress isn’t stunted though, the West Midlands outfit sent the youngster on loan to Championship outfit Preston North End for the remainder of the season, and the striker has already made a big impression.

Within minutes of coming off of the bench on his debut for the Whites, Archer netted against one of Villa’s fierce rivals in West Bromwich Albion, securing a 2-0 win for his loan side.

Since then, the 20-year-old has started Ryan Lowe’s side’s following two league matches, blanking in a 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City and scoring the sole goal last time out away at Hull City.

Following the loanee’s debut, Lowe said: “He’ll just get better in terms of our style, he’s just got to adapt, it’s a little bit different to how they play at Villa.

“What we’ve got to do is make sure we get him in the right areas, in the first half we didn’t get him in the right areas, we didn’t slide many balls down the sides of them. Fantastic performance, really pleased for him, the more games he plays, the better he will be.”

Three games in and two goals to show for it, the opening weeks of Archer’s loan spell have gone exactly to plan, with the striker’s temporary move having the potential of being a masterstroke for both clubs.

For Preston, they are still well in with a shout of securing a finish in the playoff places, with Lowe’s side sat in 11th with 41 points, four off sixth-placed West Brom, all though the Baggies do have a game in hand.

With the Englishman’s goals, the Lancashire outfit could propel up the table and find themselves breathing down the necks of the second tier’s elite.

As for Villa, the hope will be that Steven Gerrard will be receiving a striker with much more experience of playing senior football at a high level who can then be integrated into his squad as and when he’s needed.

To think that the 20-year-old could be leading the line for Villa as early as next season seems a rather tall ask, however, Ollie Watkins’ future is uncertain, with Arsenal continuously linked with the 26-year-old whilst Danny Ings hasn’t had the most impressive start to his Villa tenure.

The main hope will be that Archer will return to the West Midlands as an improved player who can properly break through in Gerrard’s side next campaign, potentially saving the club millions on a Watkins replacement in the process.

In other news: Steven Gerrard drops exciting injury update that’ll have Villa fans buzzing

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Despite largely struggling to displace Mark Hughes’ preferred central-midfield duo of Mario Lemina and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu has become a mainstay in the position under current Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl.

The Spaniard once again started in the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday, and his performance perhaps wasn’t up to the standard that Saints fans have been used to from him previously.

The former Chelsea man is there to put pressure on the opposition and break up the play, as well as winning the ball back and generally protecting the backline – his role becomes even more important when the middle centre-back, Jack Stephens in recent weeks, brings the ball out of the defence.

Romeu certainly did his bit in terms of the former as he made two tackles and three interceptions, but his distribution from the 48 passes he had was a real negative – a success rate of less than 69% followed as the 27-year-old struggled when in possession.

Yes, the south coast outfit were largely under pressure against when of the better teams in the Premier League, but he should have been doing better.

Attentions turn to the huge clash against Fulham at St Mary’s on Wednesday when the hosts will be looking to pick up a crucial three points that could move them out of the relegation zone.

Hasenhuttl has preferred to stick with a five-at-the-back formation in recent times but the fact he switched to four at half-time against the Gunners proves that things may be changing, and sacrificing a centre-back could also lead to midfield changes.

The 51-year-old used the former system that some people would conceive as negative in the reverse against Cardiff City, using Romeu, James Ward-Prowse and Hojbjerg in the centre.

It wasn’t a tactic that worked and when you are trying to break down an opponent and a side that could come to St Mary’s for a draw, you don’t need those three players.

In fact, Ward-Prowse is showing the aggression in his game that is one of his Spanish teammate’s strengths, and he and Hojbjerg are good enough to do a job against Claudio Ranieri’s men alone, allowing Hasenhuttl to bring in another much-needed attacking player to the starting XI.

The sense of optimism surrounding Crystal Palace appears to be growing week by week under the tutelage of new manager Patrick Vieira.

Back-to-back victories over reigning Premier League champions Manchester City and Wolves have finally rewarded the Eagles for their positive performances, and the best could still be to come.

Vieira oversaw a successful squad rebuild during the summer, with several young, exciting arrivals replacing many members of a previously ageing side.

However, the Frenchman’s job is far from complete, and it seems as though he already has his sights firmly set on his next transfer target.

According to The Sun, Vieira is plotting a move for Fulham midfielder Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa over the coming months as he continues to impress during his season-long loan spell at Napoli.

The 25-year-old has made 14 appearances for Luciano Spalletti’s charges in all competitions, catching the eye with some magnificent displays as the Azzurri have charged to the top of the Serie A table.

But Anguissa’s form will have come as a surprise to some. He struggled to impose himself on a regular basis during his time with the Cottagers, although his former boss Scott Parker was particularly complimentary following a standout performance against Liverpool.

“I thought Frank was superb today,” said Parker back in 2019. “He’s had a difficult time, obviously, coming in on a big transfer fee. Probably getting up to speed with the league has been difficult at times.

“But you look at all the top teams, whether it’s Man United with Fred, or Liverpool with Fabinho early on in the season, they’re not playing too much because they’re trying to get up to the pace of the Premier League.

“Us as a football club need Frank straightaway really, but he just needed time to settle in, and certainly today, I thought he was first class. He did really well, and I’m really pleased for him,” Parker concluded.

However, unlike Fred and Fabinho, Anguissa was never able to show his true potential in west London, largely due to Fulham’s continuous battles at the bottom of the top-flight table.

Nevertheless, he did enough to impress Vieira, who reportedly tried to sign the Cameroon international in the previous window, only to be beaten to his signature by Napoli.

The Sun’s report states that Vieira has not given up hope of enticing the all-action dynamo to Selhurst Park, though, with Fulham believed to be holding out for a £20m fee next summer.

And his arrival at the capital club could spark the beginning of a formidable midfield duo.

Eberechi Eze is set to return from an Achilles injury after the international break after a fabulous maiden Premier League campaign, and the youngster’s guile and creativity alongside Anguissa’s power and tactical intelligence would be a mouth-watering prospect come 2022.

Palace’s new era under Vieira could hardly have gotten off to a better beginning, but Anguissa’s arrival would certainly have to potential to take the Eagles to new heights.

And, in other news…Nixon’s exciting claim on £13m-rated “game-changer” should leave Palace fans buzzing 

Wolves’ Premier League clash with Watford was likely called off because of new cases later during this week, according to The Athletic’s Tim Spiers.

The Lowdown: Wolves game postponed

There will be no Boxing Day game for Wanderers fans to look forward to this year, with their Premier League clash with Watford postponed.

That’s due to the Hornets’ squad having too many positive tests for Covid-19, meaning they cannot field a squad of 13 plus a goalkeeper, so the match will have to be rescheduled.

There isn’t a huge amount of transparency being provided by clubs currently, in terms of naming numbers of players affected, leading to plenty of frustration amongst fans, managers and clubs, with the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Sean Dyche calling for more openness from the Premier League.

The Latest: Spiers provides explanation

After one Wolves supporter correctly pointed out that new guidelines reducing the isolation period from ten to seven days means the eight-day gap from Watford’s last match should be sufficient, Spiers gave an 11-word answer regarding why the Boxing Day game still couldn’t go ahead:

“May have had more cases at the start of this week.”

The Verdict: Extra rest for Lage’s men

The Boxing Day game is one of the best fixtures of the season in English football, so it is a huge shame to see Wolves not in action.

That being said, the postponement could potentially keep legs fresh going into the trip to Arsenal next Tuesday lunchtime, giving them more chance of picking up a positive result at the Emirates.

Avoiding fatigue at a busy point in the season is rarely easy but Bruno Lage’s men may have been aided, in that respect – a blessing in disguise for the players, even despite the blow for the supporters.

In other news, some Wolves fans are fuming at a transfer update. Read more here.

Aston Villa are considering a cut-price move for Brentford midfielder Christian Eriksen, according to 90min.

The Lowdown: Eriksen’s record against Villa

The Danish playmaker made a return to English football in the New Year, signing for the Bees until the end of the season. He has helped Thomas Frank’s side to pull away from the relegation zone, with Brentford winning all four games in which Eriksen has played 90 minutes.

The 30-year-old is yet to face Steven Gerrard’s men since his return to the Premier League, with the attacking midfielder previously playing six games against Villa for Tottenham, resulting in five wins.

The Latest: Villa interest in Eriksen

According to 90min, Villa are among a number of clubs who are looking into offering Eriksen a contract.

Crystal Palace, Everton, Newcastle United and West Ham are also considering moves, while Spurs are another side credited with an interest.

Eriksen wants to remain in the Premier League and isn’t thought to be demanding a six-figure wage.

The Verdict: Shrewd move?

Gerrard doesn’t have an out-and-out attacking midfielder on the books at Villa Park at this moment in time, with both Philippe Coutinho and Emiliano Buendia labelled as wingers by Transfermarkt.

On that basis, bringing in Eriksen – who has been labelled a ‘superstar’ by Graeme Bailey – could be a shrewd move on a free transfer.

He has bundles of Premier League experience, contributing to 120 goals in 231 games, so that could be most useful as Gerrard looks to take Villa to the next level in his first full season in charge in the Midlands.

In other news: Sky Sports journalist reveals that Villa ‘officials’ have now moved for new target who ‘Gerrard wants’

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a major boost in their bid to bring Stefan De Vrij to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that, after being left out of Inter Milan’s starting XI in the 1-0 victory over Juventus on Sunday evening, the 30-year-old no longer appears to be an essential part of Simone Inzaghi’s first-team squad.

The report goes on to state this is something that could lead to the Nerazzurri deciding to cash in on the Netherlands international this summer, with an asking price of €25m (£21m) expected to be placed on the centre-back.

This is sure to come as a huge boost to Antonio Conte, who is reported to have requested the signing of the defender from Fabio Paratici earlier this season, with Tottenham believed to be willing to offer De Vrij a salary of €6.5m-per-year (£5.5m-per-year) – around £106k-per-week.

Dream Conte signing

Considering just how impressive De Vrij was for Conte during their shared time at the San Siro, it is not difficult to understand why the 52-year-old would be interested in a move for the defender this summer.

Indeed, over his 32 Serie A appearances last season, the £31.5m-rated centre-back was an influential part of Inter’s Scudetto-winning side, helping the Nerazzurri keep 11 clean sheets and scoring one goal, as well as making an average of 1.3 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 2.9 clearances, 57.4 passes and winning 3.3 duels – at a success rate of 60% – per game.

These returns saw the £116k-per-week player Mauricio dubbed a “monster” who “deserves to be at a big club” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Conte’s tenth-best performer in the top flight of Italian football.

As such, considering it has been reported that Paratici will be prioritising the signing of a left-sided centre-back in the summer transfer window – a position in which De Vrij has primarily featured for Inter for the past three and a half years – it is clear for all to see that the 30-year-old would be something of a dream signing for Paratici to get over the line ahead of the club’s 2022/23 campaign.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Alasdair Gold reveals fresh Spurs development, Antonio Conte will be fuming