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According to an exclusive report by The Telegraph, Ralph Hasenhuttl is Southampton’s top managerial target to replace Mark Hughes after the Welshman was sacked on Monday morning, but could his arrival at St Mary’s see the club move for Everton winger Ademola Lookman in January?

What’s the word, then?

Well, the south coast outfit announced on Monday that they had dismissed the 55-year-old as the club’s run without a Premier League win stretched to 10 matches following the 2-2 draw with Manchester United at St Mary’s on Saturday.

Saints currently lie in 18th position only having won one of their 14 top flight fixtures so far this term, and they once again surrendered a winning position as the Red Devils came from 2-0 down to take a point back to Old Trafford.

The Southampton hierarchy are now said to want the out-of-work Hasenhuttl who was fired by RB Leipzig at the end of the previous campaign, and he certainly knows Lookman well.

Could Saints sign the Everton man?

If Hasenhuttl did take the reins at St Mary’s it would certainly be no surprise to see him at least attempt to bring the 21-year-old Toffees star south in the New Year.

Following a difficult spell under Sam Allardyce at Goodison Park, the England U21 international enjoyed much more success during a loan with Leipzig in the second half of the 2017/18 season, scoring five goals and providing a further four assists in 11 appearances in all competitions under the Austrian coach.

It was reported that Lookman was keen on a permanent move after his loan came to an end and Hasenhuttl wanted him back in April before he left the German side, but after no move materialised and he has played just 234 minutes of first-team football under Marco Silva this term, a move away in January could appeal.

Southampton were linked with a move for the pacey attacker during the summer, and given their struggles in front of goal again this season it would be no surprise if – particularly if they do appoint the 51-year-old – they moved for him again.

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to a rather surprising transfer rumour, as reports claim they will try to re-sign Suso from AC Milan.

According to reports in Italy, Liverpool are plotting a sensational return to Anfield for Suso, who left the Reds in 2015.

The Spanish international made just 14 Premier League appearances on Merseyside, but has excelled since moving to Italy.

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After a brief but successful loan spell with Genoa, he has become one of AC Milan’s most important players, and the San Siro club are intent on keeping him around for a long time.

The report claims Liverpool are willing to offer €50m (around £45m) for the versatile winger however, which could be enough to tempt the resurgent Italian giants into selling.

Suso only scored once in all competitions during his time at Liverpool, but has 20 goals and 34 assists in over 100 appearances in Milan.

There was always the feeling that his talent was overlooked by Brendan Rodgers, but most fans don’t seem too convinced by a possible return.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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As reported by ‘The Non-League Football Paper’, Crystal Palace are interested in signing Leyton Orient striker Macauley Bonne along with a host of other Premier League clubs such as Leicester and Newcastle.

The 23-year-old has been in sensational form for the National League leaders, scoring 17 goals in 24 games this season as he has consistently found the back of the net in almost every game.

Bonne showed his loyalty to the O’s in the summer when some Football League clubs were courting him by signing a new two-year deal with the club, although interest from Premier League sides may result in a different outcome.

We asked Palace fans if they’d like to see the club make good on their reported interest in the forward by signing him in the January transfer window.

As shown by the results below, a decisive 63% of those who voted said that they do not want to see the Non-League marksman at Selhurst Park…

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Manchester United wasted no time in appointing a temporary successor to Jose Mourinho as the Portuguese was sacked last Tuesday and club legend Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer took the helm as caretaker manager. Former Chelsea and Inter boss Mourinho endured a turbulent relationship with club-record signing Paul Pogba in his two and a half year tenure at Old Trafford, but Solsjkaer is keen to whipe the Frenchman’s slate keen and allow him to reignite his Red Devils career – he would be wrong to do so.

On the chalkboard

Solsjkaer, dubbed the ‘Baby-faced Assassin’ in his playing days, has adopted a similarly passive approach to which his moniker suggests when it comes to how he will tackle the issue of the seemingly toxic dressing room which he has inherited – the 45-year-old has insisted that he will ignore any previous controversies, saying this:

“Whatever has happened has happened and everyone starts with a clean slate.”

One assumes that this would includes the misfit Pogba and, if the starting XI against Cardiff is anything to go by, it seems as if the Norwegian is staying true to his word – the World Cup winner started on the left of a midfield three after being benched for the two previous games which turned out to be Mourinho’s last.

No excuse

While singling out Pogba in particular may perhaps be a bit unfair, the 25-year-old has been far from the player he was expected to be after completing an £94.5m move from Juventus in 2016, where he had previously looked like one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world.

The fact that Solsjkaer is so keen to forget about anything that happened before his arrival shows how far United have fallen – such travesties that occurred under Mourinho and are now being swept under the carpet by the new honcho would never have been allowed under Sir Alex Ferguson.

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There is no doubting that Pogba has the ability to be world-class, but by waving away the past two years the midfielder will surely do it again should the relationship between he and his new manager disintegrate – he should be taught a lesson but it seems Solsjkaer has already made the first big mistake of his United career.

Southampton will be pleased with their performance despite losing 3-1 to reigning champions Manchester City at the weekend.

Defeating the Citizens was always going to be difficult, but there was to be no repeat of the 6-1 thrashing at the Etihad earlier in the season. The Saints had their moments against Pep Guardiola’s men but didn’t look as threatening with Danny Ings on the bench – rested with the fixture against Chelsea in mind. Ultimately, City ran out deserved winners at St. Marys, but Ralph Hassenhuttl will be confident of beating the drop if he can replicate this showing in the second half of the season.

The January transfer window is now open which will give the Austrian the first chance to tailor the squad to meet his needs. A lack of goals has been a real problem for the Saints in recent season, and a new forward should be targeted to add competition to Charlie Austin and Ings in the attack. Finding a regular goalscorer could be key to avoiding another relegation dogfight in May.

An ideal target for the former RB Leipzig boss would be Kasimpasa forward – Mbaye Diagne. Valued at just £2.25m by Transfermarkt, the former Juventus striker has finally found his feet in Turkey after spending short spells at clubs around the globe. After impressing during his debut campaign with the club, Diagne has been in extraordinary form in the current campaign, scoring goals for fun in the Turkish Super Lig.

The 27-year-old has been on fire, netting an incredible 20 league goals in just 17 appearances this season as well as registering three assists for his team-mates. Diagne is a quick, powerful forward with lethal finishing ability which makes him the perfect January target for the Saints. The Senegal international would thrive in a better quality squad and has all the attributes to be a success in the Premier League.

It won’t be long before other clubs come calling if his form continues so Southampton must be quick to snap him up.

Southampton fans, thoughts?

Since Lucas Perez joined West Ham United from Arsenal for a fee of just £4 million in the summer, the 30-year-old has failed to revive his stagnating career at the London Stadium.

Having gone from being a bit-part player to a loanee whilst with the Gunners, Perez is back to playing a squad rotation role with the Hammers. However, this weekend’s FA Cup third round clash with Birmingham City should inspire Manuel Pellegrini into a bold tactical change that could get the Spanish striker’s career back on track.

On the chalkboard

In his short time in east London so far, the Irons faithful have already seen some of the best and worst that Perez has to offer. His well-taken brace against Cardiff City was a high point. However, a particularly dismal showing against Southampton in the Premier League drew the ire of many supporters.

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In total, the 5’11” forward has made just three league starts for Pellegrini’s side this season, and thirteen total appearances in all competitions.

With Marko Arnautovic, Javier Hernandez and seemingly Andy Carroll now all ahead of him in the pecking order, it’s a big ask for Perez to secure regular starts in the Premier League. However, the forward is likely to get another chance to prove his quality when the Hammers face the Blues this weekend, and Pellegrini ought to alter his formation so as to include two strikers, in an attempt to get the best out of Perez.

Risks worth taking

The attributes of Arnautovic, alongside Perez up front, ought to combine in a complimentary fashion. The Austrian’s power and flair, coupled with Perez’s creativity and finishing ability, could see them forge a potent partnership.

A change of formation is always a gamble, but in this case it is one worth taking as getting Perez back to his best would make West Ham’s squad all the stronger. What’s more, starting Arnautovic is a risk given his recent fitness record, but if Pellegrini wants to give playing two up front a real chance, then he has to deploy this potentially perfect pair.

The FA Cup provides the perfect testing ground for this tactical experiment that could see the Hammers’ firepower boosted.

Newcastle fans have taken to Twitter to react after the Chronicle’s Lee Ryder revealed the latest in the club’s hunt for Paraguay and Atlanta playmaker Miguel Almiron.

The Magpies appeared to have agreed a fee in the region of £20m for the 24-year-old a few weeks ago, but their pursuit of a man who would smash the club’s transfer-record appears to have hit a stumbling block over the player’s wage demands.

Almiron is said to want £100k-a-week to team up with Rafa Benitez at St James Park, which has been described as an ‘astronomical’ amount by club chiefs.

With this kind of situation being the norm on Tyneside with Mike Ashley at the helm, fans of the struggling Premier League side are unsurprised that their beloved club is once again being tight with their cash, especially when a marquee signing is so close to completion.

Let’s take a look at how Newcastle fans reacted to the latest update…

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Aston Villa fans have been voting on a recent transfer rumour, and a resounding majority want Dean Smith to pursue Bulgarian international Kiril Despodov.

The Sunday Mirror, as picked up by HITC, had reported on January 6 that Villa were showing a strong interest in signing the 22-year-old in the mid-season market, but could face opposition from fellow Championship side Middlesbrough and Premier League strugglers Cardiff.

The word was that a deal could be struck at £5million, more than double his TransferMarkt valuation of £1.8m, and would see Smith gain a 19-cap international who has been scoring for fun with CSKA Sofia.

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So far this season, the 5 foot 8 forward has scored ten goals and created a further eleven for his teammates in all competitions, including scoring and assisting two of each in the Europa League during his side’s failed bid to progress through the qualifying rounds.

Despodov’s arrival at Villa Park could create problems for established figures like Ahmed El Mohamady, who would soon go from being a first-team regular to fighting for minutes with the new kid, but that has not stopped the Villa faithful from wanting the 22-year-old brought in.

In a recent Football FanCast poll, a clear majority voted in favour of the £5million purchase, with 87% saying yes and just 13% offering opposition.

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In opting not to make a single signing this past offseason, Tottenham claimed themselves a unique place in Premier League history by becoming the first league side to remain completely inactive in the summer transfer window since it was introduced in 2003. 

The dormant summer failed to snakebite Tottenham’s success in the first half of the season as they shot out to their best ever start in the league, racking up 45 points over the first 19 matches of the campaign.

Now over four months later, with little more than occasional rumblings coming out of North London as the January window has progressed into its final week, Spurs appear poised to exit a second consecutive transfer period without a fresh face joining the club. This time it’s hurting them.

In Thursday’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg at Chelsea, Spurs fell to the Blues without Harry Kane or Dele Alli in the squad, and left Stamford Bridge even further hindered by injuries to Moussa Sissoko and Ben Davies. Eric Dier and Lucas Moura have returned but do not yet appear fully fit, or at the very least match sharp.

With 16 league matches and FA Cup and European competition still ahead, Tottenham are stuck in the most vulnerable state they’ve been in all season. As they find themselves once again short on depth and at yet another midseason impasse, it beckons a familiar question: is the club’s approach to the transfer market truly aligned with the apparent desire for silverware and titles?

Tottenham’s modest approach to the transfer window is not a recent development. Over the past five seasons, while the other Big Six clubs have mounted net spending numbers well into nine figures, Spurs’  has totalled less than £40million according to Transfermarkt. But the complete stagnation of the two most recent windows is new territory, and it’s now clipping the club in the heels.

In October, Daniel Levy insisted that costs related to Tottenham’s new stadium had not had impacted Spurs’ flexibility in the summer transfer window. Yet as stadium delays continue without new additions to the squad, questions surrounding the club’s ability to spend are inevitably growing.

Whether Tottenham’s quiet transfer strategy is tied to a lack of desire, a tighter purse, or an inability to close out deals (the rest of the Big Six seem to have no trouble there), the club’s limited depth and lack of new blood is once again holding them back.

The highly-coveted Mauricio Pochettino will only stick around on such a tight purse so long, as will Kane, Alli Christian Eriksen and the rest of Spurs’ collection of stars. If Tottenham truly aim to contend for trophies with its current core, they must become competitive in the transfer market once again and begin making moves.

According to The Telegraph, Tottenham are ready to hijack Leicester’s loan deal for Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans. 

The 21-year-old was poised to be joining The Foxes this January, but Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has given the green light for his club to intercept this deal. However, the article does not state whether this is a loan or permanent deal.

The French club are willing to loan the Belgian, or sell him for £20m as well. However, it is imperative that Tottenham sign him permanently.

The Lilywhites have a long and rather embarrassing history of signing substandard players; there are currently some in the squad now, and there have been many in the past. Particularly though, the club have signed a raft of slow starters. There is absolutely no guarantee that Tielemans will acclimatise quickly, in which time, this would be a waste of a loan deal from Spurs.

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On the other hand, a permanent deal means the 21-year-old has time to settle into Tottenham and truly become the successor to Mousa Dembélé. Stylistically, Tielemans has many similarities to his compatriot, while also showing a greater attacking instinct. His powerful shot and ability to chip in with a goal could even make him a greater asset to Tottenham, particularly as central midfielders like Eric Dier, Harry Winks and Victor Wanyama are not famed for their goal-scoring prowess.

Now that Tottenham are out of the FA Cup and League Cup, they do not need quick fixes, particularly in the heart of midfield, they need long-term figures and Tielemans is that man.