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According to recent reports, West Ham United are one of a number of clubs tracking Sparta Prague centre-forward, Adam Hlozek, ahead of a potential summer transfer.

The report by Tuttosport (via Sport Witness) claims that a number of clubs, such as Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Juventus, AC Milan and West Ham, are considering a summer move for the 18-year-old Hlozek, who has recently recovered from a long spell on the sidelines due to injury.

However, despite missing a large portion of the season, the Czech Republic international has still impressed over his 10 appearances in all competitions for Sparta Prague, scoring four goals and providing six assists.

In total, despite his tender age, the forward already has 72 first-team appearances under his belt for the Fortuna Liga side, scoring a total of 17 goals and providing 18 assists along the way in his senior career.

And, according to the reports, Hlozek would have already made a move to a top European side if it were not for his injury, with it previously being reported that Sparta Prague would demand at least €15 million (£13 million) to part with the striker.

Transfer Tavern Take

With David Moyes in rather desperate need of a new striker at West Ham this summer, having failed to replace the outgoing Sebastien Haller in the January transfer window, it would certainly appear as if Hlozek is an exciting candidate for an addition to the Scot’s attacking arsenal.

However, with a great number of top-level clubs also reported to be keeping an eye on the 18-year-old, a deal for the Sparta Prague starlet is not likely to be an easy one to get over the line for the West Ham board in the summer market.

In other news: This pundit dropped a claim on GSB’s £82k-p/w West Ham summer target – find out more here!

Leicester City appear to have progressed in their reported pursuit of Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard, with reports suggesting that the Foxes could be close to sealing a deal for the striker.

Having been linked with the Frenchman ever since current manager Brendan Rodgers swapped Scotland for the East Midlands, it is a deal that the Foxes must get completed this summer.

The 22-year-old would arrive at the King Power Stadium with considerable pedigree. Initially joining the Hoops on loan from Paris Saint Germain, he suitably impressed for the club to make the deal permanent.

Before his recent resignation, former Hoops boss Neil Lennon labelled Edouard as “superb” and being “back to his best” – and it’s hard to argue with that.

In his time at Celtic Park so far, he has scored 81 goals and provided 35 assists in just 160 appearances. His goals-per-game ratio is currently 0.53, which is actually better than current Foxes hero Jamie Vardy’s ratio whilst with the East Midlands club.

On the topic of the Leicester forward, the arrival of Edouard would signal excellent future planning from the hierarchy at the King Power Stadium.

Whilst Vardy has been brilliant in his time with Leicester, there will come a point in time where he is no longer able to churn out the types of performances to which supporters have become accustomed. After all, the former Fleetwood Town man is 34 years of age.

Edouard then would be able to pick up the goalscoring mantle as Vardy approaches the closing act of his career.

As with strikers, though, it can always be a gamble in bringing them to a particular club.

However, having masterminded the signing of the Frenchman and worked with a player he has hailed as a “top talent” during his time at Celtic, Rodgers will know exactly what he offers and how he would fit into his squad.

Rated at just £13.5m, a fee which would surely be very manageable for a club the size of Leicester, it seems an absolute no-brainer for the Foxes to complete a deal for Edouard, as they seem close to doing.

AND in other news, take a look at our predicted Leicester City XI to face Brighton on Sunday…

Manchester United’s attacking injury woes are set to continue this weekend, with as many as three attacking stars set to be ruled out for their FA Cup quarter-final meeting with Leicester City.

Ahead of the match, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed that Marcus Rashford is set to miss the game having been withdrawn at half-time against AC Milan on Thursday, whilst Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani are doubts having been suffering with their own respective injury problems.

Should none of the trio be fit enough for the trip to the east Midlands, it leaves the Red Devils extremely thin on the ground when it comes to attacking options.

It would likely lead Solskjaer to deploying the likes of Mason Greenwood, Daniel James and Amad Diallo in an attacking trio in what would be a huge downgrade for the Red Devils.

Of course, the three are talented young players but they have not managed to get anywhere near the output of Rashford, Cavani or Martial throughout the 2020/21 campaign. Between them this season, the three have managed to score 32 goals, whilst notching 17 assists in all competitions, a huge contribution.

Meanwhile, James, Greenwood and Diallo can only boast ten goals and five assists combined. As a matter of fact, the injured trio’s impact this season is even more telling that, without their goals, United would be 16 points worse off in the Premier League table. This would leave the Red Devils on 41 points and firmly marooned in mid-table.

It goes without saying that United’s attacking threat will be hugely reduced at the King Power Stadium and that is certainly not what the Red Devils need as they travel to a Leicester side who have only conceded one goal in the FA Cup so far this season.

AND in more news, take a look at Paul Pogba’s inspirational cameo in the UEFA Europa League win against AC Milan…

Some Arsenal fans were left blasting the display of Cedric against his old club Southampton in their side’s 1-0 away loss in the FA Cup at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Although there were many poor performances for Mikel Arteta’s team, Cedric, in particular, flattered to deceive some members of the Emirates Stadium faithful.

The 29-year-old lost out on four of his duels and also failed to block any shots or make any tackles against the Saints (Sofascore).

He also lost possession of the ball no fewer than 23 times in the game, which was the most out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch, earning him a quite measly 6.5 overall rating on Sofascore, the joint-second worst out of any Gunners player.

Arsenal fan reaction to Cedric display

These Gooners blasted his performance on Twitter, with one AFC supporter even going as far to claim that the Portugal international is ‘awful’:

“I would really like to see Willian or Pepe deliver a statement performance in a game like this, but both remain short of form and confidence. Cedric was very poor playing on the opposite side. Nketiah had to do more with the chances he had #SOUARS”

Credit: @guyberes

“A terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad match. Willian should never see the pitch again. Any Sunday League player could put in better crosses than Cedric. An absolutely woeful, sloppy, flaccid performance. #DoBetter #SOUARS #FACup”

Credit: @Benzaiohio

“Holding’s awful, Cedric’s awful, Xhaka’s awful, Willian’s awful, Pepe’s awful, Elneny’s awful #SOUARS”

Credit: @Covill44

“Willian, Cedric and Pepe should all be sold. No intent, no idea, simply wasting time by strolling on the pitch. #SOUARS #FACup #Arsenal”

Credit: @Sandesh_Ulloor

“Can we get rid of the useless Willian, dancing aimlessly Pepe and clueless Cedric already. #SOUARS”

Credit: @mwaura24

“Get Cedric off the pitch, I feel sick watching him #SOUARS”

Credit: @AinsSzn

In other news, find out who else was slammed for his display here!

Leeds United face their second test in the space of 96 hours on Tuesday night and they could use all the squad depth they can get, but Diego Llorente is still a doubt to make a return following his injury.

The latest on Llorente

The Spaniard has been trying to recover from a hamstring injury, but Sky Sports believe that although the defender is closing in on a return, Tuesday’s game comes too soon.

This will be frustrating for Bielsa and Leeds

The defender, who is valued at £18m on Transfermarkt, will be wanting to make his return as soon as possible, but you cannot afford to rush a hamstring injury. He has been on the sidelines for a while now and has only made two appearances in the division since joining because of his struggles.

Described as “fantastic”and as a “top player” in the past, supporters of the club should be excited to hear that he will be available in the near future, however to have such a player unavailable will be frustrating, especially when the club are trying to halt a two-game losing skid.

The good thing for Marcelo Bielsa is that he can use the same pairing that he used against Wolves with Luke Cooper and Pascal Struijk available to play for him at the back, but the Argentinian will definitely be wanting his depth back in the centre of defence as soon as possible with the games coming thick and fast.

In other news, a former Premier League star has tipped one player to be playing in the Euro’s!

Fans of Crystal Palace have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which featured footage of Eberechi Eze’s remarkable solo goal against Sheffield United last weekend.

Since arriving at Palace from Queens Park Rangers in what was a £16.02 million deal back in August, Eze has highly impressed over his 15 Premier League appearances for Roy Hodgson’s side, scoring two goals and providing two assists, as well as averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.84 – ranking him as the club’s fourth-best performer in the top flight.

The latest of the 22-year-old’s goals came in the club’s recent 2-0 victory against Sheff United, where the midfielder picked up the ball inside his own half, before winding his way through a couple of United challenges and finishing beautifully from 18 yards out.

And, after the Crystal Palace official account relayed this footage on Twitter, fans of the club flocked to have their say on the goal, with many of them heaping praise on the England U21 international.

So, what exactly did these Crystal Palace fans have to say in reaction to the footage of Eberechi Eze’s goal?

“What did we do to deserve him?”

@RoccoSeipel

“Made it look so Eze.”

@DerekPallardy

“Love the steward just checking there won’t be a pitch invasion after the goal”

@EastonAdam

“The way this kid goes past players is unbelievable. Great talent”

@James_h1892

“GOOOO GOOOOO GOOOOO”

@cpfcames

“It’s Ray Lewington shouting go for me”

@conread_

In other Palace news, this bizarre statistic has left fans of the club unhappy, find out more here!

Manchester City winger Jayden Braaf is continuing to attract interest in the January transfer window and looks set to leave the Citizens, which is a huge blow for Pep Guardiola’s side, as he could’ve followed in the footsteps of Phil Foden.

According to Kicker (via Sport Witness), Bayer Leverkusen are the latest side to register an interest in the 18-year-old, who is also reportedly being targeted by Borussia Dortmund.

It was also reported earlier in the season that the winger was likely to leave the Citizens in January, due to a lack of first-team opportunities under Guardiola.

Since signing for City’s academy from PSV Eindhoven youth in 2018, the winger has established himself as a regular in City’s U23 side, having made 24 appearances, in which he has contributed 12 goals.

The Amsterdam-born winger showed a glimpse of his ability by scoring a superb goal against Rochdale in the EFL trophy in September 2019 but despite his impressive form with the academy sides, he has failed to make a single appearance for City’s senior side in his time with the club.

Unfortunately for City, academy players have struggled to force their way into the first-team in recent years, with only the extremely talented Phil Foden managing to really establish himself as a regular first-team player with the Citizens having come through the academy, whereas the likes of Jadon Sancho and Brahim Diaz have departed after a lack of first-team opportunities.

It certainly seems as if Braaf has the talent to play for Manchester City in the future but as exit rumours continue to grow, it seems more likely that he will become another Sancho, rather than another Foden, who has now contributed 23 goals and 17 assists for the City first-team after starring with the academy sides.

When he was just 17, Braaf won the U’23 Player of the Season award with the Citizens and was invited to train with the first-team following project restart last season, with Guardiola suggesting:

“He’s a young player and I think everyone has to be patient with him.

“He has incredible skills but at the same time there are another six or seven players playing there, so we’ll have to see how his evolution is.”

However, it seems that Braaf is not willing to wait for his chance in the first-team and considering he has made just two appearances for the U’23s this season, despite being available, a January exit certainly looks to be on the cards.

And, in other news… “95% he will end up at Man City”: Exclusive – Pundit makes bold claim on £108m-rated MCFC target

Leeds United suffered a tough defeat on the road at the weekend as Chelsea hit them for three to keep up their promising title chase. Despite an early opener from Patrick Bamford, the Blues proved too clinical in their attack and made easy work of flipping the match on its head.

Despite the disappointment, Marcelo Bielsa will be rallying his team to brush off the result and look ahead to their next fixture. The Whites will play host to West Ham on Friday and will be hoping that they can capitalise on their home advantage.

However, they will be without centre-back Robin Koch, who suffered a dead leg injury during the Chelsea clash. The summer signing was replaced by fellow new recruit Diego Llorente before ten minutes had even been played at Stamford Bridge.

The latter finally took the pitch in his new colours following his £22,000 per week signing during the summer. He has missed out on all of the Premier League action so far through injury of his own.

What does this mean for Llorente?

Whilst it has certainly been frustrating for fans to wait so long to see the Spaniard play, he has a golden opportunity to prove himself on Friday.

Koch has been ever-present in his debut season for Leeds, already establishing himself as a favourite of Bielsa’s. The German has received praise in abundance, recently being lauded for his “magnificent” performance against Aston Villa. He has struck up a strong partnership with captain Liam Cooper and this could be the set-up the manager opts for for the remainder of the season.

Llorente missing out was through no fault of his own, but he has slipped down the pecking order whilst Koch and Cooper have played well together. Bielsa will not want to upset the apple cart by making any unnecessary chances, but the 27-year-old must view the West Ham fixture as his chance to get his foot in the door.

If Llorente doesn’t perform well at Elland Road, he could jeopardise his chances of starting any further Premier League matches this season.

In other news, Leeds United made an error in not signing Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez…

Carlo Ancelotti would tarnish his Everton record by completing a deal to sign Sami Khedira in January after the Juventus outcast confirmed that talks had taken place.

What’s the word?

While speaking with Bild, Khedira has confirmed he’s spoken with Ancelotti over a potential move to Goodison Park in the mid-season market as the German continues his search for a route out of Turin.

The 33-year-old has been excluded from Andrea Pirlo’s plans at the Allianz Arena this term, while knee surgery and a tear in the abductor muscle saw Khedira make his most recent Serie A appearance in November 2019.

Reports have suggested Khedira has accepted the fact that his future no longer resides with Juventus, who would like to offload his gargantuan £185,000-per-week contract that runs until the summer.

Khedira has no intentions of waiting until his deal lapses before joining a new side, feeling there is still enough strength and energy in his elderly body to bring something to the pitch again.

“We spoke on the phone and wrote. You know my situation,” Khedira said of talks with Ancelotti. “I’m open to a new sporting challenge.

“I have had a difficult time and want to play football again, fighting for three points week after week. That’s what I long for.

“At the moment, I still have so much strength and energy, so I am not dealing with summer 2021 but with December and January. A change is realistic, my full focus is on that.”

Ancelotti to tarnish transfer record

Ancelotti persisting with a move to sign Khedira, who Shaka Hislop said of last year his “legs are gone”, would see the Italian tarnish his record in charge of Everton just months after setting the tone with the captures of James Rodriguez, Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

It appeared a sizable coup for Everton to sign Rodriguez from Real Madrid after winning two Champions League titles and two La Liga honours, plus a Bundesliga crown while on loan with Bayern Munich. Something the Blues would only have hoped to build on in future windows.

Khedira would not be the next step in the right direction, though, but rather the opposite, with Ancelotti showing himself to be living firmly in the past by signing another player he worked with years ago.

Everton’s need for a player like Khedira, who turns 34 in April, has also been questioned by former England international Rob Lee, who exclusively told Football FanCast that Ancelotti ought to look elsewhere to solve his real need in the Blues squad.

“Are you buying him for his name and what he’s done in the past? Do they need him? I’m not sure they do. I’m not sure he’s the sort of player they need,” Lee claimed.

“It’s strength in depth what they need. Is he going to come in and be a bit-part player? Probably not. Just hope they are not going to sign him just for the sake of his name.”

AND in other news, a “hungry” Everton maestro is fast becoming Carlo Ancelotti’s main man.

Leeds United won 3-0 against Aston Villa on Friday night and there’s only one man that is likely to get the plaudits for that victory.

Indeed, Patrick Bamford’s hat-trick has been the talk of the town in the wake of United’s third Premier League win of the season, and we can absolutely understand why as the Grantham-born forward was on fire against the Villans.

However, what shouldn’t be forgotten is that the game could have easily swung the other way.

Indeed, in the first 20 minutes, Villa were the better side and Leeds looked as though they were in trouble with Pascal Struijk on the pitch.

The 21-year-old looked like a walking red card, picking up his first yellow within 10 minutes before making two more dangerous challenges that could have seen him issued his marching orders.

After 20 minutes, Marcelo Bielsa had seen enough and he made a change that may have won the game for Leeds.

He brought Shackleton on for Struijk, negating the risk of the red card and allowing Leeds to once again play with the intensity and aggression in the midfield that they’re renowned for.

If Struijk had been sent off and Leeds had been forced to play over an hour with 10-men, it’s hard to envisage United running away with the game in the same manner in the second half.

It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to us that Bielsa has the footballing mind to make these type of game-winning changes early on, he has been lauded as the best coach in the world in the past.

Hooking a 21-year-old in their first start in a new position after just 20 minutes may look harsh, but Bielsa needed to do it and he didn’t beat around the bush in pursuit of a victory. That’s to be expected from a man described by his own players as “relentless” and “passionate”, winning is the most important thing in football and Bielsa certainly knows how to do it.