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Former Premier League star Carlton Palmer has warned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer that he must challenge for the league title this season or risk losing his job at Manchester United.

The Norwegian has been criticised throughout the last few days due to United’s generally poor form.

Indeed, United beat West Ham United 2-1 as many punters cashed in on a Unibet promo code but they were then beaten 1-0 by the same opposition in the EFL Cup, before their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa at Old Trafford.

In midweek, United did beat Villarreal 2-1 but they needed an injury time winner from Cristiano Ronaldo to give the hosts all three points after a disjointed performance.

In the Premier League, United are fourth, one point behind leaders Liverpool, and Palmer insists that the Norwegian needs to challenge for silverware if he is to have any chance of being in charge next season.

Indeed, he does not believe that it is right to speak about Solskjaer being sacked at this stage, with the club still in with a real shout at the top end of the table, but he does think the pressure is on, particularly after a summer of recruitment that saw Cristiano Ronaldo, Jadon Sancho, and Raphael Varane all end up at Old Trafford.

He said: “They are up there. It’s crazy to be talking about him going at this stage of the season. I think he’s definitely under pressure this season, for sure, because he’s had the money, he’s brought in the players he’s wanted, they’ve got to be challenging for the league title.

“If they are not challenging for the league title, I know they finished second last season, but they can’t afford to be that far behind the league leaders this season. If they’re finishing 10 or 12 points behind the league leaders, I don’t see Solskjaer being manager of Manchester United next season. He has definitely got to be challenging, this is his breakout season.

“He’s got to win something or he’s got to be challenging for the title, he’s got to be close, so he’s under pressure and so he should be this season. He’s revamped the football club, he’s been backed by the board, he’s been backed by the hierarchy in terms of the players he wants.

“But he needs also to be given time and let’s see where he is in the next couple of months.”

The previous summer transfer window saw Wolves bring in a number of players to Molineux, but one area of the pitch they didn’t strengthen in was midfield.

With Wolves only having a total of four options for the defensive and central-midfield roles in their squad, it appears as though they are now looking to strengthen in that department in the upcoming January transfer window.

What’s the news?

It has been reported by Italian media outlet Corriere dello Sport (via Birmingham Live) that Wolves are planning to make a move to sign Juventus and former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey in January.

Since making the move from Arsenal to the Serie A side, Ramsey, who is currently valued at £12.6m according to Transfermarkt, has made 69 appearances for Juventus across all competitions, scoring six goals and providing six assists along the way.

Fixing a hole

Prior to joining Juventus, Ramsey, who was once described as being “world-class” by Wales teammate Joe Allen, made a total of 371 appearances for Arsenal, bagging 65 goals and creating 65 assists in the process.

If Wolves are interested in signing Ramsey in January, they should definitely do so if a move would be financially viable to them.

The Welshman has a lot of Premier League experience under his belt with 262 appearances, which could be very beneficial, especially for some of Wolves’ younger players like Rayan Ait-Nouri, Ki-Jana Hoever and Morgan Gibbs-White.

Ramsey moving to Molineux in January would also be very exciting for the fans. After all, he’s a regular winner of trophies, reigning supreme in domestic cups with Arsenal and winning Serie A with Juve.

Most importantly, however, he’d offer the club more depth in midfield. Wolves failed to sign Renato Sanches during the summer but the 68-cap Wales international is an eye-catching alternative.

With Ruben Neves’ future still up in the air and Joao Moutinho aged 35, there are going to be some glaring gaps in the middle of the park to fill.

After all, other options in Leander Dendoncker and Romain Saiss have been preferred in defence while Gibbs-White is out on loan.

Consequently, the addition of Ramsey would be an important one, gifting Bruno Lage an experienced and talented midfield option.

In other news: Wolves may already have their long-term Moutinho heir in “outstanding” gem – opinion

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have been left buzzing as some footage emerged of Kemar Roofe bagging for Jamaica against Honduras in the early hours of Thursday morning.

As shared by the official Twitter page of the Ibrox faithful, the 28-year-old scored his first goal for Jamaica, as he tapped home from a driven cross to give his team the lead in the first half.

Having been born in England, Roofe has switched his allegiances to Jamaica in order to get more opportunities to play, and it certainly looks to have been the right decision as he scored what he will hope will be the first of many at international level.

With Premier League stars such as Leon Bailey and Michail Antonio who also play for the national team, there is no doubt that the striker will enjoy his time playing for his country.

Rangers fans on Roofe goal

These supporters of the Light Blues buzzed as the footage was shared on Twitter, with one Bear even going as far as to claim that it was a ‘brilliant’ finish:

“Brilliant, instinctive finish”

Credit: @GF46949252

“Things you love to see 1st thing on a Thursday morning”

Credit: @S0N0FWILLIAM

“Yaaaas THE man!”

Credit: @MrGaryValentine

“Lovely stuff”

Credit: @dave_n84

“Sharp”

Credit: @Wullie93

“Things you like to see in the morning.”

Credit: @Christophski85

In other news, find out what other international footage has Gers gushing here!

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ manager Bruno Lage is not planning on recalling Morgan Gibbs-White in January.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by Yorkshire Live, the 45-year-old Wolves boss revealed that, despite the midfielder’s highly impressive performances on loan at Sheffield United, in addition to the fact that the Premier League side hold a recall option in the 21-year-old’s temporary contract at Bramall Lane, he is not currently considering bringing the former England U21 international back to Molineux.

Speaking about the situation of Gibbs-White, Lage said: “When Hwang came, we took the decision to let Morgan go and play. We are very happy with him and what he is doing.”

According to the report, the Portuguese manager went on to add that it is unlikely the midfielder will be recalled in January, and the only way his stance would change is if summer signing Hwang Hee-chan suffers a loss of form or picks up a serious injury.

Big mistake

While Lage’s comments regarding Gibbs-White’s playing time do hold some weight, there would very much appear to be room for a player of the 21-year-old’s skill set. That’s considering the fact that the 45-year-old boss deployed a three-man midfield against Aston Villa on Saturday and the fact that it’s rather difficult to describe any of Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves or Leander Dendoncker as attack-minded midfielders.

Indeed, over his seven Championship appearances for Sheffield United so far this season, the £6.3m-rated man has already proven his impressive ability going forwards, scoring three goals, registering two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates.

These returns have seen the player Chris Basham dubbed a “powerful” midfielder earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.21, ranking him as Slavisa Jokanovic’s best performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, with goals from the middle of the park having been severely lacking for Wolves so far this season, with Neves’ deflected free-kick against Villa being the only goal scored by a midfielder this season, Lage’s apparent refusal to consider recalling Morgan Gibbs-White this winter looks as if it could be a rather big mistake.

Furthermore, considering the outrage of the Molineux faithful when Gibbs-White left the club this summer, the manager’s stance on the midfielder’s loan is not likely to go down well with fans of the club.

In other news: £9.9m out of pocket: Wolves had a mare on £63k-p/w flop who has “gone into oblivion”

Leeds Live’s Beren Cross has delivered his take on Marcelo Bielsa’s situation at Leeds United amid a tough start to the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The Whites have endured a nightmare couple of months in the top-flight, picking up just the one win all season, and losing last time out to Southampton in a drab showing at St Mary’s.

Now, Cross has admitted that while he believes Bielsa will still remain in charge, things could sway if the situation falls by the way-side and becomes “pretty desperate”.

He said: “Great question. Honestly, I don’t know. I doubt even Bielsa knows how he would react to that situation and, of course, he never wants to predict the future anyway. My gut says he would want to get Leeds out of the mess he would, predictably, blame himself for.

“If Leeds wanted him to go and they were in the bottom three, I wonder what clauses there are in place to protect him or whether he would just step aside if he was not wanted. It would have to be pretty desperate and irreconcilable for Leeds to want to do that, mid-season though. In short, yes I think he would still be in charge.”

Can Bielsa turn things around?

Whatever happens, Bielsa’s place in Leeds’ history is secured. The Argentine was the man to bring the Whites back to the riches of the Premier League, and has done so by embracing the entire club, culture and fan-base too.

If anyone deserves that extra chance and time to turn things around at Elland Road, it’s him. Bielsa has more than enough credit in the bank to be told by the owners that they have their full faith in him to steer the ship into safer waters, while the Leeds fan-base will back him to the hilt too.

The amount of injuries that the side have faced, and who those injuries have afflicted too, has been a major contributing factor as to why their start to their season back in the top-flight has gone so miserably.

Bielsa will be hoping that the returns to fitness of key players like Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha and Patrick Bamford, among others, is the key to a change in fortune.

But, Cross’ admission that if things get worse the Whites could look to act on Bielsa, is sure to worry fans.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay has dropped a worrying claim on Rodrigo…

New Crystal Palace manager Patrick Vieira made an impressive start to his squad overhaul in the summer, but there’s still work to be done in the upcoming transfer windows.

One reported target who the capital club were unable to bring to Selhurst Park a few months ago was Sassuolo winger Jeremie Boga.

The highly-rated 24-year-old was linked with a move to Palace throughout the summer, and the Italian outfit’s chief executive Giovanni Carnevali admitted he was one of three stars to ask for a move away from the Mapei Stadium.

“Just like (Manuel) Locatelli and (Dominico) Berardi, Boga also asked us to try other experiences,” Carnevali revealed. “We listened to him and the agents – but no concrete offers have arrived.”

With the Ivory Coast international still believed to be keen on a fresh challenge, Palace may be tempted to revive their interest in Boga over the winter and make a formal offer for his services.

Vieira could now really do with a player of this calibre.

The former Chelsea youngster made a solid contribution during his maiden campaign in Serie A after arriving back in July 2018 before backing it up with 11 goals and four assists in his second season.

And although the tricky forward’s productivity dropped slightly throughout 2020/21, his overall game was more impressive than the numbers suggest.

Boga completed 3.2 dribbles per game last season, far more than any of his Sassuolo teammates achieved and also successfully dribbled past 91 opponents, the third-highest number in the Italian top division.

He’s backed that up with three assists in his first seven top-flight appearances this term, indicating the level of talent that Palace would be getting if they rekindle their interest in the player.

With Wilfried Zaha continuously linked with a move away from his boyhood club, Boga could take over the reins on the left-wing, and form a formidable duo with fellow wideman Michael Olise.

Olise has lit up south London since arriving from Reading, and the 19-year-old is expected to play a pivotal part in Palace’s exciting future, and the arrival of the £18m-rated Boga could help to elevate the teenagers game to another level.

And, in other news…“People are watching him”: Sky Sports journo drops claim, Palace fans will be worried 

Liverpool fans were delighted to see Harvey Elliott in individual gym training as he recovers from the injury he suffered against Leeds United.

Elliott, who was signed from Fulham in 2019, has developed into a hugely promising talent for the Reds, appearing in four Premier League matches at the start of this campaign after impressing last season on loan at Blackburn Rovers – he scored seven and provided 11 assists in 41 Championship matches (Transfermarkt).

Unfortunately, his progress was stunted against Leeds as he suffered a serious injury (Sky Sports). There were bound to be worries the youngster may not feature again this campaign, but a video has emerged from his Instagram (via Anfield Watch) showing the 18-year-old back in the gym. It seems that he could be back a lot earlier than expected going by the footage.

The video has of course been doing the rounds on Twitter ahead of Wednesday’s huge clash against Atletico Madrid, and it attracted plenty of attention from the supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on what one fan called an ‘amazing’ update…

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Elliott footage below

“Amazing”

Credit: @appersons

“Get him fit still has a big part to play”

Credit: @Da_Official_Kid

“Insane! Keep up the good work! Love his mentality!”

Credit: @feepee84

“Wow… This is a beautiful sight I thought it will be longer than this Hopefully 1 more month max”

Credit: @iamktj25

“Legit can’t wait to have Harvey Elliot back One of the most exciting young players I’ve seen come through since”

Credit: @PeterLFC94

“Great to see this! Well done Harvey can’t wait to see you back on the pitch”

Credit: @nikki43621557

In other news, Liverpool fans rage at this James Pearce tweet.

Everton have been going through a rough patch with injuries recently, with star striker Dominic Calvert Lewin side-lined since the beginning of the season.

Rafa Benitez’s side currently sit 11th in the Premier League after a bad run of form winning just four games so far this season.

There is no doubt that the large list of injuries has had an adverse effect on the Toffees, but Rafa Benitez will be thrilled that they seem to be on the other side of their crisis, with Richarlison and Yerry Mina already back in training ahead of the return of the Premier League.

Everton have been suffering defensive frustrations, leaking cheap goals, and at the other end of the pitch, not scoring enough to edge the three points needed, both Richarlison and Mina will be the perfect solutions for those issues going forward, but face huge competition in a number of difficult fixtures before Christmas.

The Blues will face Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Man City in the next few weeks and will be hoping to pick up points to tackle their tight top half of the table challenge.

One highly anticipated, long-awaited return that Rafa will be hoping to revive Everton’s season by unleashing £40.5m rated, Dominic Calvert Lewin.

The Everton frontman is renowned for his passion and performances in big games, of which Everton have plenty to come, there is no doubt the return of the forward would be a massive boost for the side, reigniting the confident attacking threat and dominance that the side are crying out for.

The 24-year-old striker was only tipped to be out of action for 2 or 3 weeks when he sustained an injury in August and has missed ten games so far following a setback in his rehabilitation.

Calvert Lewin spoke on Sky Sport’s Monday Night Football recently and discussed his injury woes.

He said: “It’s been so frustrating to start the season with three goals in three games and be sidelined.

“The hardest part is the mental part, to see the lads play and not have an impact. I love scoring goals and that’s what keeps me going in my rehab. It’s difficult.

“Being a player I want to play every game. To watch it, it’s difficult when results don’t go your way and you can’t help.”

However, the target man who was once dubbed a “nightmare” by teammate Richarlison, is supposed to be back in action over the next few weeks and even made comments over the weekend suggesting he could possibly be back for the upcoming Merseyside derby on the 1st of December, which will be a huge relief to Everton fans.

Rafa Benitez will be looking forward to implementing his best players back into his side and hopefully establishing a good run of form to climb the table with the Toffees before the turn of the year. The player who bagged 21 times last term will undoubtedly help revive their fortunes.

In other news: Everton given a boost with return of Yerry Mina

Upon his £4.6m arrival at Celtic this summer, fans of the Bhoys would be forgiven if they were not fully aware of exactly who Kyogo Furuhashi was, let alone knowing whether or not the 26-year-old was a good signing for the Hoops.

However, having previously managed in the J League, one man who certainly was aware of the ability the centre-forward possesses was Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou, who stated upon the Japan international’s signing: “He is a player of real quality and clearly someone I know well. I think he will add something special to our squad and I am sure the way he plays will excite our supporters.”

And, the 56-year-old’s prediction that Kyogo would excite fans has already proven to be something of an understatement, as the striker has turned in exceptional display after exceptional display over his short time in Glasgow.

Indeed, over his 10 Scottish Premiership appearances this season, the £1.8m-rated man has already scored seven goals, registered two assists and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.1 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns have seen the man who John Hartson dubbed a “menace” average a SofaScore match rating of 7.16, ranking him as Postecoglou’s eighth-best performer in the Scottish top flight.

However, it has not only been in the league in which Kyogo has been in devastating form, with the striker scoring a further three goals in Europa League qualifying, bagging two goals and one assist in the Europa League proper and one goal in the Scottish League Cup – taking his total haul so far this season to 13 goals and three assists in just 18 games played.

This means that, over his 18 fixtures in a Celtic shirt, the Japanese forward has registered an outrageous 0.89 goal contributions per game – something that would very much lend weight to the argument that the 26-year-old could be Henrik Larsson’s heir apparent at Parkhead.

Indeed, between the years of 2000-2004, the Celtic legend registered an astonishing 1.30 goal contributions per game, something that has written the man who scored 242 goals for the Bhoys into the club’s history books.

So, while Kyogo is still a little way short of Larsson’s record at present, the season is still extremely young, and, as the striker becomes more settled under Ange Postecoglou, we would not bet against him going on to match, or perhaps even better, the now-50-year-old’s returns come the end of the season.

In other news: Journalist drops exciting claim on “dream” Celtic transfer that’ll have fans buzzing

Crystal Palace will be looking to extend their six-game unbeaten run when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley in the Premier League this afternoon.

The Eagles secured back-to-back victories over reigning champions Manchester City and Wolves prior to the international break, filling them with confidence coming into this one. However, Patrick Vieira’s charges will have to contend without the presence of key midfielder James McArthur after he picked up a hamstring injury, ruling him out for a couple of weeks.

There is some positive team news to report, though. Joachim Andersen has recovered in time to take his usual place in the matchday squad, while we could also see a much-anticipated return for Eberechi Eze.

The 23-year-old, who has been sidelined with an Achilles injury since May, has played two games for Palace’s under-23s in recent weeks, and Vieira confirmed that he is set to take a place on the first team bench over the weekend.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects the Frenchman to line up his team against Burnley, with two changes from the side which started last time out…

In goal, 34-year-old Vicente Guaita will be looking for his third consecutive clean sheet after successfully keeping City and Wolves at bay.

Ahead of the Spanish shot-stopper will be a familiar back four made up of Tyrick Mitchell, Marc Guehi, Andersen and Joel Ward, with the defensive unit going from strength to strength in recent weeks.

Vieira will be forced into making one change in the midfield engine room, though. McArthur’s injury will allow Luke Milivojevic to come back into the starting XI, partnering Conor Gallagher and Cheikhou Kouyate.

The Palace boss may also be tempted to change things up in attack. The pace and mobility of Wilfried Zaha, Odsonne Edouard and Michael Olise should see them form a dangerous forward line, which would see the £8.1m-rated Christian Benteke to the bench after two goalless appearances.

In other news… Huge blow: Palace suffer injury setback ahead of Burnley clash, Vieira will be gutted