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Steve Howey believes that Newcastle United’s Federico Fernandez and Fabian Schar are the best defensive pairing currently at Steve Bruce’s disposal.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, the former Toon and Manchester City centre-back listed the duo despite the “leadership qualities” of club captain Jamaal Lascelles.

“I mean, I like Lascelles. I think he’s a decent player,” he told Football FanCast.

“Again, it’s like all players, you kind of struggle with form and I think, obviously, with injuries as well with him – I totally understand that.

“I like Fernandez, Schar for me is a good player as well. Paul Dummett’s decent in there, Ciaran Clark’s done really well in there as well.

“It’s probably going to upset a few people but I’d probably say Fernandez and Schar are the strongest two.”

In four of the five fixtures which the North East club has played in the Premier League so far this season, Bruce has deployed the Toon in a four-back starting formation.

Only in the 3-1 victory over Burnley at St. James’ Park did Schar and Fernandez start alongside one another, with Lascelles starting alongside Fernandez in the other three matches with a four-back formation.

As mentioned by Howey, though, Bruce also has Paul Dummett and Ciaran Clark as options in the centre of defence but neither have made a Premier League appearance for the Toon this season.

During the summer transfer window, Newcastle shipped out another centre-back option in 29-year-old Florian Lejeune on a loan deal to Spanish side Deportivo Alaves.

Howey went on to explain: “I mean, I thought Lejeune was decent and obviously he left. I think the leadership qualities, though, that you do get off Lascelles helps the team, so, it is a difficult one.

“I think on a football-base, I would go with Schar and Fernandez but, obviously, you’re missing them leadership qualities that Lascelles brings.”

While Bruce does appear to have a number of options for his central defensive pairing, the fact that Fernandez and Lascelles have begun alongside one another in three of their five top-flight matches so far this season suggests the English manager knows his favoured option.

After being benched for Aston Villa’s clash against Southampton last time out, Trezeguet no doubt would have wondered if he was going to have to watch Bertrand Traore establish himself as the side’s starting right winger.But after Villa’s summer signing was forced off with an injury in the first-half, the Egyptian responded with the kind of performance from a substitute that would have left his manager grinning from ear to ear.And after watching him help rip Arsenal to shreds on Sunday night in the Premier League, Dean Smith will be waking up very satisfied at seeing Trezeguet repay his faith with a dynamic performance.

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Whilst he may not have gotten himself on the score-sheet thanks to Bukayo Saka being the one to turn the ball into his own net for Villa’s opening goal, the winger showcased everything that is good about him.

Hard work, relentless running, and that knack for getting himself on the end of crosses at the far post. Villa podcaster Ty Bracey described his workrate as “unreal” and that he was “defensively brilliant”, and it really showed in the stats.

As per Sofascore, he made a team-high of six tackles (double that of the man in second Matty Cash), and won nine of his 15 total duels too. In fact, nobody on the Villa team contested more duels than Trezeguet on the night.

But he wasn’t just helping to shackle Arsenal danger man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, instead, always making sure he was a threat on the break and when his team had possession, having two attempts on goal and providing two crosses too.

After capping off a fine performance last time against the Gunners with the winning goal at the back end of last season, Trezeguet stepped up to haunt Arsenal once more. The north Londoners weren’t ready again for the Egyptian king.

It’s hard to believe it’s been five years since James Tavernier first set foot inside the Ibrox Stadium. Three years since he first arrived at Glasgow Rangers he was handed the captaincy by Steven Gerrard, marking the occasion by scoring in the 2-0 win over FK Shkupi in the Europa League in 2018.

Gerrard knows a thing or two about what it takes to be a great captain, with his unwavering loyalty and ability to deliver when it mattered the most some of his most defining traits during his time at Liverpool.

Writing in The Daily Mail, as quoted by The Glasgow Times, Brian Laudrup compared the skipper to the manager. He said: “How would you sum up Steven Gerrard’s mentality as a player? Relentless seems like a good word.

“You want to see relentless? Look at James Tavernier in action this season. He is perpetual motion in games always running, always closing down space, always trying to ask questions of the opposition.

“When the camera pans to him in matches, you can also see Tavernier making demands of his teammates. Keep going. We need more. The same was coming from Gerrard, who didn’t even look happy when Rangers went 3-0 up after 19 minutes.”

In Tavernier, the Gers have the archetypal full-back of the modern game, a player known as much for his ability as his physicality. Former Ibrox boss Mark Warburton signed him from Wigan Athletic in 2015 for an undisclosed fee, believed to be somewhere in the region of £225k. He has seemed highly suited to Gerrard since he first took charge of Ibrox in terms of his character, personality, professionalism and flexibility.

As the old adage goes, attack is the best form of defence, as the 29-year-old is already the Scottish Premiership’s top scorer this term, having scored eight goals and supplied six assists in the league so far this season, but that’s not all he has to offer.

Gerrard has arguably transformed Rangers into a side that is known for its’ aggressive, attacking, possession-based brand of football. Tavernier’s role as an attacking right-back has seen him bomb up and down the wings with Borna Barisic on the opposite flank, pinging in crosses left and right for the likes of Alfredo Morelos, Jermain Defoe and more recently Kemar Roofe.

At the beginning of his career at the club, he was criticised for his poor defensive performances, but he has steadily improved over the years. Per SofaScore, he is averaging 2.1 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 clearances per game in the Premiership so far this season. By comparison, even Connor Goldson is only managing 1.1 tackles per league game, as per SofaScore.

Whilst the focus is very much on his “outrageous” attacking heroics at the moment, his contributions at the back should not be forgotten about.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must give Connor Goldson a bumper new deal in Nikola Katic’s absence…

Liverpool striker Divock Origi was handed a rare opportunity to start in the Reds’ game against Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday night and after producing a shocking display, it may well be time for Jurgen Klopp to sell the Belgian international.

The former Lille striker was making just his fifth Liverpool appearance of the season in the game against Atalanta but was replaced shortly after the hour-mark after producing another poor display.

As per SofaScore, the 25-year-old, who earns £49,500 per week at Anfield, earned a 6.3 rating for his performance, which was the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

During his time on the pitch, Origi would complete just nine of his 12 attempted passes, suggesting that he was never really able to have any impact on the game and it was no surprise that Klopp decided to substitute him when his side fell behind.

He also had just 22 touches of the ball during the game, suggesting that when the home side did have the ball, the striker wasn’t often involved in their build-up play.

Of the seven duels he was involved in, he was able to win just one which again suggests that the Atalanta players had the better of him throughout his time on the pitch.

Whilst he will always be fondly remembered by Liverpool fans for his role in their Champions League success in 2018/19, after scoring a brace in the comeback semi-final win against Barcelona, as well as a late goal in the 2-0 win against Spurs in the final, perhaps it is time Klopp cashed in on him.

Despite his goal in that final, he earned criticism from Andrea Pirlo for his attitude in that game, with the Italian suggesting on Sky Sports Italia:

“Divock Origi was awful. He came on in such an important game with that attitude.

“If he hadn’t scored, they should’ve given him a kicking.” (per Mirror)

Considering the form of Diogo Jota since signing from Wolves, it seems unlikely that Origi will be able to claim a starting spot in Klopp’s side any time soon, so perhaps the Reds would be best served by selling the £14.4 million-rated forward in January.

He certainly attracted interest from Premier League sides during the summer, so the Merseyside club would surely be able to receive a decent fee should those sides come knocking again in the winter transfer window.

Considering he has just one goal in all competitions this season, which came in the 7-2 League Cup win against Lincoln City, it would seem that the Belgian is no longer good enough to be part of this Liverpool squad.

AND, in other news… Liverpool made a big mistake in releasing “fantastic” Champions League regular

Everton must move to sign Tottenham Hotspur outcast Dele Alli in the January window after Jose Mourinho ruled out a mid-season exit for Harry Winks.

What’s the word?

Mourinho has vowed there is “no way” Winks will be leaving north London in the upcoming market, despite the midfielder often being overlooked and considering a temporary move away in order to secure his place in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Winks has not played a single minute of Premier League football since Spurs drew 3-3 with West Ham United in October, shortly after which he admitted to finding it “difficult” being a reserve in Mourinho’s plans.

The 24-year-old’s discomfort has failed to force Mourinho into a change of heart, with Winks omitted from five of Tottenham’s seven top-flight matchday squads since entering the action as a 73rd-minute substitute at home to the Hammers.

Everton had been touted as a potential destination for Winks were he to be granted a loan move in January, but that route has now been slammed shut with Mourinho adamant the 10-cap international is going nowhere anytime soon.

“In relation to Winks on loan in January, no way,” Mourinho said, via quotes by the Evening Standard, before adding: “He came to me. Not just him, many players come to me.

“I have my office on the first floor, but I also have a little space on the ground floor next to the players’ dressing room where I used to be before and after training sessions to make it easy for them.

“So, it is easy for them to come around the corner to speak to me, so yes, Winks came to speak to me.”

Forget Winks, go for Alli

Everton chiefs are not only thought to be monitoring Winks’ situation at Tottenham but also that of Alli, who has similarly found game time a struggle to secure this season with Mourinho awarding the 24-year-old just 71 minutes in the Premier League thus far.

Alli earned the most recent of his outings as an 85th-minute substitute at Crystal Palace on Sunday, having returned to the matchday squad for only the third time this term and first since Spurs thrashed Manchester United 6-1 in early October.

The Milton Keynes-born maestro has featured more frequently in the Europa League, where he has netted his only goals and assist to date, but may force a winter loan to better establish himself in Southgate’s thinking ahead of next summer’s postponed Euros.

It remains to be seen if Mourinho will grant Alli an exit having only namechecked Winks, but former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy would urge the Toffees to try their luck at signing the £46.8m-rated midfielder once lauded as a “freak of a talent”.

“If you throw Dele Alli at his best into the mix with Richarlison, James [Rodriguez] and [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin, that starts to sound very appealing,” he told talkSPORT.

“Obviously, Everton’s problems more recently have been defensive but let’s look at it from an attacking point of view, what does Dele bring you when he’s at it?

“Tremendous movement off the ball, good finisher, good awareness in the box, assists were high in his first few seasons for Tottenham. He’s not become a bad player overnight.”

Carlo Ancelotti is yet to settle on his third central midfielder to partner Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure with Andre Gomes, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Tom Davies and Fabian Delph all given minutes in the league. Alli, though, would bring a level of creativity above that of the aforementioned quartet, and round out what would be a potentially glorious front four.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti would tarnish his Everton record by luring one of his former stars to Goodison Park in January.

Ahead of what could be the most important transfer window of Neil Lennon’s career, a lot of rumours are circling around Celtic. The reigning Premiership champions have been linked to a number of exciting players who could help keep the Irishman in a job.

However, despite now becoming desperate as his role at the club hangs in the balance, Lennon and co can’t afford to sign any old player in order to fill gaps.

According to TEAMtalk, Celtic have been linked to out of favour Manchester United winger Jesse Lingard. The England international is reportedly looking for a move away from Old Trafford in January after struggling for game time this season. He is yet to play a Premier League match this campaign and has been limited to just two appearances in the EFL Cup (via Transfermarkt).

Whilst the attraction of a big international name might be tempting for Nick Hammond, the club must look at the bigger picture and snub their interest in Lingard.

Why Celtic must not sign Lingard

The 27-year-old’s current contract is set to run out next summer and United will not want to take a loss on him. The likelihood is that both the player and club will come to an agreement where he will be allowed to leave in January for a reduced fee in order to entice interested parties in.

But for the Hoops, this isn’t a deal they should be looking to sign off on. Despite his versatility to play on either wing as well as in the attacking midfield role, the man costing the Reds £90,000 per week has numbers that are no better than that of Lennon reject Tom Rogic.

Last season, Lingard tallied just four goals and two assists in 40 appearances across all competitions for Man United. Meanwhile, the Celtic midfielder bagged three goals and five assists in 17 less appearances.

Recruiting a player of a similar age and calibre would be pointless for Celtic who are pushing to better Rangers next season. Lingard is not a player the Hoops should be prioritising – they risk further stagnating their team if they don’t expand their horizons and target more creative players.

In other news, Eddie Howe has been tipped as Neil Lennon’s Celtic successor…

After seeing their momentum briefly halted by back-to-back defeats to Burnley and Newcastle, Crystal Palace appear to be back on track after beating West Bromwich Albion 5-1 at the Hawthorns.

The Eagles held Jose Mourinho’s high-flying Tottenham Hotspur to a draw at Selhurst Park, before repeating the same feat against West Ham United at the London Stadium last time out.

But, with an impending clash with league leaders Liverpool only a matter of hours away on Saturday, Roy Hodgson will be under no illusion of the scale of the task ahead.

Christian Benteke will serve his one-match ban today after he was sent off in Wednesday’s draw at West Ham, while Hodgson confirmed Wayne Hennessey, Nathan Ferguson, Martin Kelly, Mamadou Sakho and Connor Wickham remain unavailable for selection, although Gary Cahill, Nathaniel Clyne and Jeffrey Schlupp have worked their way back to fitness.

Cahill is one player in particular who should be in contention to start, having been rested for the midweek fixture. The veteran 35-year-old centre-back, who earns wages worth £65,000-per-week, missed the first four Premier League games of the season due to injury, but Hodgson has slowly started to bring him back into the fold, with the defender starting the past three games in a row.

But with the prospect of facing Jurgen Klopp’s formidable front three consisting of Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane – who have already scored 18 goals in the division so far this season – Cahill’s high levels of concentration are surely needed.

Palace’s left-sided defensive duo of Patrick van Aanholt and Scott Dann were stretched thin by West Ham with the pair failing to record a single tackle between them, and adding some stability to the backline could help to disrupt the supply chain for the front three.

Once hailed as an “exceptional” beast by the Palace boss, Cahill’s ability to read the game and block the ball – he averaged one block and 4.4 clearances per game in the Premier League last season – could prove vital to their chances of stopping Liverpool from dictating play and dominating possession.

Dropping Dann – who had a nightmare against the Hammers – and bringing the former Chelsea defender back into the starting line-up could be key to pulling off one of the upsets of the season at the weekend.

AND in other news, Cahill and Clyne start, Batshuayi comes in for Benteke: Crystal Palace Predicted XI vs Liverpool…

Alfredo Morelos scored his first goal in the Scottish Premiership since September to ensure Glasgow Rangers retained their 16-point lead at the top of the table with a 2-0 win away at St. Mirren going into Saturday’s Old Firm game.

Steven Gerrard’s side got off to a sluggish start before Kemar Roofe received a stroke of luck as his deflected effort sailed past helpless Mirren goalkeeper Jak Alnwick.

And Morelos capitalised on a mistake from Joe Shaughnessy to score his third league goal of the season in the first half to cap off what was a comfortable win in the end.

However, it wasn’t all rosy for Rangers, as Jim Goodwin’s side came close to scoring on several occasions, with Jonathan Obika having the better of the chances.

But the Gers’ defence prevailed, due in part to a defensive shift from Connor Goldson, who looked every inch the seasoned veteran as he kept Obika in his back pocket for most of the game.

While Morelos may have ended his goal drought stretching back to the 3-3 draw with Benfica in the Europa League, it was the performance of Goldson at the back that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

The 28-year-old has been in imperious form since the start of the season, as he scored a double against Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season, and had an absolutely monstrous game defensively against the Saints. The same can’t be said for Filip Helander but more on him later.

As per SofaScore, he was given a high grade of 7.6 out of ten for his efforts – he won six out of his seven duels overall (85%), made two tackles, blocked two shots, made a staggering seven clearances – more than any other player on the pitch including Morelos – and wasn’t dribbled past at all.

Comfortable at the back and confident in possession, Goldson looked great with the ball at his feet, provided 19 out of 24 passes (79%), only lost possession five times and produced three accurate long balls from nine attempts.

GlasgowLive awarded him with a similar rating of 8/10 and claimed he ‘kept Jon Obika under wraps on a comfortable afternoon’ while Rangers News seemed to agree, insisting ‘St. Mirren looked to pressure the Rangers star and stop him spraying passes forward but Goldson never let it affect his game as he enjoyed a successful night.’

With a clash with Celtic on the horizon, the timing couldn’t be better for Gerrard, who will be well aware his side will have to be at their very best if they are to beat the Bhoys for the second time this season.

Morelos got himself on the scoresheet with the weekend’s Old Firm fixture no doubt playing on his mind but the centre-back deserves immense credit for his defensive shift to ensure the Gers kept a fourth consecutive clean sheet in a row.

AND in other news, Steven Gerrard must drop Glasgow Rangers winger Ryan Kent after rapid decline in form…

When it comes to the January transfer window, Wolves’ plans solely revolve around finding a new striker.

After Raul Jimenez fractured his skull against Arsenal, they have been relentlessly searching for someone to fill his void.

Fabio Silva has scored just once since the Mexican was ruled out for an unspecified amount of time and as a result, the club recalled Patrick Cutrone from his unsuccessful loan stint with Fiorentina.

The Italian has failed to score all season so it’s rather questionable that Nuno Santo believes him best qualified to replace Jimenez.

That being said, they are surely no better targeting Stephane Bahoken. The Cameroon international has been linked with a switch to Wolves in the last few weeks but hasn’t particularly caught the eye since.

Judging by the acquisitions of Romain Saiss and Rayan Ait-Nouri from Bahoken’s club Angers, he’d be a good signing, but his performance off the bench on Saturday was nothing short of a horror show.

His team were defeated 3-0 by Monaco and the striker came on and played the final 34 minutes of the encounter. Unfortunately, he failed to inspire a fightback.

The 28-year-old cut a frustrated figure as he completed just 57% of his passes – four out of seven. Coincidentally that was a worse tally than Cutrone managed when he came off the bench for Wolves last Friday in the FA Cup.

He only managed three passes but was successful with all of them at least. From just ten touches of the ball, Bahoken lost it on four occasions and only managed a solitary shot towards goal.

There was a distinct lack of threat from the experienced forward who didn’t do anything positive of note. Cutrone did at least try one dribble when he came on for Wolves but it would be wrong to say he didn’t struggle too.

It’s unsurprising, though, when you consider it was his first appearance of the season for the Old Gold.

That being said, he is still probably a better option than Wolves’ current target. Cutrone at least knows the demands of Nuno and how the team plays.

They must forget about Bahoken for the time being. This small cameo was a disaster.

AND in other news, Wolves can find their next Boly with swoop for £1.5m “weapon”, he’s a “great talker”…

Leeds United were very disappointing in their last Premier League match in which they lost 1-0 to Brighton and Noel Whelan has picked out one player in particular for criticism.

What Whelan had to say

Speaking to Football Insider about Pascal Struijk, Whelan said: “There were too many six out of 10s all over the field, in my opinion. When you’re looking for 10 out of 10s, there’s none there, they were all average performances. Yes, they upped their performances a little bit in the second half but there wasn’t enough quality.

“I think Struijk looks out of place, playing Kalvin’s role. I’ve got to say I don’t think there’s anyone that can play Kalvin’s role in the team which is worrying for me. When he’s out we don’t seem to have that flow in our game going forward and the discipline in the defensive role. There weren’t too many players out there who covered themselves in glory.”

Struijk was not at his best

The defensive midfielder picked up a match rating of 6.9 for his performance (SofaScore). He lost four aerial duels and two ground duels, whilst he also gave possession away 13 times.

Filling in for Kalvin Phillips is very hard to do as the Englishman has had a great season so far. Defensively he has managed 2.9 tackles and 1.7 interceptions per game (WhoScored) and having this type of player in the starting eleven is crucial as he helps break up opposition attacks.

If Struijk does not put in the performances needed when covering for Phillips, Marcelo Bielsa might have to look for another option either in the squad or in the transfer window.

In other news, find out whose return from injury has been deemed ‘massive’ here!