Transfer news expert Fabrizio Romano has made it clear that there is plenty of interest in Fulham midfielder Joao Palhinha ahead of January, though Arsenal are not particularly confident about it being an easy deal to get done.

The Gunners seem to be one of the clubs alongside Bayern Munich who are showing an interest in signing Palhinha after his superb form at Craven Cottage, but Romano has played down any suggestion that this will be straightforward for interested clubs.

Palhinha came close to leaving Fulham for Bayern in the summer, but they will surely be no pushovers when it comes to fresh interest in the Portugal international, especially as they’ll be doubly keen not to lose such an important player in the middle of the season.

Arsenal have struggled to get much playing time out of the injury-prone Thomas Partey this season, so a signing like Palhinha coming in for cover in that defensive midfield role could be great business for the north London club to ensure they can remain competitive in the title race.

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This seems like one to watch, with Romano having this to say for now: “Joao Palhinha – Bayern remain interested in Joao but yes, there are also UK clubs in the race now it’s true.

“He’s very expensive and that’s why clubs like Arsenal believe the investment is not easy at all for the January window, but things will happen around João, for sure.”

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Arsenal are reportedly tracking an American wonderkid who once had a trial with Manchester United’s youth team.

The Gunners are said to be keeping a close eye on rising Hajduk Split star Rokas Pukstas, who has been compared to Bayern Munich and Germany legend Thomas Muller, according to the Sun.

Pukstas looks like he has a big future in the game and it will be interesting to see if we soon find that Arsenal make more concrete efforts to lure the 19-year-old attacking midfielder to the Emirates Stadium.

It’s previously been reported by Dalmatinski Portal that Pukstas had a brief spell with Man Utd, though it remains to be seen if the Red Devils retain any interest in his progress since then.

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Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano gives insight into Arsenal’s confidence of signing 28-year-old Premier League star

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Still, it could get interesting if Pukstas ends up at Arsenal and proves to be a success, as it will mean United clearly overlooked a hugely promising young talent when they had the chance.

Gabriel Martinelli also had a trial at MUFC as a youngster, and is now one of Mikel Arteta’s side’s most important players.

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Fabrizio Romano has criticised the decision to punish Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta for celebrating his team’s dramatic late-winning goal against Luton Town earlier this week.

The Gunners scored right at the death to seal a thrilling comeback against Luton, who had led 3-2, with Declan Rice heading in to make it 4-3 in stoppage time, which sparked wild celebrations from the players and their manager.

It didn’t seem like Arteta did anything particularly outlandish during the celebrations, but he was shown a yellow card by the referee and now faces a suspension for the upcoming game against Aston Villa.

Romano, speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his column in the Daily Briefing, said he didn’t feel Arteta did anything wrong, and that we don’t want to see managers unable to show their passion in dramatic moments like this.

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“Arteta didn’t cross any line at Luton in my opinion. I’m always for celebration to be free, not being punished when you score in the 97th minute,” Romano said.

Most fans will surely agree with Romano here, as this really looks like a strange decision, especially when other managers have arguably got away with even more, such as running onto the pitch to celebrate.

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Liverpool have reportedly made an approach for the potential transfer of Benfica wonderkid Kyanno Lorenzo, though they face competition for his signature from other top European clubs.

Lorenzo is a target for Liverpool, but also for Borussia Dortmund and Atalanta, who have also been in contact over a potential deal, according to a report from Football Insider.

Liverpool may soon have to think about bringing in a long-term replacement for star player Mohamed Salah, and it seems that Lorenzo has a similar playing style as a left-footed wide-forward who tends to play on the right-hand side.

Football Insider add that Lorenzo has impressed Liverpool scouts, so it seems they’ve been monitoring him for some time ahead of making this approach.

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Reds fans will no doubt be excited at their club being linked with such a top prospect, and they’ll hope this can eventually lead to a deal being done.

LFC have a number of other top young talents on the books at Anfield right now, so Lorenzo could fit in as part of an exciting new generation coming through for the club.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta deserves credit for sticking with Kai Havertz in difficult moments earlier this season, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Although the Germany international struggled for much of his time at previous club Chelsea and then also made a slow start to life at the Emirates Stadium, he’s been much better in recent games, and Romano feels he’s now showing that he’s going to be an important player for the present and future of the club.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano praised Arteta for believing in Havertz and never worrying too much about the player seemingly struggling to settle in, as it certainly seems like the Gunners are reaping the rewards of that patience now.

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“I think we should give credits to Mikel Arteta. He always trusted Havertz since day one, never being worried… that was crucial. He’s now doing great and I think it’s just the beginning as Arsenal really trust Kai for present and future,” Romano said.

Havertz has scored in recent games against Brentford, Lens and Luton for Arsenal, and fans will be hoping that gives the 24-year-old the confidence to keep on improving and to become the player he looked like he could be when he first burst onto the scene as a youngster at Bayer Leverkusen.

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Chelsea winger Noni Madueke has reportedly become frustrated by his current situation at Stamford Bridge after a lack of playing time under Mauricio Pochettino.

The 21-year-old looked an exciting signing for the Blues when he joined from PSV last January, but he hasn’t quite had the impact many will have hoped for, and it now seems his spell in west London could end up being a short one.

Although it is not yet clear if there are any particular suitors for Madueke, a report from Team Talk claims that the England Under-21 international is open to a move away this January, while Chelsea themselves could accept around £35million to allow him to leave in a permanent sale.

Madueke would surely not be short of suitors elsewhere in the Premier League, as he looks like someone who would potentially shine in the right team, under the right manager who would give him more opportunities.

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It’s not been an easy period for Chelsea in general, so it’s perhaps not too surprising that Madueke has struggled to settle, while there’s also not much room for error as there’s a lot of competition in Pochettino’s squad.

This seems like one to watch ahead of the upcoming winter window, and it could be for the best for all sides now if they go their separate ways.

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Fabrizio Romano says there will be talks soon between Chelsea and Conor Gallagher over a new contract, but those concrete steps have not yet taken place.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano made it clear that Chelsea are happy with Gallagher, but for now it seems there hasn’t been much progress on trying to get the England international to commit to a new deal.

This might be a bit of a concern for some Blues fans, as Gallagher’s current contract expires in 2025, so talks will surely need to speed up pretty soon before this ends up looking like a similar situation to the one Mason Mount was in in the summer.

If Gallagher also finds himself with just a year left on his deal by next summer, it could be that clubs will sense an opportunity to sign him on the cheap, or else Chelsea could risk losing him on a free just a year after that.

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Discussing the latest on Gallagher’s Chelsea future, Romano said: “They will discuss about it in the next months.

“For sure there will be talks, but at the moment it’s still time to wait for concrete steps. Chelsea are very happy with Gallagher’s performances, but it will take some time to discuss.”

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Manchester United decided to send a message to Marcus Rashford by dropping him to the bench for the game against Chelsea last night, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside for his Daily Briefing column, Romano explained that while there wasn’t too much to read into Erik ten Hag’s decision to start Rashford as a substitute in such a big game, it was also an opportunity to give the player the message that they want him to return to his top level.

It’s been a poor season for Rashford so far, with the England international nowhere near the high standards he set for himself last term, when he scored a career-high 30 goals in all competitions for Man Utd.

Now, however, Rashford has managed only two goals in 19 appearances in all competitions this season, and some fans will feel Ten Hag was fully justified in leaving him out of the team.

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Romano says it was partly just normal squad rotation, but he did also suggest there was an element of sending a message to the player, even if they do ultimately feel he will end up returning to his best level.

When asked if he had any inside info on Ten Hag’s decision, Romano said: “Technical decision, also rotation for Man United after many games. That’s it, also a message to Rashford as they want him to be back at top level. The club remains confident on his return at the best condition.”

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The Liverpool boss confirmed that Joel Matip has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in his press conference on Wednesday night.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have kept themselves within touching distance of league leaders Arsenal after their 2-0 win against Sheffield United.

Virgil van Dijk opened the scoring after a pinpoint corner from Trent Alexander-Arnold in the first half as the English defender grabbed his 75th assist in all competitions for his club.

Only Kevin De Bruyne and Mo Salah have amounted more since Alexander-Arnold’s debut in 2016.

Liverpool then controlled the rest of the game and sealed the win through Dominik Szoboszlai in the 94^th minute.

But Klopp delivered some bad news in his post-match press conference as he confirmed that Matip had suffered an ACL injury.

The defender suffered the injury in his side’s dramatic 4-3 win against Fulham at the weekend.

The 33-year-old could be ruled out for the rest of the season and with his contract expiring next summer, may not play for Liverpool again.

Jurgen Klopp confirms that Joel Matip ruptured his ACL against Fulham at the weekend pic.twitter.com/JcRNBJS2Bb

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 6, 2023

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This article was originally published on the Daily Briefing, a subscription service. If you would like to receive Neil Jones’ exclusive articles via email ahead of publication on caughtoffside.com, please sign-up for the service at thedailybriefing.io

Liverpool vs Fulham – a remarkable game I felt fortunate to be at

I consider myself very fortunate to the job I do, a job which enables me to be at places like Anfield on days like Sunday. Liverpool’s propensity to get themselves involved in wild games and crazy comebacks is well-known, but I don’t think anyone expected to see them put their fans through the ringer as they did against Fulham at the weekend.

The finale was incredible, and the quality of Liverpool’s goals beyond belief. To see one strike of such brilliance is rare, but four in the same game? Remarkable.

To me, the game provided a perfect snapshot of the Reds’ growth this season. They’re the best team in the league at coming from behind – 15 points from losing positions already – and they have so many players capable of producing a moment of magic when required. On this occasion, their forwards failed but others stepped up.

There’s a steel and a determination about this team, an ability to absorb setbacks and maintain its belief, that simply wasn’t there last season, and that’s credit to both Jurgen Klopp and his players, that they’ve been able to put right so much of what went wrong over the previous 12 months.

They certainly won’t want many more games like Sunday’s, from a defensive point of view, but in fairness this was a bit of an outlier. Liverpool have the joint second-best defensive record in the league, and no side had scored twice at Anfield all season prior to Fulham’s visit.

The concern I would have is regarding injuries. Joel Matip is the latest player to suffer a setback, joining Alisson Becker, Andy Robertson, Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara and Stefan Bajcetic in the treatment room. Liverpool can ill-afford to lose too many more, and they have a lot of games coming up in the next few weeks. If anything is going to derail them this season, it might be fitness issues.

More responsibility has helped Trent Alexander-Arnold take his game to another level

There is no doubt that Trent Alexander-Arnold took last season’s disappointment harder than most, and I think that has shown in his performances so far this term, as he’s taken his game to another level – no mean feat considering the level he was at already.

It may sound insignificant, but think back to the first day of pre-season, when he arrived at the AXA Training Centre with a new, shorter haircut. “Business only,” he said that day, suggesting a new focus, a new mindset ahead of the new campaign.

A week or so later, Alexander-Arnold was promoted to vice-captain following the departures of Jordan Henderson and James Milner, and it has been clear since that day that he is embracing the idea of being one of the club’s leaders, both on-field and off it.

Liverpool, remember, redesigned their system in the spring to give Alexander-Arnold more responsibility, and to allow him to have as great an influence on games as possible. They wanted him moving inside the pitch to get on the ball and create midfield overloads, and using his passing to break lines centrally as well as switching the play diagonally.

And while there are still elements of that switch that occasionally cause problems – teams know that attacking down Liverpool’s left is usually a good idea – it is clear that he relishes the chance to play more centrally. His recent goals against Manchester City and Fulham show the benefit of having him there.

I imagine there will be more discussion over the idea of moving him into midfield on a permanent basis, something we have seen with England and more recently at club level within games, but from a Liverpool perspective the most important thing is that he has undoubtedly got his mojo back. He’s a symbol of the club, and one whose importance to Jurgen Klopp is greater than it has ever been.

Could Liverpool sign another midfielder in January?

The links to midfielders continue even though Liverpool signed four in the summer window, with names like Joshua Kimmich and Douglas Luiz popping up in some outlets. Personally, however, I would be surprised if they were to buy another in January, unless there was an injury crisis between now and then.

Joshua Kimmich, clearly, is a world-class player but he turns 29 in February and would command a transfer fee and wage packet that would make him a serious gamble for a club which operates as Liverpool does. The last ageing midfielder they bought from Bayern Munich is currently seeing out his contract on the treatment table. Of course, Thiago Alcantara has provided moments of real quality in his time at Liverpool, so might be seen as an argument for occasionally breaking your structure, but his current situation might also point towards why it’s not the kind of deal Liverpool tend to go for very often.

Douglas Luiz is a player I like, and a player who Liverpool briefly looked at it in the summer of 2022. His form for Aston Villa has been excellent, and at 25 he is more in Liverpool’s age-bracket than Kimmich. The trouble is, Villa are hardly likely to sell at this point, and their finances mean they certainly don’t need to do so on the cheap.

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Don’t expect Liverpool to look to the transfer market for Alisson cover

The injury to Alisson Becker, clearly, places a great deal of pressure on the shoulders of Caoimhin Kelleher, who might be 25 but who is still very much a rookie in terms of senior club experience.

Kelleher didn’t have his best game against Fulham, and has had a few other dicey moments in his recent cup appearances, but he definitely has the faith of the Liverpool management. They like his temperament and his distribution, and believe he is as good as No.2 goalkeeper as there is. They accept there will be rustiness, given he had only started one Premier League game in 18 months, and in fairness he has had far more good games than bad ones during his Reds career. He was good enough to start a League Cup final not so long ago, remember.

Alisson, anyway, is expected to be back within 10 days, likely for the Manchester United game on December 17, which means that the ‘issue’ is only a short-term one, which will not require anything happening in the January transfer window. Don’t expect Liverpool to go down the Arsenal route with their goalkeepers any time soon!

The post EXCL: Will Liverpool sign a midfielder and a goalkeeper? Plus reaction to remarkable Liverpool-Fulham clash appeared first on CaughtOffside.