West Brom are ‘interested’ in signing Chelsea attacking midfielder Omari Hutchinson before the January transfer window closes, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The Lowdown: Hutchinson an impressive youngster

The 19-year-old is arguably one of the Blues’ most exciting young players currently, scoring six goals and registering nine assists in 18 appearances for the Under-21s.

Hutchinson is struggling to force his way into Graham Potter’s first-team plans, however, appearing just two times for the senior side to date.

It may be that a loan move this month is most beneficial to the Jamaican, although Chelsea are fast running out of time to move him on.

The Latest: West Brom eyeing late move

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Phillips claimed that West Brom are keen on signing Hutchinson before deadline day ends:

“So, there’s a late push from clubs to take Omari Hutchinson on loan from Chelsea in the final hours. They’re taking an interest now.

“Two strong clubs that are interested are West Brom and Watford. Both are keen to sort out a loan deal before the end of the window, so that’s another one that could develop in these final hours. Other clubs also interested.”

The Verdict: Good for squad depth

Granted, Hutchinson is a very unproven player at senior level, with those aforementioned couple of games for Chelsea his only taste of it, but he could still be an astute signing by the Baggies.

Carlos Corberan could feel that he can improve the teenager by handing him more playing time and the midfielder would add depth in attacking areas, having once been praised by none other than Pele as a 12-year-old.

Hutchinson has 24 goal involvements (11 goals and 13 assists) in 32 appearances in Premier League 2, highlighting his prowess at youth level, and he could be ready to take that next step and aid West Brom’s Championship promotion hopes.

Journalist James Copley has revealed his disappointment over Sunderland’s inability to bring in another striker during January.

The Lowdown: Sunderland are threadbare

The Black Cats lost Ellis Simms at the beginning of the year as Everton decided to exercise their recall option in his loan deal, although he’s hardly been used since returning to Goodison Park.

Sunderland’s misery was further compounded when it was confirmed that Ross Stewart would be out for the rest of the season after suffering an injury to his Achilles during the FA Cup draw against Fulham.

However, Tony Mowbray’s side decided it was best to only bring in youngster Joe Gelhardt in on loan, with the Leeds United ace having just 19 games of Championship experience under his belt as he is tasked with leading the line for Sunderland this season.

The Latest: Lack of strikers is a worry

The decision from Sunderland hasn’t necessarily gone down well with some people – including Copley – who tweeted about his disappointment around the striker situation and how the club are well-stocked in every other area apart from at centre-forward.

He wrote: ‘The major frustration is that Sunderland are well-stocked with clear succession planning in most positions. This doesn’t negate the good work done generally (and there have been large slices of bad luck too), but it is still disappointing. Been an issue for a year now.”

The Verdict: A risky strategy from Sunderland

Given that Stewart’s injury was sustained with plenty of days left in the transfer window, it is quite bizarre that the Sunderland hierarchy didn’t see fit to hand Tony Mowbray another option at centre-forward.

The fact that Gelhardt hasn’t played much first-team football this season – he’s started just one game in the league this term – means he will have a huge amount of pressure on his shoulders starting on Saturday.

Sunderland are playing a very risky game during this second half of the season as they had a very real chance of finishing in the play-offs places and remain just a few points off the top six, but with just one fit striker on the books, that would now appear to be a very tall order.

Leeds United are one of the teams keen on signing Michael Keane this month…

What’s the word?

That’s according to talkSPORT, who have listed the Yorkshire outfit alongside fellow Premier League rivals West Ham United and Southampton as likely suitors for the out-of-favour Everton defender.

However, it’s thought that the Toffees would be reluctant to let him leave for a direct competitor, whilst their managerial situation throws further doubt on the matter as the 30-year-old was frozen out by sacked boss Frank Lampard.

It also remains to be seen how much Keane would command as he’s currently valued at just €6m (£5m) by CIES Football Observatory, some five-and-a-half years after his £30m switch from Burnley.

Llorente upgrade

The Whites picked up only their third clean sheet since late September with a 0-0 draw to Brentford last weekend, ending a run of four successive matches of conceding two or more goals, in which 50% of those outings were against lower-league opposition. Meanwhile, only four other teams have conceded more than Leeds (33) so far this term.

It’s fair to suggest that one of Jesse Marsch’s biggest problems has been in defence and it’s hardly a surprise given the constant chopping and changing to his backline, though that has partly been down to never-ending injuries.

Would Keane be an upgrade, though? Well, there’s a case to be made over him being better than Diego Llorente – the American’s lowest-rated defender in 2022/23. In fact, of all players to have made eight or more appearances, the Spanish titan has been the worst, per WhoScored.

His inconsistent and calamitous nature was recently put back in the spotlight against Cardiff City, arguably being at fault for both of their goals in a pretty disastrous showing.

Whilst the Englishman hasn’t been playing much for Everton this term, they are joint-bottom in his absence, having played 32 of 36 matches last season, which included a stunning 3-0 victory over the Whites, where he found himself on the scoresheet and kept a clean sheet against the likes of Raphinha and Rodrigo.

Sofascore graded him to be the best player on the pitch with an 8.0 rating after he won 75% of his duels and made three interceptions, a feat that eclipsed the aforementioned Leeds dud, too.

In each of his last seven seasons in the Premier League, prior to his one, Keane has never recorded a worse average WhoScored rating than what Llorente is currently on, proving to be a mark of consistency over the years and perhaps makes Lampard’s decision to omit him all that stranger.

Despite his lack of game time, the 6 foot 3 titan – who was dubbed a “colossus” by The Athletic’s Greg O’Keeffe – still remains inside the top 7% of all central defenders across Europe’s top five divisions for aerial duels won (3.18) per 90, some way clear of Llorente again as he sits on the cusp of the top 48% (2.04).

As such, it’s evident that Leeds could actually land themselves a defensive upgrade in the form of Keane, although director of football Victor Orta is fast running out of time to get this one over the line.

AND in other news, Forget Wober: Orta could complete best Leeds business yet by signing £26m “top target”…

Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has given his verdict on the injury suffered by Leeds United’s Liam Cooper.

The Lowdown: Cooper misses training

Phil Hay of The Athletic said that the defender wouldn’t be available for their Premier League match with Brentford last Sunday, but that manager Jesse Marsch was hopeful he will be back training next week.

Cooper has played 12 league games this season for the Whites, scoring his only goal of the campaign in Leeds’ tight 4-3 victory against Bournemouth back in November.

Prior to his latest setback, the Whites skipper had put together a decent run of games before suffering an injury in training last week, which saw him miss Leeds’ FA Cup replay against Cardiff City.

The Latest: Dinnery gives Cooper injury verdict

Speaking on the Premier FPL Injuries YouTube channel, Dinnery touched on the injury suffered by Cooper and claimed that Marsch had initially expected him to be involved against the Bees.

He stated: “Liam Cooper was out of the matchday squad. Jesse Marsch had spoken about this minor issue he picked up while warming up in training, said he fully expected him to be involved.

“However, when he tried to put him through his paces in training on the Saturday, he felt that, and that’s why January signing Max Wober came in for his full Premier League debut.

“The expectation is that he will be on the training pitches this week; he could start in the FA Cup, but again, that remains to be seen.”

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The Verdict: Stick with Wober

New signing Maximilian Wober, who joined at the start of the month from Red Bull Salzburg for around £11m, was given the nod by Marsch to start in Leeds’ latest Premier League clash.

The Leeds boss has raved about his new January addition in a recent press conference (via Leeds Live), stating that the player has fitted in ‘seamlessly’ at Elland Road.

We believe that Whites should stick with Austrian in the centre-back position going forward, as he excels over Cooper in most defensive areas.

Wober averages 2.74 tackles per 90 minutes over the last year as well as making 2.15 blocks, while Cooper’s numbers in those categories come out at 2.02 and 0.75 respectively.

Leeds have shipped 33 league goals this season, the fourth-worst total in the Premier League. If they want to tighten up at the back, we believe Wober is a better option than Cooper, as his evident ability to stop the opposition on the ball and willingness to get his body in the way are the types of traits the club will need in a relegation fight.

Hopefully, the new Whites ace will be more reliable from a fitness point of view, too.

Eric Dier had one of his best games in a while in Tottenham Hotspur’s victory over Manchester City, journalist Alasdair Gold has claimed.

What’s the word?

Spurs produced a defensive masterclass to shut Man City out in North London, and Harry Kane’s early strike proved to be the difference.

A number of players including Emerson Royal and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg were outstanding, but Dier was also crucial in helping see out the victory.

Dier was awarded 9/10 by Gold in his player ratings for football.london, and was praised for the way in which he dealt with deadly striker Erling Haaland.

“Constantly pushing up the pitch and adding to the numbers in the middle. One of his best games in a while. Nothing got past him. It was the first time Haaland didn’t even have a single shot in a Premier League match.”

Rock in the middle

There was a nervous ending to the match as Spurs were reduced to ten men as Cristian Romero received a red card, but Dier’s commanding performance at the back helped them secure all three points.

The Englishman had come in for criticism at times this season, but looked back to his best as he kept Haaland quiet for the entire game.

Dier completed four long balls, won three aerial duels and made four clearances as per SofaScore, and looked assured in his defending as Spurs recorded their third clean sheet in a row in all competitions.

The 29-year-old has made 346 appearances for Spurs since his arrival in 2014, and his experience is now starting to prove vital in tough games, helping command his three-man defence to a convincing victory against the Champions.

Leeds United are hoping to complete the signing of Servette youngster Diogo Monteiro in the final few days of the January transfer window, according to Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds keen on Monteiro

The Whites are still looking to get some business done before next Tuesday’s deadline, with Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie firmly on their radar.

Leeds have also been linked with a move for Monteiro in recent days, with the 18-year-old an exciting prospect with three caps to his name for Portugal’s under-19s.

He is out of contract at Servette at the end of this season, and it looks as though Elland Road could be his next destination.

The Latest: Leeds want Monteiro signed soon

Taking to Twitter in sharing a corresponding article for The Athletic, Hay said that Leeds are still aiming to get a deal over the line for Monteiro this month, along with hopefully bringing in McKennie.

The reporter tweeted:

“Leeds and Juventus still locked in talks over Weston McKennie. Leeds want this one done but agreeing the structure of a deal with Juve has proved complicated.

“Club still aiming to get Diogo Monteiro over the line before next week’s deadline too.”

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The Verdict: One for the future

Monteiro clearly wouldn’t be coming in as a key player immediately given his age, but he is someone who could be viewed as an important part of the club’s future. Hay wrote for The Athletic that the teenager ‘is highly-rated but would be added to the Under-21 squad at Elland Road initially’.

He has seven appearances to his name for Servette in all competitions this season, showing that he can already perform at a high level, and his aforementioned international experience at youth level suggests that he could be a future senior star for Portugal.

Leeds will be in need of freshening things up defensively in the near future, with captain Liam Cooper now 31, and Monteiro could be viewed as a long-term replacement for the Scotland centre-back.

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Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has said that ‘multiple’ bids are expected from several clubs in the Premier League and Europe for Arsenal transfer target Ivan Fresneda.

The Lowdown: Arsenal moving ‘behind the scenes’

It has recently been reported that the Gunners, along with Borussia Dortmund, are moving ‘behind the scenes’ to try and sign Fresneda and are ‘leading the race’ for the Real Valladolid right-back.

Both clubs have reportedly already ‘agreed terms’ with the 18-year-old, with the deal expected to cost €15m (£13.1m) and the Spaniard set to be loaned back to Valladolid for the rest of the campaign.

However, it now looks as if that duo will not be alone in their pursuits of Fresneda in the final days of the January transfer window.

The Latest: ‘Multiple’ bids could be incoming

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Sheth says that ‘multiple’ bids are expected from a ‘number’ of clubs in both the Premier League and in Europe for Fresneda in the final days of the month, which suggests that Arsenal and Dortmund could be dragged into a bidding war for the teenager.

The Sky Sports reporter stated: “I’m told that there are going to be multiple bids from a number of European clubs and Premier League clubs in what remains of this transfer window. I think Fresneda will need to make a decision if an interested club meets the €15m valuation simply because he’s playing at the moment for Valladolid – he’s getting first-team action, he will want to play.”

The Verdict: Urgency needed

If Mikel Arteta’s team are serious about signing Fresneda, then there needs to be some urgency in terms of getting this deal done, given that Transfer Deadline Day is tomorrow and other bidders are expected to come in for him.

Hailed by journalist and La Liga presenter Juan Arroita for his “beastly” ability to maraud forward and put in crosses, the teenager currently averages one key pass and 0.4 crosses per match in the Spanish top flight, ranking highly among the Valladolid squad in both metrics (WhoScored).

Fresneda also ranks in the top 11% for tackles, clearances and interceptions per match among full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year (FBref), showing how impressive he is defensively as well, and he already looks like the complete right-back at the tender age of 18.

Perhaps Arsenal’s bullish pursuit of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo is holding up a deal for the Spaniard, or possibly the fact that Cedric’s expected move to Fulham has not gone through yet, but the north Londoners simply cannot let their Fresneda pursuit fall through the cracks.

Manchester United booked their place at Wembley later this month with a convincing, second-leg victory over Nottingham Forest in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening, with Erik ten Hag’s side setting up an intriguing showdown with Newcastle United following that 5-0 aggregate triumph.

The Red Devils had arguably all but secured progression heading into the clash at Old Trafford as a result of the 3-0 win in the first leg a week ago, although the United boss was taking few chances as he once again named a strong starting lineup in order to ward off complacency.

It was, however, the visitors who had the better of the openings in the first half, with Brennan Johnson inexplicably firing straight at stand-in stopper, Tom Heaton, while Emmanuel Dennis – who had been a late call-up to the side for the injured Jesse Lingard – saw his goal-bound effort deflect off teammate Sam Surridge.

With tempers beginning to flare amid what was a frantic and feisty start to the second period, Ten Hag then called in the cavalry to help take the tie away from the Midlands side, with Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho all entering the fray on the hour mark, the latter man receiving a huge ovation following his lengthy spell away from the action.

Those changes almost instantly paid dividends as the returning Martial slotted home after a brilliant breakaway, before fellow substitute Rashford then teed up Fred at the back post just minutes later, following an initial exquisite, outside of the boot pass from Bruno Fernandes.

It was the latter man who was perhaps unsurprisingly the recipient of the Man of the Match award on the night as a result of his typically creative and industrious display – both in a central role and on the flanks – having laid on four key passes in total, while also winning three of his four ground duels.

The Portuguese playmaker was not alone in having shone, however, with summer signing Casemiro once again rubberstamping his growing importance to Ten Hag’s side, having showcased why he is simply on a “different level”, in the words of journalist Liam Canning.

While it may have been somewhat of a surprise to see the 30-year-old named from the start – just days after his brilliant brace in the FA Cup win over Reading – the former Real Madrid man illustrated why he may well be undroppable at present.

The experienced Brazilian was simply “brilliant to watch” – as per journalist Samuel Luckhurst – having notably played his part in the home side’s opener after feeding Martial with a clever sliding pass, once again illustrating that he is more than just a “steady Eddie” at the base of midfield, as pundit Graeme Souness previously summated.

That quality on the ball was also evident in the first half as the 69-cap machine teed up January arrival Wout Weghorst with a delightful, sweeping cross, albeit with the towering Dutchman seeing his headed effort agonisingly strike the woodwork.

The one-time Porto man’s all-round game was also typically impressive as he lost possession just seven times from his 66 touches and won five of his 11 ground duels, with his match rating of 7.7, as per Sofascore, only bettered by Luke Shaw among his starting teammates.

Although there may be “concern” at just how reliant the Red Devils are on the Sao Paolo native, according to journalist Casey Evans, Casemiro himself cannot be blamed for continually setting the benchmark with his top-drawer displays.

Despite already possessing an enviable trophy cabinet that includes five Champions League triumphs, it does appear that the 6 foot 1 titan is hungry to add to his tally at the Theatre of Dreams.

Aston Villa lost for the first time in the Premier League in 2023 as they were beaten 4-2 on their own turf by Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

Villa had the lead early on Ollie Watkins put them 1-0 up with an excellent finish to score on the rebound from Emi Buendia’s effort that hit the crossbar.

However, Boubacar Kamara was left with his head in his hands after being dispossessed in his own box just moments later, which led to James Maddison rattling in an equaliser.

Harry Souttar’s own goal put the hosts in front again but goals from Kelechi Iheanacho, Tete and Dennis Praet ensured that Brendan Rodgers’ side picked up all three points.

Whilst Kamara was at fault for the opening goal with a sloppy concession in his own box, the real villain of the match was certainly left-back Lucas Digne.

The France international’s defending for Leicester’s second goal was particularly shocking. He allowed Iheanacho to get goal side of him from a simple crossing position, after Tyrone Mings stepped across the box, and stood still as the Nigerian international pounced on the opportunity to head past Emi Martinez.

Digne was also caught high up the pitch for Tete’s goal and left Mings isolated against the tricky Brazilian winger, which allowed the forward to run off the back of the centre-back to score the third goal for the Foxes.

In the first half, the former Everton defender lost 100% (2/2) of his individual duels and failed to make a single tackle or interception, whilst completing 81% of his attempted passes, as per Sofascore.

The 29-year-old’s woeful display in the opening 45 minutes was enough to convince Unai Emery to substitute the Frenchman as Alex Moreno came on to replace him.

Kamara, meanwhile, won nine of his 15 battles, including 100% (3/3) of his aerial duels, and made three tackles and one interception for the side, as per Sofascore.

The former Marseille gem put his early mistake behind him to compete well in the middle of the park and largely dominated the opposition in his physical contests.

Whereas, Digne should be held accountable for two of the goals that Villa conceded and also contributed very little in defence before being taken off, as the dud was dominated by Leicester’s forwards.

Therefore, the left-back was worse than Kamara as the 29-year-old dud struggled badly and did not make up for his error for Iheanacho’s goal, whilst the defensive midfielder was, at least, able to make a number of defensive contributions in an attempt to make up for his own errors.

Joe Nicholson has claimed on The Roar podcast that Danny Batth and Dan Ballard will be crucial for Sunderland against Millwall.

The Lowdown: Sunderland up against it

Sunderland are set to face one of the most in-form teams when it comes to playing at home this season with Millwall losing just two games in the Championship thus far.

As if that wasn’t a difficult enough task already, the fact that Sunderland are set to be without their top scorer in the form of Ross Stewart is a monumental blow for Tony Mowbray who will be relying on youngster Joe Gelhardt.

Mowbray will indeed be able to once again call upon Batth and Ballard who will be very important as Sunderland look to keep Millwall at bay from set pieces as they’ve scored the most from dead-ball scenarios in the league.

The Latest: Millwall dangerous from set pieces

Batth and Ballard are six foot two and six foot one respectively, so Nicholson believes they will be key to Sunderland not shipping goals from set piece this weekend.

He said: (17:20) “Yeah that’s been a concern for Sunderland in the past, set pieces, especially earlier in the season when they had lots of injuries and now they’ve lost Stewart for the season while he’s a striker, he is quite effective in his own penalty area clearing corners.

“They’ve now got Danny Batth back from injury and Dan Ballard they’ve played the last two and formed what looks like a good partnership, so that could be really important with Millwall kind of posing that threat from set pieces, that’s definitely one to watch out for.”

The Verdict: Mowbray faces a tough test

Given that Sunderland currently boast the youngest squad on average in the Championship, it will be a huge ask for them to go away to The Den that’s likely to be sold out given limited tickets are left on sale, and pick up a positive result.

This is mainly because Millwall are indeed higher in the table than Sunderland, very rarely lose at home and will be right up for revenge after the Black Cats inflicted a 3-0 defeat on them earlier in the season.

All teams will be gutted when they concede from set pieces as they’re very cheap goals to be given away and Mowbray will surely have been doing his work on the training pitch to scheme up a way to combat Millwall’s obvious threat from dead-ball situations.