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Some Liverpool supporters have been showing their love for Joel Matip once again after another funny video of him emerged in training.

The Reds are preparing to face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, with Anfield hosting arguably the biggest Premier League game of the season so far.

A win for Liverpool would take them four points clear of their rivals in the table, which could end up being significant come the end of the season.

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One player who is expected to start on Sunday is Matip, with the centre-back enjoying an excellent start to the season at the heart of the Reds’ defence.

The 30-year-old is a cult hero at Anfield and footage of him in training on Friday [via the club’s official Twitter account] has shown him lose his chewing gun during a rondo exercise, in what was a typical moment involving him.

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Liverpool fans love latest Matip video

These Liverpool fans took to Twitter to laugh at the latest piece of Matip brilliance.

“Even with the video being about VVD, Matip is still killing me lmao”

Credit: @Lallanatelli

“Joel is too funny “

Credit: @aeleo92

“Big Joel is something else isn’t he”

Credit: @robmclean1986

“Matip is a joke”

Credit: @ntokozo_nje

“‘I lost my chewing gum man’ why is Matip so funny”

Credit: @AiddyLFC

“When I say the light of my life”

Credit: @capttvandijk

In other news, some Liverpool fans are desperate for the Reds to sign one player. Find out who it is here.

Crystal Palace posted a picture on Twitter of their seven first-team signings on Thursday.

And a number of Palace supporters were quick to share their excitement towards the new recruits on social media.

The Eagles completed their summer business late on deadline day with the signing of Odsonne Edouard from Celtic.

The French forward, who cost over £14m and penned a four-year deal on Tuesday, was at the centre of the club’s post, alongside fellow recruits Michael Olise, Conor Gallagher, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi, Remi Matthews and Will Hughes.

Jacob Montes also signed at Selhurst Park but was loaned to Belgium, with Steve Parish spending just over £66m on new recruits in Patrick Vieira’s first summer in charge.

Palace shared a picture of their seven signings with the caption ‘let’s build something special’.

Palace fans react

This is what these Palace fans had to say in reply, with many excited and one ‘buzzing’ at the club’s summer business.

“Rebuild 90% complete.”

Credit: @cpfcfin

“Announce Europe”

Credit: @MichaelCPFC

“I’m just absolutely buzzing here”

Credit: @xylottie

“Absolutely ridiculous window”

Credit: @Phillyconcarne

“still in disbelief”

Credit: @EBERZEE

“Come on you palace”

Credit: @GeorgeHilder1

In other news: ‘Let’s gooooo’ – Lots of Palace fans delighted by ‘great’ Thursday news.

Former Leeds United defender Danny Mills has admitted that he is concerned about Diego Llorente’s injury problems, claiming that it could be a long-term issue.

The Lowdown: Llorente out injured again

The Whites are having to make do without the Spaniard at the moment after he limped out of the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool earlier this month.

Llorente once again went off with a hamstring issue – the third time in his last 17 games that it has happened – as his time at Elland Road continues to be frustrating.

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The Latest: Mills admit concerns

Speaking to Football Insider, Mills admitted that it is a worry and could be an ongoing problem for the centre-back. He said:

“Sometimes you have to start looking at the body. Is that a symptomatic injury that suggests there’s something more serious underline? Whether that be his back being out of line or an imbalance somewhere else. That’s a better way to look at it.

“His load will be managed and he’ll be well looked after so maybe there’s something else in the body that is throwing it out of balance and they haven’t found it yet.”

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The Verdict: Becoming a problem

Llorente is an excellent defender when he is fit and firing – he was exceptional in the win at Manchester City last season, for example – but he is an injury-plagued figure and that is becoming a real issue.

It is vital that Marcelo Bielsa has a reliable centre-back pairing week in, week out to bring stability to his team and help it regain its form as an overall unit.

Instead, Llorente’s problems, coupled with Robin Koch also picking up an injury and Pascal Struijk being suspended, means that such defensive stabiltiy isn’t happening.

The 28-year-old is worth persevering with for now given the level of performance he can reach, but patience is beginning to wear thinner.

In other news, some Leeds fans have reacted to a club post regarding one player. Read more here.

Sheffield Wednesday have been dealt a major blow in their bid to keep Barry Bannan at Hillsborough this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that the Premier League trio of Burnley, Crystal Palace and Watford are all monitoring the situation of the Owls midfielder ahead of a potential swoop in what remains of the summer transfer window.

In comments made earlier this month, the 31-year-old stated his belief that he would still be a Wednesday player beyond transfer deadline day, as well as claiming that he wants to help get the club back to the Championship this season.

Moore will be gutted

While Bannan’s comments about his future may well have been sincere, considering the Scotland international’s age, should a Premier League side firm up their interest in the midfielder with an acceptable offer, it is an extremely difficult scenario to imagine that the 31-year-old would turn down the opportunity to play top flight football.

And, should one of Burnley, Palace or Watford ultimately secure a deal for Bannan, it would undoubtedly leave Darren Moore gutted, as the former Aston Villa man is quite clearly a very important part of the 47-year-old’s Owls side.

Indeed, over his three League One appearances so far this season, the £1.6m-rated club captain has scored one goal, as well as taking an average of 2.3 shots and making one key pass per game.

These returns have seen the man Moore dubbed an “important” player earn a highly impressive average SofaScore match rating of 7.43, ranking him as Wednesday’s second-best performer in the third tier of English football.

Furthermore, Pep Guardiola’s glowing endorsement of the Scottish maestro highlights just how much quality he possesses. After the Owls met Man City in the FA Cup in 2019/20, the Spaniard described him as an “incredible player.”

As such, it is clear that losing the services of Bannan would come as a huge blow to the former West Bromwich Albion and Doncaster Rovers manager, who will undoubtedly be keeping his fingers crossed that none of the interested parties come forward with a decent offer for the £27k-per-week midfielder in the coming days.

In other news: Fewer touches than Peacock-Farrell: Owls dud who lost 77% of his duels badly betrayed Moore

Former professional footballer Carlton Palmer has hailed Chelsea’s decision to re-sign Romelu Lukaku in a £97.5m deal, but says Manchester United should never have sold him.

Lukaku completed his return to Chelsea last week from Serie A champions Inter Milan, penning a five-year contract with the Blues.

In his two seasons with Inter Milan, Lukaku was in unbelievable form, scoring 64 goals in all competitions and providing a further 16 assists, and with that took his overall career tally to 259 goals and 85 assists.

On re-joining Chelsea, Carlton Palmer exclusively told Football FanCast: “I think it’s a magnificent signing for Chelsea, he comes back a man, you’ve seen him for the national team, you’ve seen him for Inter Milan, he just scores goals, he’s a nightmare, he can back into you, he can roll, he can run down the side.

“He is a great lone striker, a great striker in a two, I would never have sold him at Man United, never ever sold him.”

Lukaku became Chelsea’s second signing of the summer after the Stamford Bridge outfit also signed Marcus Bettinelli from Fulham on a free transfer.

Chelsea had success in Europe last season, as they were crowned UEFA Champions League winners after beating Manchester City 1-0 in Porto and also finished fourth in the Premier League table.

But the Blues were the lowest scorers of the teams that finished in the top four, scoring 58 goals last term, so it’s no surprise they have chosen to break the bank in order to bring the Belgium international back to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Rangers kicked off their Scottish Premiership title defence in ideal fashion as they beat Livingston 3-0 at Ibrox on Saturday, with Steven Gerrard’s side comfortable despite missing the likes of Alfredo Morelos and Borna Barisic.

Ianis Hagi gave the Gers an early lead against David Martindale’s side as he fired home from Tavernier’s set-piece, before Scott Wright superbly found the corner with a volley to make the points safe.

Fellow substitute Kemar Roofe came off the bench to score a third late on, capitalising on some less than impressive defending by David Martindale’s side to pick up where he left off at the end of last season.

While he didn’t get on the scoresheet on Saturday, the game’s outstanding player was arguably Tavernier, as he played a huge part in the first two goals and was a constant threat going forward.

As per SofaScore, the former Wigan Athletic man earned a superb 8.8 match rating for his performance, which was comfortably the best of any player to feature for either side. Only Steven Davis (101) had more touches than Tavernier (98) at Ibrox, which emphasises just how involved he was in Rangers’ build-up play despite featuring at right-back.

He was also solid from a defensive perspective, as no Livingston player dribbled past him during the game. The visitors’ left-hand side, consisting of James Penrice and Adam Lewis, managed just six passes each during the game, which suggests that Tavernier clearly had the better of them.

Whilst the Rangers captain lost possession 31 times on the day, the most of any player on the pitch, this shows that he is willing to attempt the difficult passes and crosses. When they come off they often lead to a goal, evidenced by his superb goals and assists record during his time at Rangers thus far.

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After missing a portion of last season, which led to Nathan Patterson breaking into the first team, there were some who felt the Scottish youngster could challenge Tavernier for the starting spot during 2021/22. However, based on the 29-year-old’s performance today, there won’t be many occasions where Gerrard feels the need to drop his “incredible” captain – in the words of Kenny Dalglish – over the coming months.

In other news… Too slow, Wilson: Rangers miss out on “outstanding” winger loved by Gerrard

Leicester City could face a battle to keep Kelechi Iheanacho at the club this summer after reports revealed that AS Roma are considering making an offer for the 24-year-old.

What’s the story?

According to Sky Sports, the Italian outfit are contemplating tabling a bid for the Nigeria international if they fail to sign Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham.

The report states: “Abraham is currently weighing up his Stamford Bridge future after the Serie A side agreed a £34m deal to sign the striker. The 23-year-old [sic] has asked for time to consider the offer from the Italian club, who are managed by former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho, with Roma general manager Tiago Pinto meeting Abraham for talks in London on Thursday.”

If the Serie A giants do make a move for Iheanacho and are successful in their attempts to secure his signature, it would leave Leicester extremely light at the top end of the pitch with very little time to find an adequate replacement.

Leicester City fans will be gutted

Although Iheanacho’s potential exit is far from guaranteed, a large section of Leicester supporters will likely still be gutted to hear that one of their star players is on the wish list of a prominent club like Roma.

The appeal of playing in the Italian capital for the decorated Jose Mourinho would be enough to turn many players’ heads, but Foxes fans will be desperate for the youngster to stay for the foreseeable future.

Iheanacho hit top form last season, bagging 19 goals and providing seven assists in 39 appearances for Leicester, helping them claim their maiden FA Cup crown.

He has continued in the same vein at the start of the new season, scoring the winner from the penalty spot as Leicester saw off Manchester City in the Community Shield last Saturday.

Although the addition of former RB Salzburg hitman Patson Daka has significantly strengthened Brendan Rodgers’ forward line, the loss of Iheanacho – especially so close to the end of the current transfer window – would be a bitter blow.

Leicester fans will surely be hoping that Abraham agrees a deal to move to the Stadio Olimpico, leaving them free to enjoy the quality of Iheanacho a little while longer.

In other news… Journalist drops transfer update which will leave Leicester fans buzzing 

Birmingham City are interested in a deal to bring Dion Sanderson to St. Andrew’s this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by The Athletic journalist Tim Spiers, who revealed in a post on Twitter that Lee Bowyer’s side wish to take the Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back on loan ahead of their upcoming Championship campaign.

However, the Blues will face a significant battle to land the 21-year-old in the summer transfer window, with Sheffield United, Newcastle United and Sunderland all reported to be keen on a move for the defender, whom Wolves would be willing to sell for a fee in the region of £2m.

Fans surely buzzing

While it would appear that a deal for Sanderson may be a difficult one to get over the line for Birmingham this summer, the fact that Bowyer is targeting such a promising young defender is sure to have fans of the club buzzing.

Indeed, over his 26 League One appearances while on loan at Sunderland last season, the £820-per-week man helped his side keep eight clean sheets, as well as making an average of 0.9 interceptions, one tackle, 2.7 clearances and winning 4.3 duels per game.

These metrics saw the £135k-rated centre-back earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.92, ranking him as Lee Johnson’s 13th-best player in the third tier of English football, playing a key role in his side reaching the League One play-off semi-final.

The man Stephen Elliott claimed has a “huge future” in professional football also has experience of playing in the Championship, featuring 10 times for Cardiff City two seasons ago, where the 21-year-old helped the Bluebirds keep four clean sheets, as well as making an average of 1.4 interceptions, 1.2 tackles, 2.1 clearances and winning 3.7 duels per league fixture.

As such, with Bowyer having already made a number of impressive signings in the summer transfer window, with the likes of Chuks Aneke, Jordan Graham and Ryan Woods already having arrived at St. Andrew’s, Sanderson would appear to be yet another fine addition to the Blues squad – with the club seeming to be moving in a very positive direction under the leadership of the 44-year-old.

In other news: Journalist drops transfer claim on “excellent” £4.9k-p/w gem, BCFC fans surely buzzing

Fraser Forster has reportedly rejected a new deal at Southampton, which will surely concern Ralph Hasenhuttl considering the lack of goalkeeping options at St Mary’s.

What’s the word?

According to The Scottish Sun, the 33-year-old shot-stopper has rejected a reduced deal at St Mary’s, which opens the door to a potential return to Celtic this summer.

The Hoops have been linked with the English ‘keeper in recent weeks after his impressive performances on loan there in the 2019/20 season, although Hasenhuttl had suggested earlier in the summer that he and Alex McCarthy would be competing for a starting spot in his side during the 2021/22 campaign.

Could Forster leave Southampton?

Forster is one of the top earners at Southampton but spent the majority of last season on the bench, before an impressive run of form in the FA Cup led Hasenhuttl to give him more opportunities in the Premier League.

The former England international would make 13 appearances in total for the Saints, eight of which came in the Premier League, where he averaged a solid 6.70 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

Southampton have already sold Angus Gunn to newly-promoted Norwich City, so if Forster were to depart on loan or a permanent deal this summer, it would leave Hasenhuttl with very few options in the goalkeeping department, with young Harry Lewis perhaps not ready to deputise for McCarthy.

It is no surprise that Celtic want Forster to return, given his performances there during the 2019/20 seasons, which led French defender Christopher Jullien to sing his praises in 2019, saying:

“There are no words! There are no words to describe that. He’s been unbelievable since he’s come here.”

“At the end of every game, I tell him he’s the best goalkeeper I’ve played with. I’m so happy to have him behind me. He just makes so many saves.”

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Therefore, unless Southampton can bring in a new goalkeeper, it is bad news for Hasenhuttl that Forster has reportedly rejected this new deal, as it would leave the Austrian’s squad looking even thinner if the 33-year-old were to depart this summer.

And, in other news… Southampton dealt huge transfer blow with “exceptional” transfer target

Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield has described Ruben Neves’ situation at Wolves as a “shaky one”.

The 24-year-old was being heavily linked with a move to Arsenal, with The Athletic reporting last month that the north London club were interested in doing a deal.

However, talk has since cooled down, though that may be down to Neves’ participation at the Euros.

Ultimately, it is all a bit up in the air right now. And while there is still plenty of time left in the transfer window for Wolves to sell Neves, Hatfield has suggested that he could still have a future at Molineux depending on Bruno Lage’s plans.

“It’s interesting with Ruben Neves,” the football reporter said to TT. “Obviously he was linked with Arsenal before for a big-money move. Whether I expect him to leave now, it’s a bit of a shaky one.

“As a player, I think he obviously has enjoyed his time at Wolves. He obviously helped the club get promoted, but with Nuno leaving, does he maybe see his future elsewhere?

“He’ll probably want to have a word with him, see what he sees for his future at the club. Does Lage rate him? Does he want to play him? Will he suit the system? Those are all questions that he’ll be keen to ask.”

While things have gone a bit quiet, it would not be a surprise if Neves did indeed end up at the Emirates.

They look close to selling Granit Xhaka to AS Roma so will probably need a replacement for the Switzerland international.