According to the Daily Record, Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is keen to take youngster Joe Worrall on loan from Nottingham Forest but Championship sides West Brom, Aston Villa and Stoke are all also interested.

What’s the story?

The Daily Record claims that Gerrard wants to make Worrall his 12th signing of the summer as he looks to overturn the Rangers squad and make his mark in what is the former Liverpool legend’s first job in management.

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Forest themselves have brought in 11 players so far this summer, including the record signing of Joao Carvalho for £13.2m. Boss Aitor Karanka has spent over £20m in total and the Daily Record reports that the Reds are willing to let Worrall leave on loan with a view to a permanent deal next summer in order to recoup funds.

Worrall is an exciting young centre-back who captained the England U21 side to victory at the 2017 Toulon Tournament. The 21-year-old came through the youth set-up at Forest and has since made 56 appearances for the first team, although he has now slipped to fifth choice out of Karanka’s centre-backs.

Ahead of Gerrard

With the Daily Record reporting that West Brom are one of the Championship sides also interested in Worrall, boss Darren Moore must beat the competition to his signing as Craig Dawson is yet to appear this season.

In their last two games the Baggies have started with three centre-backs and if Moore is to continue with this formation he will need more backup in this position. Kyle Bartley and Tosin Adarabioyo were both brought in this summer but with Worrall available it could be too good an opportunity to pass up.

Moore has already used the loan market brilliantly to bring in Leicester’s Harvey Barnes and Worrall could be just as effective for the West Midlands side.

So, West Brom fans, should the club attempt to sign Worrall from Nottingham Forest? Have your say in our poll below.

Bournemouth completed some good business this summer and even broke their record signing to complete a deal for Colombian midfielder Jefferson Lerma. But one deal that went slightly under the radar was the £10m capture of David Brooks from Sheffield United.

Brooks was on the books of Manchester City as a kid before moving to the Sheffield United academy. He made his debut for the Blades in 2016 in an EFL Trophy draw with Leicester’s U23 side.

A slight, technical player, he also spent two months on loan with National League side Halifax Town during the 2016/17 season while the club were struggling towards the bottom of the league. The new Cherries signing created just one assist and scored one goal in five games but the experience of non-league football will have enhanced his development no-end.

At an international level, the Warrington-born youngster played for the England U20 side who won the 2017 Toulon Tournament. Brooks scored his side’s only goal in normal time in the final and was given the player of the tournament award.

However, thanks to his Mother’s birthplace, Brooks was called up to the Wales U21 squad for European Championship qualifiers against Switzerland and Portugal last August. Since then, he has made his full debut for the Welsh national side and has three caps from international friendlies.

Last season was his first full campaign at senior level. The three goals and six assists he racked up in 33 appearances for United, as well as some hugely impressive performances, clearly convinced Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe that he was ready to make the step up.

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Predominantly an attacking midfielder, Howe has used Brooks on the right of a flat four in midfield so far this season, with the now 21-year-old starting both Premier League games against Cardiff and West Ham respectively.

Brooks is yet to set the Premier League alight, but keeping out 22-year-old former Liverpool winger Jordan Ibe, who the Cherries signed for an eyebrow-raising £15m, will be his first priority.

While he may be a relatively unknown quantity to opposition teams right now, if he fulfils his potential the former City trainee could become one of the stars of this season and beyond.

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Leeds United exited the EFL Cup in the second round courtesy of a 2-0 home defeat to Preston North End on Tuesday night.

Indeed, goals from Daniel Johnson and Brandon Barker secured victory for Preston, who had Ryan Ledson sent off in the 29th minute of the clash at Elland Road.

As expected, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa rung the changes from his Championship XI, and it was a disappointing night for the Whites.

That said, it would be fair to say that the Leeds fans were not too fussed with the result.

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Many of the supporters have instead decided to look at the bigger picture, with their team currently sitting top of the Championship table on 13 points.

Leeds will take on second-placed Middlesbrough on Friday night in what is a huge match, and the club’s fans would rather that their side triumphed in that particular fixture.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Despite having made some vital saves for the Gunners so far this season, Arsenal’s first choice goalkeeper Petr Cech still looks to be struggling to get to grips with the style of play that new boss Unai Emery is seeking to implement at the Emirates Stadium.

The Spanish coach insists that his side begins moves by playing the ball out from the back, requiring the goalkeeper to be highly competent and confident with the ball at his feet. This is a role that the 36-year-old veteran shot-stopper has never been asked to play before, and he is having trouble adapting. 

Poor passes and an inability to cope with the pressure applied by pressing opponents has led to Cech playing Arsenal into danger all too often. Against Cardiff City on Sunday, a misplaced pass from Cech to Harry Arter nearly gifted the hosts a goal.

With summer signing Bernd Leno having been confined to the bench by Emery so far, these Arsenal fans feel the time has come for the manager to give the new ‘keeper a chance…

Leeds United have started the 2018/19 Championship campaign off exceptionally, picking up 14 points from their opening six league fixtures of the season, sitting joint top of the division with Middlesbrough, but may have jumped the gun with the signing of Patrick Bamford.

What’s the issue?

Their success thus far has largely been down to the management of new boss Marcelo Bielsa, who seems to have brought some stability back to Elland Road.

The 63-year-old Argentinian head coach has rejuvenated the Lilywhites squad, with starting striker Kemar Roofe finding his goalscoring form.

The 25-year-old front man, who has been on the books at Leeds since his move from Oxford United in 2016, has scored four goals and contributed two assists in the opening six Championship fixtures.

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The summer signing of Middlesbrough’s Patrick Bamford caused many to believe that Roofe may end up playing second fiddle to the England Under-21 international, but it has been the reverse.

The 24-year-old former Chelsea striker , who signed a four-year contract at Elland Road in a deal worth a reported £10m, has featured in five of Leeds’ six Championship fixtures, with all those appearances off the bench.

Was it wasted money?

Whilst there is no denying the talent and ability of Bamford, did Leeds United really need him?

With both strikers holding exceptional talent and prestige at this level of football, questions have begun to arise whether the two Englishmen can play up top together – something Bielsa is yet to try out to any great depth.

The Lilywhites have adopted a one up front formation since the outset of the season, with Roofe seemingly set to get the nod for the foreseeable future, but with a talented player in Bamford, who netted 12 goals last campaign at a club where he was competing with Britt Assombalonga, Martin Braithwaite, Rudy Gestede and Ashley Fletcher, sat on the bench, perhaps the signing was simply not needed.

As the season progresses and legs begin to tire, Bamford will likely come into his own at Elland Road, but with question marks across other areas of the pitch, it does make you wonder if that £10m could have been spent better on another striker who would have been the undoubted first-choice.

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It was a pretty poor summer for the Magpies, as Newcastle struggled to build on a squad that finished 10th last season. To compound that poor transfer window, Rafa Benitez’s men have started the season incredibly badly and so far sit second from bottom and have only managed one point. 

Despite it being early in the season, it looks like Newcastle might be in for a tough year and probably one that consists of them fighting to stay in the league. However, when you don’t put much money into a squad, while also selling off your top striker, it’s very probable that you’ll struggle.

Going forward, Mike Ashley brought in Yoshinori Muto, Salomon Rondon and Kenedy. So far this season, Kenedy has been less than impressive and in a side that needed some pace on the wing, Ashley has failed to bring in adequate quality and depth.

So far this season, Matti Ritchie has taken up the right-wing spot opposite Kenedy but worryingly for Newcastle fans, the former Bournemouth man hasn’t scored an away goal in 38 games, according to Sky Sports.

The Breakdown

The Scotland international had been linked with a move away from the club to Stoke but a move never materialised. The midfielder had been a key member to Newcastle’s promotion but since the side has got back into the Premier League, he has struggled to replicate that form.

While the stat in question doesn’t completely sum him up as a player, it only fueled the fire of what was a bad transfer window – Newcastle simply had to sign a quick, direct winger.

Newcastle fans…what do you think? Let us know!

Everton were favourites heading into Sunday’s Premier League clash against West Ham United due to their opponent’s poor start to the season.

Not only did Marco Silva’s team have home comforts on their side as the match took place at Goodison Park, they were also facing a team that had lost all four of their league matches.

However, the day did not go as planned for Everton as they were beaten 3-1 by Manuel Pellegrini’s men.

Everton had some injury problems heading into the encounter, but they would have been very disappointed to concede two goals from Andriy Yarmolenko inside the first half an hour.

Gylfi Sigurdsson pulled one back for the hosts before the half-time whistle, but Marko Arnautovic killed off the game with a hit in the 61st minute.

After the match, Silva gave his thoughts to the media, claiming that his players did not make the most of the opportunities that they had, but there is still a sense of togetherness.

Not every Everton fan took the manager’s comments well.

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There’s a long list of success stories at Chelsea under Maurizio Sarri already, with the Italian producing some fine work at Stamford Bridge. However, it hasn’t been all good.

Indeed, whilst the results have been faultless, some of the performances have been anything but, with a few individual displays, in particular, raising cause for concern.

You can’t talk about concern at Chelsea without mentioning David Luiz, who has undoubtedly left more than a few fans peering through their fingers at their television screens in fear of another catastrophic mistake.

Unfortunately for the Brazilian, whilst he has returned to the first team this season, his stay shouldn’t be a long one, and Maurizio Sarri needs to take the bold decision to move him out of the team sooner, rather than later.

After all, when Luiz is on the field, there is always a chance of an error. During his first period at Chelsea, mistakes were almost a weekly occurrence, and that was one of the reasons why he left in the first place. In terms of raw ability, there is arguably nobody better in the Premier League, but in terms of consistency, Luiz is far from the top of the list. Often eager to take one more chance or go past one more player, the Brazilian regularly gets caught out, and that’s a problem.

Those issues were hidden under Antonio Conte, given the use of a five-man defence, In that case, there was always a player or two around him, but in Maurizio Sarri’s four-man defensive system, the Brazilian doesn’t have such a luxury. Thus, there have already been a few moments this season in which he’s been caught out, and whilst that hasn’t impacted Chelsea’s results yet – it’s only a matter of time until they do.

With Andreas Christensen on the bench, and Gary Cahill yet to earn a single minute, it’s not like Sarri doesn’t have alternatives. At this point, at 31-years-old, Luiz isn’t going to change as a player, so it’s up to Sarri to change his selections.

Chelsea fans – thoughts?

Let us know below!

Manchester United’s season hit a new low this weekend as they were dispatched with ease by West Ham United at the London Stadium.

Jose Mourinho’s and Paul Pogba’s row continues to rumble on, and something needs sorting out sooner or later before United implode and their season is already over before it really got going.

The United squad is full of talent, and there should be no excuse really for the way they have been playing.

We here at the Tavern are massively concerned for the futures of a few of the United players, and we are particularly concerned for the future of young England striker Marcus Rashford.

The £65m-rated youngster scored this weekend, but the bigger picture is a more worrying one for Rashford, who in this Mourinho team, seems to be having to play with the shackles firmly on, something which appears to be massively affecting his game.

Rahsford is a player who needs to allowed to play with freedom, and at the moment, it’s just  not happening.

The youngster could well look to move away from Old Trafford if things continue, and there would be a huge clamour for his signature if he was to decide to seek a move away from the club.

Rashford is one of the best young talents in the world, and United should be harnessing that talent. If things do not improve, then it would be one of the great shames of the English game in the last few years.

United fans, what do you think? Are players like Rashford under threat? Let us know in the comments!

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It’s a milestone episode for us here at the Fixture in Focus Podcast – we’ve made it to Episode 10!

This week we’ve turned our attentions to what has fast become one of the fiercest rivalries in Premier League history – Liverpool v Man City.

Both sides remain unbeaten in the league heading into the eighth round of fixtures and are considered the two best teams in the division right now. Last season, it was Liverpool who prevented City from going the season unbeaten and were the only side to match them in terms of attacking flair and style of football, knocking them out of the Champions League on their way to the final in the process.

Expectations are high for both sides this season but while they remain unbeaten after seven league games, neither have been at their explosive best.

So how will this one stand out? James, Chris and Christy dissected this huge fixture in detail while James also took time out to speak with City Watch’s Adam Wareing.

Enjoy the episode and of course, if you enjoy what we do and don’t want to miss any future episodes, make sure you subscribe on your preferred podcast platform.

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