While the mass media love-in surrounding Liverpool’s charismatic new manager continues unabated, his predecessor is being linked with a quick return to a place further down the Premier League table. Having secured just four points for Aston Villa from a possible 24 this season, Tim Sherwood is already feeling the heat and the names of both Brendan Rodgers and David Moyes, who is currently not enjoying the best of times at Real Sociedad, are being mentioned as potential successors. Sherwood is said to have attended something approaching crisis talks with his employers during the international break and may be handed his P45 if his side’s performances against Chelsea and Swansea aren’t up to scratch.
Back at Anfield, Jürgen Klopp is reported to have told his new employers that he wants to sign the Porto midfielder Rúben Neves, who Chelsea fans will remember as the 18-year-old who shone when the Portuguese side beat their team in the Champions League at the end of September. Whey-faced Schalke winger Leroy Sané is another teenager being linked with a move to Anfield, having recently caught the eye in André Breitenreiter’s side by scoring goals in three consecutive Bundesliga appearances against Stuttgart, Eintracht Frankfurt and Hamburger SV.
The Italian newspaper Corriere dello Sport report that Roma want to bring the Liverpool centre-back Mamadou Sakho to the Italian capital in January, despite having had their overtures regarding a loan move during the summer firmly rebuffed. Far from a first team regular under Rodgers, the French defender has made five appearances for the club this season and inked a new deal with the club last month saying: “I will keep working because I am a Liverpool soldier and when Liverpool need me, I try to give my best.” Should Roma get their man, he’ll cost them somewhere in the region of £18m.
The Rumour Mill likes nothing better than a good old fashioned come-and-get-me plea and was pleased to hear one emanating from the Estádio José Alvalade, where the 23-year-old midfielder William Carvalho has appealed to Arsenal to make his boyhood dreams come true.
“I am where I want to be right now, which is Sporting,” he said, before adding the obligatory but. “But if I ever do leave then it’s a sign that my work here was well done. I dream of winning the Primeira Liga here. I prefer not to say too much, but there is a club which I’ve always been fond of: Arsenal. Because of Thierry Henry, a player with whom I have always enjoyed watching. Maybe this is why I look with so much affection to the Premier League.” Listen up Arsène, you know it’s the right thing to do.
Already keeping tabs on the Belgium international Laurent Depoitre, Tottenham Hotspur have added the name of the 20-year-old Nigeria winger Moses Simon to their List O’Players We’d Like To Buy From Gent, while the Daily Mirror reports the rather intriguing news that the slaloming former Manchester United, Everton and Rangers winger Andrei Kanchelskis has thrown his big Russian hat in the ring for the vacant manager’s job at League of Ireland side Derry City.
