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Much like Wilfried Zaha before him, Eberechi Eze has been nothing short of a revelation for Crystal Palace since he first stepped foot inside Selhurst Park, especially in recent months.

When Steve Parish agreed to pay Queens Park Rangers £16m for his services in the summer, some Palace fans couldn’t quite believe their luck, none more so than journalist Taylor Rockwell, who told the Total Soccer Show that he is a “very exciting” talent.

As of right now, Roy Hodgson’s side find themselves in 13th place in the Premier League, level on points with Southampton and two behind Arsenal at the halfway point of the campaign.

This is thanks in no small part to the impact Eze has had at Selhurst Park, having made 21 top-flight appearances in the Premier League with three goals and three assists to show for his 16 starts.

Now, granted his numbers are still quite small in comparison to the goal-scoring exploits of Zaha, but it’s fair to say that he offers so much more than that.

Other than Zaha, Palace have long lacked a creative influence capable of single-handedly changing the game on his own arguably ever since Victor Moses departed SE25.

While some wingers will bide their time and wait for an opportunity, Eze is prepared to bring the ball forward, as evidenced by his two dribbles per 90 in the Premier League during his time with Palace this season thus far, that the best of all his teammates, as per WhoScored.

And it’s not just his dribbling that has caught the eye. His role as a set-piece specialist means he boasts a WhoScored strength of ‘taking set-pieces’ to go with his dribbling and passing ability. The 22-year-old memorably scored directly from a free-kick against Leeds United to mark his first goal for the club at Selhurst Park.

His playing style has earned its fair share of plaudits with recent praise coming from Liverpool and Tottenham defender Jamie Redknapp, who told Sky Sports (via The Daily Mail): “Eze has been so influential though I actually want to see more of him. (He’s) Very impressive he’s a star man. When he’s on the ball he’s so exciting to watch.”

Palace have clearly hit the jackpot as they’ve got another playmaker for at least the next couple of years, providing that they don’t receive an offer they can’t refuse in the meantime, of course.

Now valued at €30m (£26m) by CIES Football Observatory, there’s no doubting the fact the Eagles have struck gold with the England U21 international.  

AND in other news, Crystal Palace may rue missing out on the chance to sign Bayer Leverkusen star Demarai Gray…

Glasgow Rangers have confirmed a loan move for one of their promising Ibrox young prospects.

What’s the word?

Glenn Middleton has joined St Johnstone on loan until the end of the season. The Rangers winger has settled for a loan stay at McDiarmid Park as he bids for more game time having struggled for minutes under Steven Gerrard this season.

A spirited Ryan Kent inspired Gerrard’s side to a 5-0 victory over Ross County, as goals from Kent, Filip Helander and Joe Aribo had them 3-0 up at half-time, with Ryan Jack and Connor Goldson adding the extras.

Should Kent succumb to injury, however, Gerrard may find himself short of options out wide, so it’s a big call from Ross Wilson to sanction such a move for Middleton.

Shrewd move

Back in December, The Daily Record’s Michael Gannon revealed the 21-year-old was set for the Ibrox exit amid interest from overseas.

Middleton has spent spells abroad with Norwich and Bradford City, but is yet to really make much of an impression in his home country.

Gerrard had hinted he could have a long-term future at Rangers after all after he impressed against Falkirk in the Betfred Cup, saying: “Glenn has been on loan and had injuries but he has been back within the group for four or five weeks now.

“He has been working hard and playing for an opportunity.

“We think he can do left-back, left-wingback or left-wing and it was a strong cameo from him.â€

However, he has found his chances hard to come by since Gerrard offered those words of encouragement, with his brief cameo against Falkirk his solitary appearance this season.

Saints boss Davidson is currently in desperate need of bolstering his firepower upfront, particularly on the wings, as left-wingers Craig Conway and Liam Craig aren’t getting any younger. Conway has four goals and two assists in the Premiership so far, that being the fourth-best behind the likes of Chris Kane, David Wotherspoon and Stevie May, as per Transfermarkt.

Despite his obvious struggles, Scotland U21 international MiddletonÂhas still scored five goals and supplied five assists in 29 games for the Gers.

Not only will this benefit his development, but Wilson’s shrewd move will also spare Gerrard a selection headache. Middleton has shown flashes of his potential but Kent has been nothing short of sensational this season and Wilson is paid to make these kinds of decisions.

There’s no denying the fact that he needs game time, something he isn’t going to get at Ibrox, at least for the time being, and another spell away from the club could do wonders for his career.

AND in other news, Rangers are close to securing Scott Wright from Aberdeen…

Southampton face a tough away trip in the Premier League on Saturday evening as they face high-flying Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

The Foxes currently sit fourth in the t0p-flight, with the Saints in seventh, but three points against Brendan Rodgers’s side could see the South Coast club move above them in the Premier League table.

Whilst Jamie Vardy will be an obvious threat for the Foxes, Hasenhuttl must ensure that his side are wary of Leicester midfielder James Maddison, whose excellent form so far this season marks him out as a danger man in Rodgers’ side.

In 15 top-flight appearances, the former Norwich City man has contributed four goals and two assists, which has seen him average a strong 7.02 rating.

This puts him well on track to surpass his tally from last season when he managed just six goals and three assists in the Premier League across 31 appearances.

Maddison averages 1.9 shots per game in the top-flight this season, which is only slightly less than the 2.4 averaged by Vardy.

The attacking-midfielder has also averaged 1.9 key passes per game so far this campaign, which is more than any Southampton player, with James Ward-Prowse leading the way in Hasenhuttl’s side with 1.6 key passes per game.

A prime example of the threat that Maddison can pose was in Leicester’s 2-1 win against Sheffield United earlier in the season when in added time at the end of the match, the England international robbed John Fleck of possession and played an inch-perfect through ball to Vardy, who scored the winner.

If the Saints are missing Oriol Romeu again on Saturday, then the job of marking Maddison will surely fall on the shoulders of Ibrahima Diallo. Whilst he impressed against Fulham and Liverpool, he will have to be at his best to keep the 24-year-old, who earns £110k per week, quiet at the King Power.

Whereas Southampton’s defence could keep Vardy quiet by sitting deep to prevent counter-attacks and balls over the top, this could leave them vulnerable to Maddison’s long-range shooting, with the midfielder having scored eight goals from outside of the box between the beginning of 2018/19 and January 2020, which was more than any other player.

He also earned the praise of manager Brendan Rodgers last season, with the former Liverpool boss saying:

“If you look at his numbers this season, in terms of the goals he has scored and created, he has shown he is a big-game player.”

He has certainly continued that theme this season, with a superb strike against Manchester City earlier in the season perhaps the pick of the bunch, so Southampton must be wary of the threat he poses on Saturday.

And, in other news, Southampton handed huge blow with “outstanding” gem ruled out of Leicester clash…

According to The Chronicle, former Newcastle left-back Jetro Willems would be open to a return to St James’ Park.

What’s the story?

The Netherlands international signed for the Magpies on a season-long loan in the summer of 2019, and after producing some flashes of brilliance, including a thunderous strike away at Liverpool, saw his campaign cut short by a knee injury.

Willems is only just closing on a return to full fitness, and with his contract at Eintracht Frankfurt coming to an end once this season is over, could be available on a free transfer.

The Chronicle claims that the left-back could even be available for a nominal fee in January when Newcastle might assess their options, and that Willems himself is open to the idea of making a return to Tyneside.

Nightmare for Bruce

Whilst Willems was a regular starter for Steve Bruce last season, making 19 appearances in the Premier League, a knee injury like the one he is recovering from just puts a major question mark over any potential move for him.

The Dutchman has yet to play a competitive game since going off injured against Manchester City, and until the Magpies see him at least get up and running at Frankfurt, they shouldn’t even consider spending any money on a transfer fee and/or wages in trying to sign him.

Former Netherlands manager Dick Advocaat also raised questions about his defending, saying that he “does crazy things too often”. Jamal Lewis has proven himself to be a superb summer signing, and is the undisputed number one left-back at St James’ Park.

The £3.5m-rated Willems would have to settle for a place as his back-up, and with his lack of fitness at the moment, it just doesn’t make sense for Newcastle to go after him right now.

Aston Villa are seeing the fruits of their labour come to fruition this season as their summer transfer business has actually paid off this time around.

The arrival of Ollie Watkins for a whopping £33m looked to be a massive gamble, potentially overpaying for an unproven talent, but he’s duly delivered with eight goals in ten appearances in all competitions, including a hat-trick against defending champions, Liverpool.

We’ve also seen Chelsea outcast Ross Barkley come in and make an instant impact, averaging 3.4 shots, 3 key passes and 2.2 dribbles per match in the top-flight for the Midlands outfit, via WhoScored.

However, we shouldn’t forget their brash spending in the 2019 summer window, which nearly cost them their place in the big time, and to this day, they are still feeling the effects of what Suso left behind.

One poor signing has been Marvelous Nakamba, signed in an £11m deal from Club Brugge despite already bringing in a defensive midfielder in the shape of Douglas Luiz a week earlier.

This season, the 26-year-old has only featured for 13 minutes in the Premier League and when deployed last term, he was hardly inspiring.

Per WhoScored, Nakamba averaged 1.9 tackles, 1.5 clearances, 1.3 interceptions and just 0.4 key passes per game from 29 appearances.

It led to fans dubbing him their “worst signing of the summer,” a “liability” as well as looking like he’s “scared of the ball” – even if that’s something some of his teammates certainly disagree with.

According to Spotrac, the Zimbabwean international is earning around £32.5k-per-week at Villa Park, meaning he’s cost them around £13 in total since his arrival.

His continued omission from playing, whilst under contract until 2024, is merely just an absolute waste of money and is burning a massive hole in Nassef Sawiris’ pocket.

The Villans should look to end this Suso catastrophe in the January window.

AND in other news, Relegated in 2016, now worth over 2017: Lerner has been made to look a right fool…

David Gold and David Sullivan could have finally solved David Moyes’ defensive crisis this summer had the West Ham United ownership dug a little deeper in their pursuit of RC Strasbourg’s rising star Mohamed Simakan.

What’s the word?

According to Le10 Sport, West Ham scrambled to France at the end of the international transfer market in search of Moyes’ next centre-half, but came up short in efforts to lure Simakan to the London Stadium.

The Irons are believed to have been behind a rejected €17million (£15.4m) bid for the 20-year-old, also courted by Southampton and AC Milan who likewise saw approaches rebuffed.

Strasbourg held firm in their asking price of no less than €20m (£18.1m) in the face of Euro-wide interest, with Milan only offering as much as €15m (£13.6m) while Rennes, Lyon and Marseille never formalised their intrigue.

Simakan, described as a “great professional” by agent Badou Sambage earlier in 2020, as per Transfer20 via HITC, is thought to have been left disappointed by a potential move – particularly one to England – falling through with Strasbourg rejecting all approaches received, having been keen to try his hand in another league following 25 appearances across all competitions last season.

Thierry Laurey’s Meinau stadium natives must now persist with an unhappy player in the camp, but have felt fit to start the 6 ft 1 talent in each of their six Ligue 1 fixtures played to date this term.

Strasbourg have kept one clean sheet and taken one win in their league matches held prior to the international break, coming in a 1-0 result over Dijon before conceding six times in two games to AS Monaco and LOSC Lille.

Missed opportunity?

Simakan’s potential is there to see in the number of top-tier sides to have been linked with his services this summer, with reports in Germany also suggesting that RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund were closely monitoring his situation earlier in the year.

Leipzig’s belief in Simakan’s talents reaching another level in the Bundesliga were seemingly so strong that they potentially considered the Marseille-born prospect to be of a standard good enough to replace Dayot Upamecano – who they informed Bayern Munich would cost €40m (£36.2m) after lowering a €60m (£54.4m) asking price.

West Ham could always return to Strasbourg in January with the market only a few months away, knowing the Irons were only €3m (£2.7m) shy of reaching an agreement this month. But Strasbourg’s asking price was already put to the Hammers when the east London outfit emerged as a potential suitor.

Gold and Sullivan presenting the extra funds would have secured Moyes a rough diamond in Simakan, who stood out last season with his pace at full stride, talent on the ball and ability to lead the backline.

AND in other news, West Ham could land David Moyes’ ideal defensive partner for Angelo Ogbonna in a Championship talent his current side landed for £4m.

£18 million. That’s how much Leeds United will be paying to make Michael Cuisance their newest summer signing if a deal comes to fruition.

It seems to be just a matter of time before the Bayern Munich man is announced as a Leeds player, and while it’s incredibly exciting to see such a highly-rated young midfielder sign for the Yorkshire outfit, it does leave a number of questions around Adam Forshaw’s future.

The 28-year-old hasn’t played much football over the past 12 months, with an injury keeping him out of action since United’s game against Charlton last October.

Forshaw is undoubtedly a Bielsa favourite, with the Argentine saying that he defends in a similar manner to Kalvin Phillips and attacks in a similar way to Mateusz Klich, and when you consider that those two have started every Premier League game so far, that is high praise.

However, with Forshaw still out with injury and Cuisance coming in, it’s hard to see how he gets back into the first-team picture.

Klich and Phillips are nigh on undroppable, with Klich starting all-but-one of Leeds’ league games since Bielsa took charge, while Phillips is arguably United’s best player, earning an England call-up before he even made his Premier League debut.

Of course, there is a third midfield role that is usually taken up by a more attacking player with Rodrigo, Pablo Hernandez and Tyler Roberts all playing that role in recent weeks, but there is sufficient strength in depth in that role to the point where Forshaw isn’t really an option.

A lot has changed at Elland Road since Forshaw went down injured, including new recruits coming in and taking his spot. Now, the 28-year-old is in something of a no man’s land at Leeds where he is a depth option in a position that doesn’t really get rotated all that much.

In other news, one Leeds loanee showed exactly what he can do last weekend.

Borussia Dortmund are ready to sell Jadon Sancho to Manchester United “for the right price.” 

The Red Devils have received a huge boost in the race to sign Sancho this summer, as Dortmund are willing to let him leave on one condition.

According to The Independent’s Miguel Delaney, the Germans will sell for the right price and Man United are expected to start negotiations with a basic fee of £55m, including a series of clauses and conditions that could take it to somewhere in the region of £80m.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has identified Sancho as the signing he needs to rebuild the Red Devils and take them to the next level.

Recent reports revealed Dortmund are stepping up contingency plans to prepare for his exit in the summer, which Delaney has now confirmed.

The Bundesliga challengers are sizing up a move for Werder Bremen’s Milot Rashica as a suitable replacement.

As it stands, everything seems to point towards Sancho ending up at Old Trafford sooner rather than later, but as is often the case with United, there is an added catch.

Although all parties involved are confident a deal can be completed, the decision ultimately hinges on whether or not the Red Devils will qualify for the Champions League.

While that may be a bit extreme, Sancho’s camp have insisted that Champions League qualification could make-or-break the deal, which is one reason why it hasn’t happened yet.

Suddenly, the stakes seem even higher when Solskjaer’s side travel to Leicester City on Sunday. United now need a point not only to reach Europe’s premier competition, but also to bring Sancho back to England in the summer.

United fans, do you think Ed Woodward will sign Sancho this summer? Let us know down below!

West Ham head into the Premier League’s final matchday of the 2019/20 season knowing that they are safe and secure for next year.

However, the Irons welcome a side battling relegation in Aston Villa, who come to east London on the back of an impressive victory over Arsenal last week.

Meanwhile, David Moyes’ side come into this one in decent form having won two and drawn one of their last three matches with the stalemate being against free-scoring Man United on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old has some decisions to make with team selection, so here’s what we are predicting this afternoon…

The Hammers could make as many as three changes with the Scotsman balancing injuries across the pitch.

Lucas Fabianski is sure to finish the term between the sticks, but the back four in front of him will be slightly different from midweek.

Left-back Aaron Cresswell came off injured early and is a serious doubt for this one, so Arthur Masuaku takes his place alongside centre-back pairing Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop whilst Ben Johnson continues on the right.

In a small tweak to the formation, Declan Rice heralds the backline with Thomas Soucek and Mark Noble slightly more advanced in Moyes’ engine room.

Pablo Fornals also keeps his place but switches to the right-flank as the impressive Jarrod Bowen is also a doubt like Cresswell.

Felipe Anderson could be handed a chance in his absence, starting on the other side – it would be the £28.8m-rated Brazilian’s first start since a defeat to Liverpool in February.

Whilst the final change comes in the attack.

Moyes could grant Sebastien Haller an opportunity to impress ahead of the summer, he may replace Michail Antonio upfront with the 30-year-old performing like a workhorse in recent weeks.

AND in other news, West Ham can finally replace Zabaleta with £18m summer raid…

Tottenham Hotspur are ‘confident’ of completing a deal for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, even though Southampton have accepted a bid from Everton for the midfielder.  

Hojbjerg has made it clear he wants to move to Spurs, where Jose Mourinho is willing to play him in front of the back four. Mourinho has identified the Dane as the signing he needs to rebuild Spurs’ midfield.

According to The Guardian, as per @Daily_Hotspur, Tottenham are confident that they can sign Hojbjerg from Southampton. Dave Hytner, the newspaper’s chief football correspondent, claims that Spurs will look to conclude negotiations with the Saints, despite falling short of their asking price so far.

Southampton plan to use Everton’s £25m bid as a benchmark, while Daniel Levy will look to lower their valuation.

Hojbjerg has told the Saints that he will not be signing a new deal at St Mary’s and he was removed from the captaincy by Ralph Hasenhuttl as a result.

The ex-Bayern Munich ace has lost his place in the starting line-up since the Premier League restart, although he played the full 90 minutes against Brighton at right-back.

Hojbjerg has played 33 games in the Premier League this season, supplying one assist, taking 1.4 shots, winning 2.4 tackles and completing 1.5 clearances per game on average (via WhoScored).

Although it looks like the Lilywhites are the favourites to sign him at the moment, a deal seems far from done.

While he will not be available for a cut-price fee as the club had initially hoped, in reality he should be more than affordable, as Levy spent £53.8m on Tanguy Ndombele last year.

Spurs could be set for a reshuffle if Hojbjerg arrives in the summer, as former Pochettino favourite Harry Winks may be forced to make way, while questions remain over Ndombele’s future in north London.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!