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Tottenham Hotspur have been implored to sign Sofyan Amrabat as the January transfer window approaches…

What’s the latest?

That’s according to Pete O’Rourke, who gave his thoughts on that potential move after noting Spurs’ interest earlier in December. In fact, Antonio Conte and Fabio Paratici were reportedly keen on the Moroccan in the summer.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT once more, the transfer insider issued the following claim: “On paper, he looks like he’s the ideal midfielder for Antonio Conte. A great defensive midfielder, great energy to get around the pitch, likes making tackles and he’s also good on the ball as well, so a good passer.

“I think for someone like Antonio Conte, his work rate is perfect for the type of football that he likes to play.”

Reports have already emerged suggesting that Fiorentina will demand a fee of around €45m (£40m) for the 26-year-old.

He’s “perfect” for Conte

Having starred in a Morocco side which enjoyed sitting deep and hitting teams on the break, there is plenty of proof to support O’Rourke’s statement.

At the World Cup, Amrabat sat as a sole defensive midfielder behind a proper midfield four, sweeping up behind them and then helping them transition into attack. The 6-foot destroyer recorded 2.3 tackles per game and paired this with an 85% pass accuracy.

He was instrumental in Morocco’s historic run to the semi-finals, with talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham claiming: “He has been my player of the tournament”.

This was supported by the claims of sports writer Carlo Garganese, who tweeted: “Amrabat the best centre midfielder in the tournament. MONSTER”.

His lung-busting runs and relentless work rate also drew praise, although it isn’t just for his country that he has impressed. In European league action, he sits in the top 5% for pass completion and the top 4% for progressive passes among positional peers in 2022, showcasing the technical superiority that he matches with his physical dominance.

However, should Conte swoop for him, he would likely hope to find a similar position to his role for Morocco in which to deploy Amrabat.

The 26-year-old could be integral in perfecting the Spurs manager’s conservative style, acting as the most important player in forging their counterattacks.

It truly could be an ideal move, and one which would certainly catch the eye following the Moroccan’s displays on the world stage over the past month.

Southampton right-back Tino Livramento is edging closer to a return from injury, as seen in a new Twitter post from the player himself.

The Lowdown: Livramento’s absence

Livramento is yet to feature for the Saints this season, suffering a cruciate ligament rupture back in April, which has caused him to miss 22 games.

Having made 28 Premier League appearances during the last campaign after arriving from Chelsea in a deal worth £5m, the Englishman established himself as an important player at St Mary’s, and a promising update has now emerged indicating that he might be back soon.

The Latest: Injury update

Taking to Twitter, the player posted a picture of himself in Southampton training at a winter camp in Andalusia, captioned: ‘Light at the end of the tunnel. Getting closer and closer…”

As such, depending on how he progresses, the 20-year-old could stake a claim for a starting place to his new manager Nathan Jones in the New Year, the earliest time he was initially expected to return.

The Verdict: Big boost

In the absence of the youngster, Kyle Walker-Peters has largely got the nod on the right of defence, but he has been somewhat up and down, receiving an average SofaScore rating of just 6.66 in the league, ranking him 14th in the Southampton squad.

The option of having Livramento, who has been hailed as “superb” by journalist Josh Bunting, available again in the New Year will therefore be a big boost in terms of defensive options for Jones, particularly considering his remarkable intercepting ability, registering an average 1.89 per 90 minutes over the past year, placing him in the 97th percentile.

With the Saints looking to steer themselves clear of the relegation zone, it will be a relief for the new boss to have the talented youngster available soon, and he will be looking to ease him back in so that he can pick up from where he left off before his ACL injury.

Former Glasgow Rangers defender Alan Hutton has claimed that Alfredo Morelos could still leave Ibrox if Michael Beale is appointed the new manager.

The Lowdown: Beale expected to join

It has been widely reported that QPR manager Beale is expected to become the next Gers manager in place of the departed Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

Morelos had been a bit-part player under the Dutchman so far this season, and it will no doubt be interesting to see what his role would be under Beale should he be appointed.

The Colombia international has been linked with a move away from the Light Blues in the January transfer window, as his contract is up in the summer.

The Latest: Morelos could still leave

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton has claimed that there is a possibility that Morelos could still leave the Teddy Bears, even if Beale comes in:

“Depending on who comes in. If Michael Beale comes in, the tendency might be leaning towards maybe staying.

“The likes of Morelos, to me, it looks like he wants out of there. He got the opportunity in the last game, and it didn’t go well for him at all.

“He still looks that moody player and he’s not giving us that aggression on the pitch where he scores goals.

“I think someone like him will, possibly, leave.”

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The Verdict: Get rid

It is safe to say that Morelos has not been at his best this term, with some of his performances criticised by various parts of the media.

New striker signing Antonio Colak is out-performing him, with 14 goals in his opening 24 appearances in total over all competitions, going into the break for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar as the club’s top scorer.

With only a few months left on his contract, Rangers need to sell Morelos in January in order to get a transfer fee for him, and Beale could then use that money to potentially invest in another striker to compete with Colak, should he be appointed.

Liverpool head into the World Cup break in sixth place, and with their hopes of securing Champions League football fading, the transfer window in six weeks’ time will be rather timely.

What’s the word?

The Reds have been after an elite midfielder for a great deal of time now with Jurgen Klopp’s men missing out on Aurelien Tchouameni in the summer, as he joined Real Madrid.

Jude Bellingham has also been a long-term target for the Anfield outfit but with a seemingly astronomical price tag, they didn’t make their move in the previous window.

The Borussia Dortmund sensation has previously been touted at a whopping £103m in some circles, but according to CIES Football Observatory, his true value in 2022 sits at £218m.

That would be a world-record fee and something FSG simply won’t be able to afford, so their negotiating hats will have to go on over the winter.

According to Fabrizio Romano, the club are locked in talks with the player’s entourage with the hope of finally concluding a deal. The Italian journalist told GIVEMESPORT: “Liverpool will be in the race, 100 per cent.

“They’re already in contact with people close to Jude Bellingham, so Liverpool will be there.”

The best of our generation

Bellingham is one of the finest young players on the planet right now with his rise to stardom in Germany quite the story.

Poached from Birmingham City when he was just 17 years of age, the Midlands side decided to retire his shirt number due to his remarkable talent.

That seemed a bizarre thing to do at the time but as the weeks and months tick by, that is a decision justified.

His numbers since moving to the Bundesliga have been truly outstanding, with the central midfielder scoring 19 goals and registering 21 assists in 112 outings while still a teenager.

The majority of those goals have come this season as Bellingham has found the net on nine occasions, with four strikes coming in the Champions League.

A rangy figure in the middle of the park, the 19-year-old is a phenomenon, putting in a level of performance on Europe’s elite stage that very few others have at this stage of their career.

Indeed, speaking of those displays, Rio Ferdinand once said: “What he’s doing in his position at his age, we haven’t seen. The best of our generation, Gerrard, Lampard, Scholes, them guys – Vieira, Roy Keane, they weren’t doing this.”

It’s hard to argue with that point either. At Bellingham’s age, Scholes had only just turned professional, Vieira was playing for Ligue 1 mid-table side Cannes, Lampard was beginning to become a first-team regular at West Ham and Keane was a year into his spell with Nottingham Forest.

Evidently, it is Dortmund’s current sensation who has enjoyed the most meteoric of rises out of those midfielders, with his impact far greater at his youthful age compared to some of the best we’ve seen in English football over the last two decades.

On that evidence, he would be a mighty fine signing for Liverpool, especially when you consider their problems in that area of the pitch.

Jordan Henderson, Thiago and James Milner are no spring chickens while Fabinho’s form this term has been questionable at times. Thus, not only would Bellingham offer them reliability in that role for the best part of the next ten years, but he’d also bring extreme quality.

The youngster ranks in the best 4% of midfielders in Europe’s top leagues for touches in the attacking penalty area and dribbles completed while he sits in the top 10% for passes into the penalty area.

This is a player who always thinks positively, with his best qualities undoubtedly being an eye for a pass, the ability to burst forward with the ball at his feet and his finishing ability.

There isn’t a more perfect player in his position for his age and whoever ends up signing him will be incredibly lucky. He is a generational talent.

Glasgow Rangers face a crucial tie against Napoli in their penultimate Champions League fixture in Naples this evening.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst must lead his side to an unlikely victory and hope Liverpool secure a win against Ajax in order to have any hope of securing third place in the group and a spot in the Europa League knockout round.

A woeful 1-1 draw against Livingston at the weekend – despite having 24 shots in total – hasn’t exactly boosted the confidence ahead of a match against the Serie A leaders.

With the Dutchman likely to make changes, we at Football FanCast predict the starting XI that will take the field under the floodlights in Italy…

Rangers predicted XI vs Napoli

Allan McGregor will retain his place in goal, with the 40-year-old shot-stopper having impressed against Napoli last time out – saving two penalties in the reverse tie at Ibrox back in September.

The back four will remain unchanged from the Livingston match on Saturday. James Tavernier and Borna Barisic will occupy their usual positions at right and left back respectively, with Ben Davies and Leon King – available after coming off sick at halftime on the weekend – forming the heart of the Light Blues’ defence.

John Lundstram and 37-year-old Steven Davis will operate in the Rangers engine room for the third game in succession.

Fashion Sakala – who was dubbed “impressive” by journalist Josh Bunting in their tie against Liverpool – will start on the right wing, with Ryan Kent – who made seven key passes on Saturday and assisted Lundstram’s equaliser against Livingston – starting on the left wing as usual. Malik Tillman will play just off the lone centre-forward.

Van Bronckhorst will drop “standout” striker Antonio Colak following an uncharacteristically poor performance on Saturday – in which he only had one shot on target from seven attempts – for Colombian Alfredo Morelos.

This means there are two changes in total from the weekend and the Dutchman will be hoping they can somehow pull off a miraculous result tonight.

When Glasgow Rangers midfielder Scott Arfield swept home inside the first half yesterday night, Ibrox was bouncing.

It was a throwback to last year’s run to the Europa League final when the volume inside Rangers’ stadium was turned up to max.

It was the club’s first goal in Europe’s premier competition for over a decade and Giovanni Van Bronckhorst’s men began to dream.

Unfortunately, they were playing a Liverpool side with a point to prove.

Even without the likes of Joel Matip, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luis Diaz, Jurgen Klopp’s men more than had enough might to fend off the Gers.

That said, the game would change in the dying stages of that first period.

Roberto Firmino found the net after a corner into the box and then Connor Goldson was taken off through injury.

His absence at the back during the second 45 minutes proved to be game-changing for the Scottish side with Liverpool going on to win 7-1.

Firmino would find the net twice but Mo Salah’s introduction made it a rout. A six-minute hat-trick for the Egyptian sensation meant he had scored the fastest three goals in one game in Champions League history.

Rangers were watching records tumble before their eyes but it could have been different had Goldson stayed on the pitch.

Indeed, the English centre-back was a rock in the first half, sniffing out Liverpool attacks on his way to being described as a “colossus” by the Athletic’s Jordan Campbell.

He foresaw what would happen without the defender on the pitch, saying: “Huge blow for Rangers as Goldson limps off. He had been a colossus so far against Nunez. The applause as he goes off very telling. Can’t remember him being injured in his four years here.”

His injury meant Nunez would eventually score as the hosts crumbled amid a constant barrage of pressure from the Anfield outfit.

With Goldson on the pitch, Rangers were well in the game, something that was aided by the imperious centre-half winning 100% of his defensive duels in the game.

The 29-year-old took 42 touches during his time on the pitch, demonstrating an immense reading of the game with two interceptions.

Evidently the key man for Van Bronckhorst, his titanic display meant that remarkably, it could have been worse for Rangers on the night.

Goldson kept things respectable but his withdrawal ultimately cost them after a famous result had initially looked on the cards.

Aston Villa mustered just their second Premier League win of the season in their last outing, with a 1-0 victory over Southampton easing the mounting pressure on Steven Gerrard heading into the international break.

There were huge levels of anticipation before the season started, with Johan Lange and Gerrard working well together to bring in a number of quality players. Indeed, the likes of Boubacar Kamara, Diego Carlos and Philippe Coutinho all arrived at Villa Park on permanent deals this summer.

These signings didn’t automatically translate into excellent performances, however, with Gerrard’s side winning just once from their opening six league matches.

And, with the 42-year-old having just two senior strikers to call upon in Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins – who have scored only three goals between them all season – missing out on signing a centre forward in the summer could come back to haunt the club.

Lange left red-faced after not signing Gabriel Barbosa

Villa have been linked with Gabriel Barbosa for close to a year, with 90min reporting that the Midlands side were keen on signing him midway through last season.

However, a move ultimately did not materialise, and with the Brazilian highly impressing over the last few seasons with Flamengo, the Villa Sporting director must be red-faced after deciding against a move for the Brazil international.

Barbosa moved from Inter Milan to Flamengo on a permanent deal in January 2020 and has scored for fun during his spell at the club.

The 26-year-old has netted a truly staggering 109 goals in just 178 matches, leading the team to the Brasileirao title in 2019 and 2020, as well as scoring two goals in just three minutes to help secure Flamengo’s first Copa Libertadores title for over 40 years back in 2019.

Brazilian icon Zico has lavished praise on the player, saying: “I think Gabigol has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history. It’s getting there. His performance got better and better, consolidating himself as one of the greats.”

There’s no doubt a move to the Premier League could take his performances to the next level if he was utilised correctly.

His performances are certainly showing Aston Villa what they are missing, and with Gerrard having to rely on Ings and Watkins for goals, it would appear an extremely wise move for Lange to regitnite his interest come the January transfer window.

Glasgow Rangers secured their place in the group stages of the Champions League with a 1-0 win away from Ibrox on Wednesday night.

The Gers came into the match after drawing 2-2 in the first leg at home against PSV. Antonio Colak and Tom Lawrence scored the goals that night to tee up this clash.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men travelled to the Netherlands and battled hard to earn a 1-0 win against the Eredivise outfit, putting themselves through to the Champions League proper for the first time in 12 years.

Colak scored the only goal of the match as he was perfectly placed to finish after terrific work from Malik Tillman to win the ball back inside the box and tee him up for the shot.

Whilst the Croatian, who has now scored five goals in his first eight games for Rangers, was the match-winner on the pitch, it was a defender who was the real star of the show for the Light Blues – James Sands.

The versatile USA international has been forced into regular minutes at centre-back this season due to injuries to Ben Davies and John Souttar and was sublime against PSV.

Journalist Jacob Schneider dubbed his performance as “phenomenal” and claimed that he was “influential” at the back, whilst fellow reporter Kyle Bonn described him as a “rock”.

The 6ft 1 centre-back, who was once called a “monster” by New York City FC writer Oliver Strand, was composed on the ball for the majority of the match – completing 86% of his attempted passes.

His ability, naturally as a midfielder, to play the ball out from the back with ease allowed Rangers to break the press at times and it meant that he was not slowing any moves down by struggling in possession.

Off the ball, he was a machine as he racked up six clearances, one block, two interceptions and one tackle, whilst the two PSV centre-backs managed nine of those actions between them.

Along with that, he won two of his three ground duels and this shows that he was strong on the deck and did not allow himself to be bullied, whilst his 70 touches – the second-most of any Gers starter – further highlighted his influence in playing out from the back, as per SofaScore.

The Scotsman’s Mark Atkinson dubbed him the best outfielder on the pitch and we agree. He was key for Rangers defensively and on the ball and will now be hoping to cement his place in the team for the rest of the campaign.

According to The Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath, Southampton have received an approach from an unnamed Premier League side for striker Che Adams.

The Lowdown: Saints ready to sanction exit

The 26-year-old still has two years remaining on his deal at the St. Mary’s Stadium, but it’s recently been reported that the Saints are willing to listen to offers for him this summer, with a switch away from the south coast now looking possible.

Several clubs, including Leeds United and Nottingham Forest, are believed to be interested in securing the forward’s signature this window, and after a fresh update, it sounds like someone has already made the first official move.

The Latest: Southampton receive approach

Taking to Twitter, McGrath confirmed that Southampton have been the recipient of an enquiry for Adams, though it’s yet unknown as to who that might be. He wrote:

“Southampton have received approach for Che Adams from a Premier League club. Interest in the Scotland striker from a number of teams. Nottingham Forest among those looking at him but there are others.”

The Verdict: The Mara effect

Ralph Hasenhuttl has recently signed French striker Sekou Mara from Bordeaux, and whilst he’s entitled to want cover and competition up top, you would imagine that this only pushes Adams even closer to the exit door.

The Scottish international only made 23 PL starts for the Saints last season, suggesting that the Austrian doesn’t see him as a major part of his long-term plans, especially considering the club are now seemingly open to sanctioning his departure.

Kyle Walker-Peters is another player whose name has recently been linked with an exit, so Southampton will have to decide if they are willing to lose two of their first-team players in one go.

West Ham United are reportedly eyeing a move for Napoli midfielder, Fabian Ruiz, according to reports coming out of Italy.

What’s the word?

As per Il Mattino (via Sports Witness), the Hammers are said to have ‘never stopped thinking’ about the Spaniard – as well as teammate Piotr Zielinski – as manager David Moyes plots a new midfield recruit.

The suggestion is that the east London outfit are yet to tempt the Serie A side into a sale with their offers thus far, with previous reports having revealed that the 26-year-old could be available for a fee in the region of €30m (£26m), with just a year remaining on his existing deal.

Despite having already brought in Flynn Downes from Swansea City so far this summer, the Premier League side are in need of further additions in the centre of the park following the retirement of long-serving skipper, Mark Noble, having also opted against signing Alex Kral on a permanent deal.

Thiago 2.0

Dubbed an “artist” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Ruiz is a gloriously gifted playmaker who simply oozes class when in possession of the ball, helping to keep things ticking over while also providing a cutting edge in the final third.

The £48k-per-week menace enjoyed a particularly impressive campaign last time out in Naples, netting seven goals and providing four assists in 32 league games for Luciano Spalletti’s side, while also averaging an impressive 90% pass accuracy rate per game.

Formerly of Real Betis – whom he left to join his current side back in 2018 – the 15-cap international is comfortable both in a deep-lying or more advanced midfield role, proving himself a hugely versatile and flexible asset who could well thrive in Moyes’ side.

Not only a star at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, the £49.5m-rated gem also compares favourably among those in his position across Europe’s top five leagues, notably averaging 5.74 progressive carries and 5.35 progressive passes per game, while also ranking in the top 3% for attempted passes.

That quality with the ball at his feet sees the “spectacular” ace – as described by former Betis boss Quique Setien –  bare a striking resemblance to that of compatriot Thiago Alcantara, with the pair sharing several statistical and stylistic similarities, as per FBref.

That comparison will set pulses racing at the London Stadium such is the immense talent of the Liverpool man, with the 31-year-old simply a master of his craft and one of the most delightful footballers to watch when in his stride.

Although Ruiz has some way to go to match the consistent brilliance of the former Bayern Munich man – who averages a stunning 9.74 progressive passes and 8.39 progressive carries per game – the signs are that he is a player of similar ilk, with the Irons potentially set to have a real gem on their hands if a deal can be struck.

AND in other news: Moyes can now form “unreal” duo as WHU given green light for “limitless” £13m signing…