Liverpool’s youngsters got the job done this week against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup fourth-round replay.

With Jurgen Klopp and the senior players absent from the match as they were on their two-week winter break, it was left to Neil Critchley and the club’s younger players to try and progress. The team that ended up taking the field was the youngest in the club’s history, but it didn’t stop them from winning 1-0.

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The likes of Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott are names not uncommon to the Liverpool supporters, but Leighton Clarkson is perhaps one who they have not heard so much about. However, the midfielder put in an extremely impressive display, managing two key passes, a 91% pass completion rate and three tackles.

His display will come as no surprise to those in the know at Melwood and Anfield, though. Even as a 17-year-old last year, he was invited to train with the senior side, and he drew great praise from Pep Lijnders, Jurgen Klopp’s assistant manager. He said: “Leighton Clarkson, who sees with his own eyes the constant runs of Sadio and Mo in behind. He has the capacity to play the passes these type of forwards like to receive, he is the type of No.6 we really like, the one who can dictate play, but dictate with direction, who can speed up the tempo of the positional play, the one who has always time on the ball.”

Matt Addison, of the Blood Red podcast, compared him to Jordan Henderson, but he appears to have a bit more of an attacking threat to his game than the Liverpool captain. Even in just eight games so far this term in the Premier League 2, he has four assists, whilst he managed four goals and six assists in 21 U18 Premier League matches last term as well. The most assists Henderson has managed in a season since 2014/15 is five.

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He now has two appearances under his name this year for the senior side and, with Liverpool still in the FA Cup, Clarkson could feature once again in the near future. Beyond that, though, he will surely be targeting Henderson’s place in the starting line-up. At 29 years of age, the former Sunderland man does not have all of the time in the world left at the top. Aged 18, Clarkson has plenty of time to develop and eventually become the perfect successor to the England international. You already know Jones and Elliott – it is perhaps time to become more familiar with this youngster as well.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to Manchester City’s reported interest in Lionel Messi.

‘RalphBall’ – as The Athletic’s Carl Anka described it back in August – is the style of play Ralph Hasenhuttl has introduced at St Mary’s.

Anka continues to outline in the aforementioned article just how ‘The Alpine Klopp’ prefers to set his side up.

“For the most part, Hasenhuttl likes to use systems with a four-man back line, two dogged midfielders in front and an assortment of attackers ahead of that.”

In regards to ‘dogged midfielders’, Oriol Romeu – one of three senior central midfielders at Southampton right now – is not one.

The Spaniard – as solid as he may be with 2.3 tackles per game in the Premier League this term before the Burnley clash – is about as slow as they come in the middle of the park, offering a stark contrast to the busy, dogged option that Hasenhuttl prefers.

There was interest from Celta Vigo in January, although the Saints did not want to leave themselves short of options as only James Ward-Prowse and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg can be considered senior options in central midfield aside from Romeu.

However, one man who is right under Hasenhuttl’s nose may actually be a better fit than the former Chelsea man.

Harrison Reed – who is currently enjoying a season-long loan at promotion hopefuls Fulham – has been somewhat renowned for his tenacity and determination in the middle of the park, with The Daily Mail even using the exact word of tenacity to describe his playing style while also comparing him to Paul Scholes.

In Reed, Hasenhuttl has a player who can be considered much more mobile, energetic and quite frankly better suited to ‘RalphBall’ than Romeu, despite the sluggish Spaniard’s vast experience playing in the Champions League and also developing in Barcelona’s famed La Masia.

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If the former RB Leipzig boss was planning on getting his chequebook out to sign another option instead of the 28-year-old, he would have a good mind to take note of Reed’s qualities before parting with any cash – the ginger midfielder certainly looks like a good fit.

In other news, this Southampton man has been compared to Champions League stars Jadon Sancho and Douglas Costa…

Southampton’s Stuart Armstrong, Manchester United enforcer Nemanja Matic and Patrick van Aanholt all caught the eye for the same reason over the course of the weekend.

While the trio are far from revered for their playmaking abilities, all three showcased an eye-catching level of creativity which enabled their respective sides to clinch three points.

Together, they are Football FanCast’s creative geniuses for matchday 27 in the Premier League…

Stuart Armstrong vs Aston Villa

The Saints put themselves within six points of a Europa League spot by beating Aston Villa on Saturday, and they were good value for that triumph – they managed a huge 28 shots to their opponents’ four, with it being nine to one in terms of shots on target.

And the performance of Armstrong particularly stood out.

Whilst he also scored the second goal for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in a 2-0 win, the former Celtic man led the way on the pitch in terms of key passes, with no other player able to match his five.

That is something of an anomaly for the 27-year-old, who has averaged just 0.6 per match throughout the top tier this season, but it seems he is beginning to get to grips with his role on the right side of midfield.

Jack Grealish, by comparison, recorded just a solitary key pass at St Mary’s.

Nemanja Matic vs Watford

Rumours that Matic could be on his way out of Old Trafford during the January transfer window – which certainly weren’t silenced by his own inconclusive comments on his future in December – but, in the end, he ended up staying with the 20-time English champions.

Despite Scott McTominay’s return to fitness, he was selected in the starting line-up against the Hornets and put in a fantastic display alongside Fred in the middle of the park.

Usually known for his defensive ability – he has averaged over two tackles per game throughout his career and managed to win three here – it was his playmaking ability that caught the eye on Sunday.

Despite playing alongside the likes of Bruno Fernandes, no-one was able to match his tally of five key passes during the 90 minutes. None of them ended up being assists, but still, it showed he had an impact on his side’s attacking play.

McTominay’s return to the bench could see the 31-year-old forced into a more reduced role, but this display will give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a dilemma in the short-term.

Patrick van Aanholt vs Newcastle

Crystal Palace were wasteful against the Magpies, with Jordan Ayew the main culprit – he was unable to hit the back of the net with any of his seven attempts on goal.

However, that wasn’t down to a lack of creativity, which Patrick van Aanholt provided in abundance.

Despite playing at left-back, the Netherlands international was able to provide a colossal six key passes for his team at Selhurst Park. For context, no other player from either side was able to provide half as many. He also got himself on the scoresheet with a wonderfully hit free-kick, which capped off a stunning performance from the 29-year-old.

Amongst the players to have started a Premier League match this season, only Luka Milivojevic has more key passes per match (1.2) than van Aanholt’s 1.1 for the Eagles. Not only that, but only Ayew (six) has scored more than his three in the top tier.

Make no doubt about it – the former Chelsea man is a player Roy Hodgson cannot afford to do without.

Celtic completed a shrewd double raid on Southampton during the 2019 summer transfer window as Mohamed Elyounoussi and Fraser Forster swapped St Mary’s for Paradise.

The former has injected flair and creativity into the side – though injuries have hampered his progress – while the latter has been a trustworthy presence between the sticks all season.

It would be easy to sympathise with those supporters who wish to see the Premier League duo sign permanent contracts at the end of the season given their respective contributions.

Naturally, wage demands always have the potential to cause issues in negotiations, but that may not be the case in regard to Forster.

Indeed, Carl Anka, who is The Athletic’s Southampton correspondent, recently revealed in a Q&A column that the 31-year-old is willing to take a pay cut to stay in Scotland next season.

Here’s what he had to say, per The Athletic: “My understanding is Forster is willing to take a paycut to stay at Celtic, so the chances of him staying in Scotland are pretty good.”

The majority of the Hoops faithful were absolutely delighted with the news and they turned out in their numbers to express their delight, with fans urging the club to get the deal done.

One fan, however, brought the conversation back down to earth with a bang.

While he admits he wants to see the towering stopper sign for the club permanently, doubts linger regarding the club’s financial position and whether they’d actually be able to afford the transfer fee.

Given his form of late, and his willingness to take a pay cut, it would be no surprise if other suitors also joined the race for his signature.

Finally, a more optimistic and light-hearted response suggested that the club need to seek planning permission to keep Forster at the club, such is the enormity of his presence between the sticks.

If the reaction is anything to go by, Forster would be an incredibly popular summer addition.

Wolves fans have taken to Twitter to criticise Ruben Vinagre for his display in the 0-0 draw against Brighton.

The Portugal U21 international has been involved in Nuno Espirito Santo’s starting XI recently after Jonny Otto suffered a foot injury – as of now, however, he has failed to convince.

Despite helping Wolves beat Tottenham before the Brighton game, Vinagre was still hammered by some supporters on Twitter, and nothing seems to have changed this time around as his display against the Seagulls also failed to impress.

The 20-year-old had three unsuccessful touches and was also dispossessed three times by Graham Potter’s side.

Additionally, he rarely looked adventurous when space was afforded to him going forward, instead opting for the safer option – that particular feature of his game on Saturday was baffling, as he does possess decent pace and dribbling ability.

His woes going forward are highlighted by the fact that only one of his attempted five crosses went down as a success, while he also failed to have a shot or a key pass.

Let’s see what the Wolves fans on Twitter have been saying about the No.29…

To kick off the reaction, one fan said that they’d rather see Jonny playing in a protective boot instead of watching Vinagre right now – ouch.

In fairness to the Portuguese full-back, he is just 20 years of age and was only making his fifth Premier League start of the season, so he is perhaps lacking a certain level of experience and game time at the top level to truly make his mark.

Elsewhere, the comments got harsher.

One supporter said the youngster shouldn’t be in the team, whereas another said that Vinagre is the only player Nuno has failed to improve.

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That may well be the case, but the man rated at £9m on Transfermarkt is the second-youngest player in the squad behind Pedro Neto, so there is still plenty of time for Nuno to work his magic on him.

In other news, a journalist has named one thing Nuno could’ve done better on Saturday…

Alex Hurst joined the Pod On The Tyne podcast to talk about Newcastle’s recent rise in form and how integral to the squad Matt Ritchie has been as of late.

Even though we’re only talking about two wins in a row following a whole season of ups and downs, the Magpies truly did look a lot more comfortable in the last couple of clashes.

And Hurst firmly believes that Ritchie is a big part of the reason why that is simply for his charisma and his impact on the team spirit in the Newcastle camp.

Here’s what he said on the Pod On The Tyne podcast (11/3/2020): “He just seems to be such an integral part of the team spirit this season. You look back at previous years when we were really, really bad under John Carver. God if we had Matt Ritchie then yeah, kicking players on the ass, kicking off at people and making them worried about turning up for training.”

The 30-year-old Scotland international has been a big part of the Newcastle family ever since his arrival at the club all the way from Bournemouth back in 2016.

Ritchie has since played 140 games for the Magpies, even scoring a total of 22 goals and assisting further 26 in the process as well. Of course, this season has been a bit of a struggle due to his injury that made him miss 19 games from August until January.

But now that he’s back and kicking people left and right once again, Newcastle are looking even better.

Newcastle fans, do you agree with Hurst’s verdict on Ritchie? Is he really an integral part of your squad? Let us know down in the comments below!

When you think of football from years gone by, your mind may be drawn to the old-school traditions of the big man, little man combination in attack.

The likes of Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch at Portsmouth and then Tottenham – they combined for nine goals throughout their careers – and also Manchester United pair Teddy Sheringham and Andy Cole, who combined for ten goals.

You also have the deadly duo of Emile Heskey and Michael Owen for England, who linked up for six goals.

However, in the modern era, there are very few signs of the old two up top strike partnership.

Some managers have preferred to adopt systems with lone strikers in a 4-3-3 or 4-5-1, where the frontman is the focal point on his own.

However, Wolves duo Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota – standing at 6 foot 3 and 5 foot 10 respectively – are keeping the old tradition alive under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Transfermarkt reveals that the pair have combined for a huge 17 goals together at Molineux, where it seems that the Mexican’s aerial dominance and physicality is the perfect foil for Jota’s diminutive style in which dribbling and sneaky movement take precedence.

The Wolves pair have played 71 matches alongside each other under Nuno, sharing the pitch for a total of 4,632 minutes and to some effect – their efforts have helped the Midlands club qualify for the Europa League, reach the last 16 of the tournament and also has them sat sixth in the Premier League as things stand.

Jota and Jimenez earn 1.66 points per game for Wolves when on the pitch together, and they are very much keeping old traditions alive at Molineux in an age where few clubs are using the old-school striking set-up.

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That is credit for Nuno for being bold in his approach, and also testament to the striking duo for making it click.

In other news, this 2016 Wolves capture has proven to be a masterstroke purchase from Fosun…

Sunderland have not played a game for more than two weeks and by the time football returns, many of their players could be in need of a pre-season regime to get back into shape.However, goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin is doing his best to stay fit and healthy, while also maintaining his mental health wellbeing.Every day he has been going on multiple runs a day in order to maintain the fitness he would need if he was playing week-in week-out in League One, though whether he is able to test his reflexes is a different story.The keeper assured that it is a form of self-isolation while also being a method that is beneficial to everyone, as it ensures he can help himself while keeping a safe distance from others.

His teammates should look to follow his example if they are able to, otherwise they risk injury if they are rushed back to training in the limited weeks that may be left in the season – if and when football does return.

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The terrain McLaughlin is running on does seem to be a challenge too and it is encouraging to see his self-discipline take hold, as he could easily have used this period to relax after a long season of playing.

Meanwhile, Sunderland fans were delighted with this signing in 2018…

Wolves fans have been reacting in their masses to what their midfielder Ruben Neves has done this week after it was revealed that he had kindly donated around €33,000 (£29,200) to a hospital in his hometown, Santa Maria da Feira, Portugal.

And fans have been lapping up the “classy” gesture on Twitter.

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The 22-year-old contacted the hospital on his own accord asking how he could help and added: “It is a duty to help the region where I am born and where I have family and friends. This is a moment of public health emergency that no one can remain indifferent to.”

Neves just like his teammates at Molineux have been forced to train from the confines of their home over the past couple of weeks, and that isn’t likely to change anytime in the near future with football on hold.

Aside from keeping his fitness levels topped up, it’s clear to see that the Portuguese star – who is rated at £45m by Transfermarkt – is doing something worthwhile with his free time and of course, the healthy wage packet he’ll be on in the west Midlands.

Here’s what supporters have been saying…

AND in other news, Wolves skipper reveals the one thing that frustrates Nuno Santo…

Loads of Manchester United fans have been raving over an iconic goal from club legend Paul Scholes, as Wednesday marked 20 years since his sensational screamer against Bradford City in the Premier League. 

Scholes created some truly memorable moments throughout his 19-year-spell with the Red Devils. The centre-midfielder is well known for playing the ball off the ground and this incredible long-range volley is arguably one of the best goals he ever scored.

The club’s official Twitter account posted footage of the Englishman’s legendary goal, a stunning effort that put the game well beyond the Bantams as the match ended 4-0. Taking a drilled corner from David Beckham, Scholes struck the football perfectly, smashing the ball into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.

Scholes bagged 107 goals and produced 55 assists in 499 appearances in the English top flight, winning a staggering 321 games (Premier League). His market value reached its highest rating at £22.5m in 2004 via Transfermarkt.

It seems like many supporters will never forget his performances in a United jersey, with one fan dubbing the 45-year-old the “greatest midfielder ever.”

Take a look at some of the best reactions online…

United fans, do you think Paul Scholes is the greatest midfielder in Premier League history? Join in the discussion in the comments section below!