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Former Premier League defender Kenny Cunningham questioned Jurgen Klopp’s tactics which saw Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi withdrawn early from the action against FC Midtjylland on Tuesday night.

The Reds made hard work of their 2-0 victory against the Danish side as they maintained their 100% record in the Champions League. Diogo Jota scored the opening goal of the game, which was the club’s 10,000th goal in competitive action, before substitute Mohamed Salah sealed the deal with a late second half penalty.

Klopp opted to make several changes to his starting line-up, which featured both Minamino and Origi in attack. Both players received match ratings of 6.5 (Sofascore) and were brought off just after the hour mark.

Speaking to RTE Soccer, Cunningham was baffled by this decision and expressed his disappointment that they were both substituted at the time that they were and even made references about private planes, even though the game was taking place at Anfield.

With this in mind, some supporters were astonished by what they heard from Cunningham and were quick to make their feelings clear on social media after the match had ended.

Fans blast Kenny Cunningham’s views

In other news, Liverpool fans howl at Jurgen Klopp’s FC Midtjylland verdict on “awful” asset.

Celtic announced the departure of out-of-contract duo Johnny Hayes and Jozo Simunovic earlier this week with their manager Neil Lennon waxing lyrical about the pair.

He said: “Both leave Celtic as nine-in-a-row champions. It’s an achievement they richly deserve and something I know they will cherish dearly. I would like to sincerely thank both Jozo and Jonny, brilliant lads who have given their all to Celtic over a number of years.”

And it appears as if the Bhoys chief-in-command has already found a replacement for the Croatian centre-back – if fresh reports are to be believed.

According to The Herald, Celtic are monitoring Hellas Verona defender Pawel Dawidowicz to take Simunovic’s place as the main challenge to first-choice pairing Kristoffer Ajer and Christopher Jullien.

It’s claimed that the Hoops would need to ‘stump up some cash’ in order to lure him to Parkhead with a £1.4m being mentioned in the report.

The 6 foot 2 colossus is under contract for another two years at the Serie A outfit, where he has made just six starts for them this term. He’s also able to play in defensive akin to Ajer.

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Per WhoScored, the Poland international has averaged 1.8 clearances, 1.8 aerial duels won and 1.1 tackles in his 14 total appearances.

Lennon decided to not take the option up on Simunovic for next season, meaning the Glasgow giants are certainly in need of adding some strength in depth in that department.

Whether that will be Dawidowicz remains to be seen.

AND in other news, Celtic tipped to sign 29-goal sharpshooter but only on ONE condition…

Liverpool have been given a huge boost as the defending champions prepare for the 2020/21 Premier League season.Â

The African Cup of Nations (AFCON) has been postponed to 2022, as reported by James Pearce on Twitter, which means that the Reds will be able to keep many of their biggest stars for the entire campaign.

AFCON was set be held from early January 2021 in CameroonÂand the tournament could have caused major disruption to Jurgen Klopp’s plans, as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were ready to represent Senegal and Egypt respectively, while Naby Keita would have been away on international duty with Guinea.

However, the competition has been delayed for another year in response to the coronavirus crisis, which will allow Klopp to keep all of his key players ahead of a busy schedule.

Cameroon were set to host the event even though they were stripped of the 2019 tournament. They are now expected to resume their responsibilities when the games start in 2022.

Unsurprisingly, loads of LFC fans gushed over Pearce’s “brilliant news” with one supporter describing the announcement as “gargantuan” while another feels that it is “great” for the club.

Scroll down through some of the best reactions so far…

Liverpool fans, do you think the Reds will defend their Premier League title next year? Let us know in the comments below!

Newcastle United have potentially been dealt a big blow if they were looking to sign Danny Rose on a permanent deal from Tottenham Hotspur as the player has admitted that his future may be at Spurs with Jose Mourinho.

Speaking in an interview on the Second Captains podcast (via The Northern Echo), Rose said with regards to his future:

“I will just have to wait and see, but for me I would love nothing more than to play for those (Spurs) fans once again.”

Indeed, the 30-year old has dedicated much of his playing career to the team from North London, playing in a rather impressive total of 214 games in all competitions across the last decade, scoring 10 goals and making a further 29 assists in the process, according to Transfermarkt.

However, his playing time was limited in the 2019/20 season to just 16 matches in all competitions, with him completing the full 90 minutes in just seven of those, as per the website.

Thus, he moved on loan to the North East to play under Steve Bruce, as he helped them fight off relegation from the Premier League relatively comfortably in the end as well as to an FA Cup quarter-final against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in his 13 appearances.

Nevertheless, it seems as if the English international is looking to fight for his place at the Lilywhites with fellow left-back Ben Davies, which would be a big blow to the Magpies if they were looking to sign him on a permanent basis.

If Rose departs, perhaps the left-back position is an area to look at strengthening for the Toon, regardless of whether there is a takeover of NUFC or not.

Geordies, would you sign Rose permanently? Comment below!

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

There was a distinct Argentine flavour to Manchester City’s first Premier League triumph in 2011/12, with Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez all playing their part in that memorable success. It was a recipe which the Etihad Stadium club sampled again in 2013 when they brought Martin Demichelis to England in a £4.2m deal from Atletico Madrid, who he had joined from Malaga only two  months previously.

The defender’s move to Manchester quickly reunited him with Manuel Pellegrini, who had been his manager at Malaga when they reached the Champions League quarter-finals a few months previously. His Premier League debut was delayed due to a knee ligament injury and, when it finally came, it wasn’t one to remember as City went down 2-1 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (as per TransferMarkt).

Demichelis would make up for lost time by becoming a regular presence in Pellegrini’s line-up over the course of the 2013/14 season but he wasn’t always the most assuring of figures in the Manchester City defence. He was sent off for a foul on Lionel Messi in a Champions League defeat to Barcelona which resulted in a penalty that his Argentina colleague dispatched to the net, although he publicly admitted his culpability afterwards and absolved referee Jonas Eriksson for the red card (as per Daily Mail).

Demichelis ended his first season in Manchester as a Premier League champion and League Cup winner, tasting success in the latter competition again in 2016 (as per TransferMarkt). He featured regularly in Pellegrini’s starting XI in his first two seasons at the club but found game-time much harder to come by once the 2015/16 campaign rolled around.

It was not a season which the Argentina defender would care to remember fondly. In March 2016, he was charged by the FA over breaches of betting rules and fined just over £22,000 as a result. Around that time, he also endured a miserable outing in a derby defeat at home to Manchester United, when he was given the runaround by a teenage Marcus Rashford. Demichelis prompted a melee when he hauled the England youngster to the ground, having earlier been guilty of the mistake which led to Rashford’s winning goal, and another error early in the second half saw him withdrawn by Pellegrini – a substitution which drew ironic cheers from some home fans.

Speaking on radio punditry duty, Robbie Savage described it as “the worst performance by a centre-half I have ever seen” [via Daily Express], while a user on the Xtratime.org forum duly began a discussion thread called “Is Martin Gaston Demichelis the worst footballer in the world?”

The Argentina defender was released from Manchester City in June 2016 and, despite winning three trophies in his time at the club, his time in England was scarred by some truly galling defensive displays and his inclusion in polls about the worst player in the Premier League. While fellow countrymen Aguero and Zabaleta would go on to be regarded as Etihad Stadium royalty, Demichelis fell far short of such standards.

Man City fans, what did you make of Demichelis during his time at the club? Comment below with your views!

Although Leeds have been enjoying a blistering season in the Championship – with promotion looking promising at the end of this season – we can still put the team under a magnifying glass and pick out those who have fallen behind the pack.

Unsurprisingly, there have been a couple of players who haven’t been up to scratch…

Ouasim Bouy

The 26-year-old’s 2019/20 season perhaps couldn’t have gone any worse after he was reportedly told he would not be playing for Leeds again. Bouy has had a difficult career with the Yorkshire side but it seemed this season was the turning point for Marcelo Bielsa to call the final straw.

According to Phil Hay, the Dutchman is training at completely different times to the first team and Leeds are now desperate to get him off their books.

Bouy’s market value is also the lowest it’s ever been whilst with the Whites, extremely disappointing from a player whose agent also manages the likes of Paul Pogba and Erling Haaland.

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Jamie Shackleton

It’s always nice when English clubs can nurture homegrown talent and watch them grow into a top footballer. Frustratingly, this season hasn’t been a career-defining one for 20-year-old Jamie Shackleton.

In his first senior season for Leeds, the youngster managed to get himself two assists after playing an average of just 23 minutes in 19 games. However, with a bit more responsibility this campaign, it may have proven all too much for Shackleton.

The Englishman has started four matches out of 14 but hasn’t registered a single goal or assist for his side. In those four starting appearances, Shackleton lost the ball 29 times and made just three key passes.

Similar in age, West Brom’s Kyle Edwards is also being integrated into the first team and has scored two goals and has averaged a higher passing accuracy (84.6%) than Shackleton (83.2%).

Age is on his side, but if the 20-year-old wants to follow in similar paths to young English talent like Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jadon Sancho he must pull his socks up.

What do you think, Leeds fans? Do you agree with the above or has there been worse performers this season?

Celtic fans have been discussing their former left-back, Emilio Izaguirre, on social media after the club’s official Twitter account wished him a happy 34th birthday.

The Honduras international departed Glasgow for his home country in the summer after eight seasons at Celtic Park.

Over the course of his Bhoys career, Izaguirre racked up 271 appearances, scoring five goals as well as providing 48 assists, via Transfermarkt.

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During his debut season, he clinched the SPFA, SFWA and the SPFL Player of the Year award before winning seven titles.

His game time quickly diminished following the emergence of Kieran Tierney at the club so he moved to Saudi Arabia, joining Al-Fayha, but he soon returned to the Scottish giants after cutting his time short in the country.

He is clearly adored by much of the Hoops faithful with many lauding him on Twitter.

Here’s how they have been reacting to his birthday…

AND in other news, Celtic fans drool over Scott Brown footage…

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in signing Bournemouth ace Aaron Ramsdale if the Cherries are relegated from the Premier League, according to the Daily Mail. 

Tottenham are keen to sign Ramsdale as a replacement for Hugo Lloris and, despite the Frenchman still being Jose Mourinho’s first-choice goalkeeper, recent reports have suggested that Spurs are searching for his eventual successor this summer.

It is understood that the Lilywhites are looking at the Cherries’ shot-stopper as a possible alternative.

Ramsdale has been one of the few success stories in a difficult season for Eddie Howe’s side, who find themselves embroiled in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Premier League which is set to be decided on the final day of the season.

The England under-21 international, who has won seven caps at that level, has played 36 games in the Premier League this season, keeping just five clean sheets and conceding 61 goals up until now.

Meanwhile, Lloris has arguably struggled for consistency so far, as he has managed only six clean sheets in the league this term. Surprisingly, he has received a higher SofaScore rating than the Bournemouth ‘keeper, although there isn’t much between them.

Even though these statistics don’t seem to make for pleasant reading, Ramsdale enjoyed one of his best performances against Southampton in the south coast derby last weekend.

While the Cherries came up short, as the Saints scored twice to claim the victory, the Englishman earned a high SofaScore rating for his displays between the sticks, saving four shots from inside the box, making six saves overall, saving one penalty and taking 40 touches of the ball.

The 22-year-old Cherries ‘keeper has shown glimpses of what he has to offer, although he is still a work in progress, as he needs to improve his long passing. However, he arguably has a long career ahead of him and it may be a risk worth taking, as he is currently valued at £11m by Transfermarkt.

As it stands, it is likely that 33-year-old Lloris will be phased out within the next couple of years and Ramsdale could turn out to be a shrewd signing, given his significant younger age and his fine showings for relegation-threatened Bournemouth.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Ramsdale this summer? Let us know in the comments below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

It appears that West Bromwich Albion will see the return of Oliver Burke at the end of the season as Spanish football journalist Alex Kirkland believes his loan club, La Liga side Alaves, won’t make the move permanent.

What’s he said?

Burke joined the Hawthorns for a club-record £15m fee back in 2017 when ex-manager Tony Pulis signed him from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.

Ever since then, the 22-year-old has failed to live up to the expectations that such money commands, scoring just once in 24 appearances.

After Slaven Bilic joined the club in the summer, it was soon clear to understand that Burke was never going to feature in his plans as academy prospect Kyle Edwards was promoted to the senior side, leading to him starting the first three Championship matches.

He was soon shipped out on loan to Alaves, where he has played just 332 minutes across nine appearances.

Speaking to the Express & Star about his temporary spell, Kirkland – from the Spanish Football Podcast – said:

“I’d say at this stage a permanent deal is quite unlikely.

“He’s probably not starting enough games to warrant that or contributing enough in the final third.

“But there’s still plenty of time for him to make an impact, it’s early days.”

Bad news Burke

It seems likely that the Scotsman will return to the west Midlands this summer, which would put Bilic in a bit of a predicament.

The Croatian clearly doesn’t fancy Burke in his side, for whatever reason that may be, as he made measures to sign a trio of wingers on deadline day in Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana and Chris Willock.

Come the end of the current campaign, the Baggies flop will still have two years remaining on his contract, which is a potential source of bad news for Bilic.

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If the 14th-placed La Liga side were the only team willing to take him, what hope does he have in recuperating the extortionate fee they paid for him?

It will be more problematic if they gain promotion too as if he can’t get in their Championship side, then there’s next to no chance he does it in the top-flight.

This is something that Bilic could probably do without.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Conor Coventry has rejected West Ham United’s latest contract offer, meaning there is a very real fear he could leave, as reported by Football Insider.

The 19-year-old’s current contract comes to an end in the summer of 2020, but he has so far been unable to strike up a deal with the club on a new one.

This is due to the fact that he is holding out for £5,000-per-week, while the club are unwilling to pay that for someone who has rarely stepped out of the academy’s confines.

There is still time for negotiations, but if the Republic of Ireland youth international gets the sum he has demanded, or leaves London Stadium for pastures new, this could be seen as a glaring sign of the Premier League’s power shift regarding youngsters.

As discussed in our exclusive interview with Tony Cottee, a move abroad was rarely seen as a career enhancer for young talent in England during years gone by.

However, that has changed in recent times, with Jadon Sancho, Bobby Duncan and Ademola Lookman among the players who have walked away from the English game.

There was a time when perhaps players were willing to accept that senior opportunities take time to come around, but the aforementioned trio serve to prove that patience is wearing thin amongst the next generation.

The situation that is unfolding with Coventry is the embodiment of this process: he has played just 53 minutes of first-team football across two appearances, with both of those coming when a Carabao Cup result was out of reach for lower league opposition.

This comes despite the midfielder being captain for the U23s, while becoming one of their various top-level performers in Premier League 2, starting all of their league games this season.

Therefore, it can perhaps be seen as a double hit that West Ham don’t want to match his contract valuation because he hasn’t played enough first-team football, which is only the case because he hasn’t been given the chance to do so.

It would be easy to dismiss Coventry as a money-grabber who should be focusing on his football rather than the wage he receives in this scenario, but that knee-jerk reaction fails to take genuine and legitimate professional ambitions into consideration.

However, it can be argued that the sum of a contract represents more than just the money it demands: it shows how much the club values a player, how much they trust him and the role they are expecting them to play moving forward.

If Coventry was to accept a low offer, it could be seen as a sign that he is happy to kick it in the academy for the foreseeable future.

That isn’t a universal attitude among the emerging next generation of talent, though.

The option to go abroad becoming more accessible has given youngsters a foothold to do this and if English clubs aren’t willing to show trust in them from a very early age, it seems there are outfits overseas who will.