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While Valerien Ismael’s West Bromwich Albion side are currently sitting pretty in second place in the Championship, in addition to boasting an unbeaten record in the league, the Baggies have been far from convincing in their last four fixtures.

Indeed, having registered a 1-1 draw with Millwall, a 0-0 stalemate against Derby County, a 1-1 draw with Preston North End and narrowly securing a 2-1 win over QPR in recent weeks, it would appear clear that the Frenchman could do with refreshing his attacking lineup against Cardiff City on Tuesday evening.

So, will Ismael make any changes to the team that started last time out against QPR? Here’s how we think West Brom could line up against the Bluebirds, along with the latest team and injury news…

As previously mentioned, with Albion having struggled to break their opponents down in recent weeks, we predict that Ismael will make three changes to the side that lined up against QPR last Friday.

There is a slight shift at the back, with 24-year-old Kean Bryan – who made his first West Brom appearance as a second-half substitute last week – coming in on the left-hand side of the Baggies’ back three, which subsequently frees Conor Townsend up to move back to left wing-back, taking the place of Adam Reach.

Elsewhere, Alex Mowatt and Jake Livermore retain their places in the middle of the pitch, while Darnell Furlong starts at right wing-back.

However, there is much more movement in Albion’s attacking lineup, with Robert Snodgrass coming in for Karlan Grant on the left-wing, while £19k-per-week Matt Phillips drops to the bench in place of Callum Robinson – who highly impressed from the bench against QPR.

Meanwhile, despite Ismael revealing that all three of Matt Clarke, Matt Clarke, Kenneth Zohore and Rayhaan Tulloch have returned to full training following their respective injuries, none make the starting XI against the Bluebirds.

In other news: Ismael must unleash “refreshing” West Brom ace vs Cardiff, he’s just what Albion need

Southampton were briefly linked with a move for Dan James before he joined Leeds United this week, and the Welshman could’ve been a superb addition at St Mary’s.

What’s the word?

According to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, the Saints were tracking the 23-year-old’s situation at Manchester United, with the winger perhaps always likely to leave following the summer arrivals of Jadon Sancho and Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, he eventually completed a £25m move to Leeds United, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side clearly desperate to bring him in after seeing a 2019 move for him collapse during his time with Swansea City.

Would James have been a good signing for Southampton?

Although £25m would have been well over the budget that Ralph Hasenhuttl set for new signings at Southampton this summer, there seems little doubt that James would have offered something very different at St Mary’s.

The Austrian does have pacy options up front in Che Adams, Adam Armstrong and Nathan Tella, but so far this season Theo Walcott, Moussa Djenepo and Mohammed Elyounoussi have been the starters on the wing, none of whom possess the raw pace of James.

During his time with Manchester United, the 23-year-old contributed nine goals and nine assists in 74 appearances, including a stunning goal at St Mary’s in a 1-1 draw in 2019.

Despite featuring just 15 times in the Premier League last season, the Wales international still contributed three goals, which is more than the likes of Djenepo and Redmond managed for the Saints in the top flight in 29 and 27 appearances respectively.

The young winger was also in impressive form for Wales at the European Championship earlier this summer, averaging a solid 6.88 rating from WhoScored for his performances as Rob Page’s side reached the round of 16.

James’ pace alone could have offered Southampton a serious counterattacking threat down the wings, rather than the constant dribbling with no end product that Saints fans often endure from Redmond and Djenepo, as indicated by their aforementioned figures from last season.

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Therefore, whilst he would’ve been an expensive option, Southampton will perhaps regret not pursuing James further in the summer transfer window.

In other news… Bullet dodged: Southampton escaped deadline day disaster with £16.2m-rated beast

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former West Brom midfielder Carlton Palmer believes his old side signing Ross Barkley was always going to be a difficult task.

At the end of the summer transfer window, it had looked like Burnley were Barkley’s only way out of Chelsea, with the Express reporting that the Clarets were interested in doing a deadline day deal for the player.

However, according to The Telegraph’s Matt Law, West Brom were also in the equation after being offered the chance to sign the attacking midfielder.

Wages, though, proved to be a stumbling block (also per Law), which comes as no surprise to Palmer.

“How do West Brom go anywhere near that?” the ex-England international said. “He’s reported to be on £110,000 a week.

“They’d have to be helped out by Chelsea an awful lot. I don’t know what’s happened to Ross, really. I mean, he’s a really talented player, but from his burst on the scene, he hasn’t really fulfilled his potential.”

Maybe a move to a team in the Championship like West Brom is something Barkley needed.

His loan spell at Aston Villa last season did not go too well, something Thomas Tuchel recently spoke about, and he is not going to play at Chelsea given the level of competition in both midfield and attack.

According to Calciomercato, Southampton are to do battle with Newcastle in their attempts to re-sign Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The Lowdown: Saints getting busy

The Saints’ summer transfer window started off slow, but they have been busy more recently as Ralph Hasenhuttl and co prepare for the new campaign.

Romain Perraud (southamptonfc.com), Danyl Simeu (chelseafc.com), Valentino Livramento, Armando Broja and Adam Armstrong have all made the move to St. Mary’s Stadium, and now the Saints are seemingly eyeing more new faces.

The Latest: Saints eye Oxlade-Chamberlain

As per this latest report, Hasenhuttl and co are interested in re-signing £16.2m-valued Oxlade-Chamberlain (Transfermarkt).

Newcastle United are also said to be in pursuit of the versatile midfielder.

The Verdict: Top target

Oxlade-Chamberlain has come a long way since scoring ten goals and providing nine assists in 43 games for the club (Transfermarkt). His move to Arsenal was followed by a transfer to Liverpool, where he has now won the Premier League and the Champions League.

He has also picked up 35 England caps, while he was even called “outstanding” by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp (thisisanfield.com).

However, last term, he made just 17 appearances for the Merseyside outfit in all competitions and so one would think he could be open to a move if it meant more playing time.

At just 27 years of age, he has plenty of football left ahead of him – a return to his first club could rejuvenate him.

In other news, Southampton fans react to this Jannik Vestergaard news.

Newcastle United journalist Liam Kennedy insists that Steve Bruce’s job at the club is safe despite pundits suggesting that he could come under pressure this season.

The Magpies endured a mixed season last term, going through a number of peaks and troughs, and ultimately ended the season in mid-table.

John Terry has been suggested as a potential replacement for Bruce but Kennedy insists that the former Aston Villa coach, who left the club at the end of the season, is not likely to have a vacancy to fill at St James’ Park.

Newcastle began their season with a 4-2 defeat to West Ham United, despite twice taking the lead at home.

The Hammers enjoyed an electric second half, with Tomas Soucek and Michail Antonio handing David Moyes’ side all three points.

But Kennedy claims that Bruce’s job is safe for the time being.

He said: “John Terry ever going to Newcastle as manager? Why not? But what I would say is I think Steve Bruce is safe in his job.

“There’s a lot of people who think the fans will probably get him sacked and things like that, but I think, no, while he remains keeping Newcastle United relatively safe, then I think Steve Bruce is pretty safe in his role.”

Newcastle are next in action against Aston Villa this weekend before taking on Burnley in the EFL Cup.

Southampton have been linked with a move for Bayer Leverkusen winger Leon Bailey recently, and it would be a real statement of intent by Martin Semmens if he could bring him to St Mary’s.

What’s the word?

According to 90min journalist Graeme Bailey, Southampton have joined the race to sign the 23-year-old winger this summer, with the likes of Aston Villa, Leicester City, Wolves and Everton also linked with the Jamaica international.

The report claims that the Bundesliga side would demand more than £25m for Bailey after his impressive performances in recent seasons and that Villa have not baulked at that fee, although it would be a huge signing by Southampton if they were to pay that amount to bring him in.

Would Bailey be a good signing for Southampton?

Ralph Hasenhuttl suggested ahead of the transfer window that Southampton’s budget meant that they would target players for £10m or less this summer, which suggests that they are unlikely to pay more than double that in order to prise Bailey away from the BayArena.

Southampton’s big-money signings in recent seasons have been less than successful, with the likes of Guido Carillo, Sofiane Boufal, Mario Lemina and Wesley Hoedt all sold for significant losses in recent years, which may well put them off the idea of breaking their transfer record for a player with no experience in the Premier League.

However, after a brief flirtation with relegation last season, Southampton have done little to strengthen their squad ahead of the new campaign, with the relatively unproven Romain Perraud arriving as Ryan Bertrand’s replacement at left-back. Theo Walcott has also joined on a permanent deal after spending last season on loan at St Mary’s, so you could argue that the Saints are no stronger than they were in the 2020/21 campaign.

Therefore, it would be a real statement of intent by Semmens and the Southampton board to go all-out for Bailey this summer, and his performances in the Bundesliga in recent seasons certainly suggest that he would be an excellent addition at St Mary’s.

Last season saw the pacey winger contribute nine goals and eight assists in 30 league appearances, averaging an impressive 7.26 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which was better than any Southampton player.

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Bailey is slowly moving on from his reputation as a wonderkid, following former Leverkusen coach Heiko Herrlich’s proclamation in 2017 that the Jamaican “can do anything”. He could prove to be a superb addition to Hasenhuttl’s squad, so Semmens should definitely consider bringing him to Southampton this summer, as it would be a huge statement of intent ahead of the new season.

In other news… Southampton look set to miss out on their next Sadio Mane as agent drops transfer update

Nottingham Forest centre-forward Lyle Taylor could be set to leave the City Ground this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Alan Nixon, with The Sun journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that Birmingham City will firm up their interest in the 31-year-old Forest striker if Sam Cosgrove secures a move away from St. Andrew’s before the closure of the summer transfer window.

In his tweet, Nixon said: “Birmingham. Will firm up a move for Lyle Taylor at Forest if Cosgrove goes.”

The Blues forward has been linked with the likes of Wycombe Wanderers, Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday in recent weeks, while Lee Bowyer is reported to be extremely keen on a reunion with his former Charlton Athletic star at Birmingham this summer.

Get him gone

While Taylor did score Forest’s opener in the club’s eventual 2-1 defeat to Coventry City on Sunday, there is nevertheless a great deal of evidence to suggest that, if Birmingham do submit a reasonable bid for the centre-forward, Dane Murphy should cash in on the 31-year-old.

Indeed, after Sabri Lamouchi signed the striker roughly 12 months ago, the £720k-rated man failed to hit anywhere near the heights of his time at Charlton with the Garibaldi last season, scoring just four goals, providing no assists and missing eight big chances over his 39 Championship appearances, as well as hitting the target an average of just 0.4 times and making a mere 0.4 key passes per game.

These returns saw the man Simon Jordan dubbed a “dishonest” professional earn a disappointing average SofaScore match rating of 6.64, ranking him as Chris Hughton’s joint ninth-worst performer in the second tier of English football.

As such, there would appear to be much better options than the £5k-per-week forward out there for Forest, and parting with Taylor for a decent fee this summer could well free up both funds and space for Murphy to bring in a fresh face to the Forest attack before the closure of the current market at the end of August.

Spanish football journalist Euan McTear can’t see Barcelona defender Sergi Roberto switching Spain for England this summer, despite rumours that Manchester City were offered the Spaniard.

Roberto has been with Barcelona his whole career and even played under current Man City manager Pep Guardiola, when the Spaniard was in charge at the Nou Camp.

The reported £176,000-a-week full-back is one of Barcelona’s vice-captains and on the transfer rumours linking him with Man City, McTear told FFC: “I think with Sergi Roberto maybe not (transferred away). Him in the dressing as a vice captain, I think he brings a lot to Barcelona that they don’t want to lose, especially with Busquets and Pique getting older.”

With Barcelona’s current financial complications, by keeping Roberto it may help them save a lot of money having to recruit in other areas. This is because the Spaniard offers so much versatility.

Roberto has made 191 appearances in central midfield, the most of any position he is comfortable playing in, but the Barcelona man can also play both right and left-back, as well as defensive and right midfield.

Whilst Roberto offers so much in the way of versatility and could be a good fit at Manchester City, Goal are reporting that Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are interested in taking him on a loan deal to the Allianz Arena.

Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has tipped the Whites to make more signings after the deal for left-back Junior Firpo was confirmed.

The Lowdown: Firpo signs

Marcelo Bielsa has already enjoyed a busy start to the summer, with Jack Harrison signing permanently from Manchester City and youngster Amari Miller joining from Birmingham City.

Firpo will now be Leeds’ third signing, too, with the Barcelona defender penning a four-year deal after the clubs agreed to an undisclosed fee (official).

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The Latest: Whelan believes more players will join

The hope is that the Whites’ transfer business doesn’t stop there, however, and speaking to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that wouldn’t be the case:

“I expect another couple of signings at least.

“When the Euros comes to an end I think we will see even more business done. Victor Orta will be working on a number of other signings. A lot of negotiating needs to be done.

“When we think about where we need to get to as a football club, the squad needs to be bigger, better and stronger. That is the only way we can break into the European places.

“I expect a couple more signings to come through the door before the end of the window.

“I think there is two key positions that will prioritise now that we’ve got a left-back coming in. We need a quality centre-forward to help Patrick Bamford and another option in the middle of the park.”

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The Verdict: Exciting times for Leeds

It is imperative that Leeds kick on after such an impressive first season back in the Premier League, but new signings will likely be needed for that to happen, improving both the starting lineup and squad depth.

This is a hugely exciting time for Bielsa’s side, as they look to potentially finish in the European places next season, or at least match their ninth-place finish in 2020/21.

It is going to be intriguing to see who else Leeds sign in order to take them to the next level, making them even more formidable in the process.

In other news, a rumoured Leeds target has been tipped to thrive in the Premier League. Read more here.

David Norris claims it would cost more than £100million to convince Leeds United to sell Euro 2020 star Kalvin Phillips this summer.

Phillips has shone as England have reached a major tournament final for the first time since the historic World Cup win in 1966.

The central midfielder’s form has resulted in the likes of Liverpool and Italian giants Juventus raising an interest.

However, Leeds were boosted after Phillips’ agent Kevin Sharp insisted the 25-year-old has no interest in leaving his hometown club ahead of a second season in the Premier League.

Phillips made 30 first-team appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side last term and has started all of England’s Euro 2020 clashes en route to Sunday’s Wembley final.

Declan Rice, Phillips’ central midfield partner for the Three Lions, has been valued at more than £100million by West Ham United in a bid to deter potential suitors.

Norris, who enjoyed a three-year spell at Elland Road during his playing career, feels Leeds should follow the Hammers’ lead.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Norris said: “If Leeds don’t need to sell, they’ll stick a £100million price tag on Phillips.

“I don’t think they would even let him go for £50million at the minute. Rice is a little bit ahead of him in terms of experience and what he has done, but they are probably viewed as a very similar type of player in terms of what they can bring.

“I think Leeds will be looking for £100million or more for Phillips.”