Jordan Henderson took some time to work his way into the Liverpool team at the start of the season due to his extended break on account of England’s World Cup campaign in Russia.

The club captain – valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt – has had to tussle for his place in the middle of the park following the summer arrival of Naby Keita.

Henderson was named in the first XI to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, but he did not finish the match, which ended in a 1-1 draw thanks to a late equaliser from Daniel Sturridge.

In the 78th minute, manager Jurgen Klopp opted to haul off his skipper and bring on Keita in his place.

The 23-year-old added some fresh dynamism to the midfield, but he has had to settle for a spot on the bench in the club’s last two Premier League outings.

With the fixtures coming thick and fast, is Keita worthy of a starting spot ahead of Henderson or should Klopp stand by his captain?

Let us know by voting below.

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Scott Parker represented West Ham United on 129 occasions between 2007 and 2011 before making the move to Tottenham Hotspur.And the fact that the midfielder is still a popular figure with the majority of the West Ham fans despite that move says a lot about the type of performances he put in during his time at Upton Park.Parker, who joined Chelsea from Charlton Athletic in 2004 before joining Newcastle United, scored 10 Premier League goals during his time with the Hammers.Parker could not prevent West Ham from being relegated at the end of the 2010-11 season, but he was named the FWA Footballer of the Year for his performances throughout the campaign.It was not a surprise when he returned to the Premier League, and West Ham were able to gain a transfer fee of £5.5m from Tottenham for the midfielder.Despite his connections to Spurs, the West Ham fans still have a lot of time for Parker, who represented England on 18 occasions between 2003 and 2013.[brid autoplay=”true” video=”300259″ player=”12034″ title=”Mo Salah’s “7th Best Goal” Wins FIFA’s Puskas Award”]A selection of the Twitter reaction from the West Ham fans in relation to Parker, who retired from professional football in June 2017, can be seen below:

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The majority of Leeds fans that voted on our poll want Marcelo Bielsa to make a move for Robert Huth, who is still a free agent after leaving Leicester City in the summer.

Argentine boss Bielsa has always preferred to work with small squads throughout his career, but the matches come thick and fast in the Championship and the recent injuries to Kemar Roofe, Patrick Bamford, Gaetano Berardi and Pablo Hernandez slightly derailed the momentum that the Elland Road outfit picked up at the start of the season.

The Whites are now back at the top of the table, albeit only on goal difference as West Brom and Middlesbrough have caught the early pace-setters.

With the long injury list at Elland Road, the Leeds fans that voted in our poll were clear that they would like to see 34-year-old Huth brought in. The 6ft 3in former Germany international has 19 caps for his country and is a three-time Premier League winner, meaning he has all the experience needed as the West Yorkshire side push for promotion.

Check out the full results below.

West Ham United should not move for Everton left-back Leighton Baines if they decide to bolster that area of the pitch.

What’s the word?

So far this season, manager Manuel Pellegrini has used Arthur Masuaku at left-back for the majority of the season.

The 24-year-old has failed to impress, though, and when Aaron Cresswell was called upon during his teammate’s injury absence, he too struggled.

Up in Merseyside, Everton left-back Leighton Baines will become a free agent at the end of the season.

The 33-year-old has been at Goodison Park for the past 12 years following his move from Wigan Athletic and has amassed 408 appearances, 38 goals and 66 assists.

Should Baines be an option for the Hammers?

There is no doubt that the former England international has been a key figure at Everton during his lengthy stay at the club.

He has been a reliable left-back full of quality but at the age of 33, Baines no longer makes the impact that he once did.

Lucas Digne has now taken his place in the Everton first team, so it would make very little sense for West Ham to sign a player who is on the way out.

If Pellegrini wants the Hammers to improve then he needs to target either up-and-coming talents or established figures in the peak of their careers.

Baines no longer has the legs, and he is become injury prone over the years.

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Tottenham Hotspur are the latest club to join the hunt for highly-rated Fenerbahce talent Eljif Elmas, according to Turkish-Football.

What’s the word?

Mauricio Pochettino did not sign a single player during the summer transfer window but that stance is set to change heading into the New Year, as Tottenham seek midfield additions ahead of Mousa Dembele’s departure at the end of the campaign.

A host of targets have already appeared in the tabloids and Turkish-Football throws a new name into the ring as they state Spurs have joined the list of clubs eyeing a swoop for Fenerbahce wonderkid Eljif Elmas, who has made 65 first-team appearances at the age of just 19.

Spurs, along with Sevilla and Manchester City, are said to have lodged enquiries for the services of the teenager who has been capped five times by Macedonia’s senior squad.

A good addition?

With Dembele set to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season, Spurs’ are in need of a midfielder capable of filling the void that the Belgium international will leave and 19-year-old Elmas is certainly a candidate to do exactly that – although the race for his services will be fierce.

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Fenerbahce are desperate not to lose Elmas in January but would consider a sale at the end of the season and that balances nicely with Spurs’ own plans in the market, as it will be then when Dembele leaves and a replacement is required. However, waiting that long could see them miss out.

Manchester City will be difficult to fend off due to their financial strength but Spurs should be able to offer more regular first-team opportunities compared to their Premier League rivals, which could prove to be a huge advantage in the quest to land Elmas’ signature.

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After their relegation from the Premier League at the end of last season, many would have had Stoke City down as one of their favourites to bounce straight back up at the first attempt. Unfortunately, the same could have been said for Sunderland at the start of the 2017/18 campaign but the Black Cats ended up finishing rock bottom of the Championship, and now it looks as though the Potters could be going the same way.

Despite rescuing a late 1-1 draw against high-flying Sheffield United on Tuesday, Stoke are currently 17th in the league and just five points off the bottom three – a worrying difference in a league that is as competitive as the Championship.

Although things clearly aren’t looking quite as bleak for the Potters as they were for Sunderland last year, there are certainly similarities to be drawn between the recent history of the two clubs.

Sunderland were last promoted to the Premier League in 2007 and spent 10 years in the top flight before their first of two straight relegations in 2017. Stoke were just one year behind the Black Cats though, promoted in 2008 and subsequently relegated earlier this year, but will they suffer the same fate a year later with relegation to League 1?

The first similarity between the clubs comes in the turnover of managers, proving that the hierarchy are more concerned with short term gains than implementing any kind of philosophy or plan for the future. After Mark Hughes was sacked by the Potters in January this year they have since had Paul Lambert and now Gary Rowett in the role, whereas Sunderland are on their third boss since dropping out of the Premier League.

The second similarity to be drawn is the clear evidence that the two clubs have made huge mistakes in the transfer market both just before and straight after their relegations from the Premier League, and Stoke fans will be hoping that theirs don’t turn out to be as costly as the errors at the Stadium of Light.

For example, big-money 2016 signings Papy Djilobodji and Didier Ndong were both finally sacked by the Wearside club at the start of this season having failed to return for pre-season training before their League 1 campaign.

Although Stoke’s problems haven’t quite been this dramatic, they do have big-name players who are either failing to perform or look like they don’t want to be in the second tier of English football.

25-year-old striker Saido Berahino, who signed for £12m in January 2017, has only netted three times in 43 appearances for the club and 34-year-old summer signing Ashley Williams looks like a poor choice of centre-back.

Compared to Swansea and West Brom, who were also relegated from the Premier League last season, Stoke’s use of their parachute payment has been decidedly average – spending £5m on James McClean should instantly make any club candidates for relegation.

After Sunderland finished at the bottom of the Championship last season, it was clear that a number of their senior players had an attitude problem with playing in the second tier. Stoke boss Rowett then will have to ensure that his players are switched on to the real danger of successive relegations.

Obviously, fortunes can change extremely quickly in the Football League and a couple of wins on the bounce would see Stoke pushing for the playoff places, but right now the club need to heed the warnings from Sunderland to ensure that the fall from grace at the Bet365 stadium is not as bad as the similarities  suggest.

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Loads of Leeds fans have been giving their verdict on Wednesday’s must-win clash against Ipswich, and a slight majority of fans think Samuel Saiz should drop to the bench.

Leeds welcome Ipswich to Elland Road on Wednesday night knowing a win would put them top of the pile.

Middlesbrough and Sheffield United both dropped points on Tuesday night, so three points for the Whites would be absolutely huge.

While it’s certainly not a crisis, the cracks have started to show in recent weeks, as Bielsa’s side have won just one of their last five Championship games.

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Injuries have played a major role in the Whites’ dip in form, but one man that has played practically every minute of action so far this season is Saiz.

The little Spaniard is one of the key cogs in Bielsa’s system, but has just looked a step off the pace in the last couple of matches.

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Whether he is tired, low on confidence, or just struggling to influence matches without the likes of Pablo Hernandez and Kemar Roofe fully fit and firing, 51 per cent of fans think Bielsa should rest the 27 year-old tonight.

You can view the full poll results down below…

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Liverpool dropped two points in the Premier League title race at the weekend as they relinquished their lead against Arsenal.

James Milner put Jurgen Klopp’s side ahead in the 61st minute, but they were unable to hold on as Alexandre Lacazette nabbed an equaliser eight minutes from time.

Manchester City and Chelsea managed to win their respective matches, which resulted in Liverpool dropping to third in the Premier League table.

It could have been a very different outcome for the Reds had Sadio Mane’s first-half goal not been ruled offside.

The linesman flagged when the Senegal international, who cost the Merseyside outfit around £30m in 2016, tapped in after the ball rebounded off the post following Roberto Firmino’s attempt.

Replays showed that the official was wrong to declare Mane offside, but after the match, the attacker – valued at £63m by Transfermarkt – refused to place blame on the referees.

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He told the Liverpool Echo:

“I haven’t watched it back and to be honest I’m someone who is not really interested in this kind of thing. If you remember, when I scored a goal against West Ham earlier in the season I was offside and that goal counted.

“So if this time I was onside and it didn’t count then you just to deal with it and accept it. Officials are human beings and sometimes we all make mistakes.

Mane also spoke about his future amid reports that he is yet to put pen to paper on a new contract.

“I am more focused on the games, things like contracts I leave with my agent. I am happy and concentrating on giving my best for my team-mates, my manager and the fans.”

Plenty of Liverpool fans have been giving their reaction to the comments.

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Tottenham Hotspur kept their hopes of making the knockout round of the Champions League alive with a 2-1 win over PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday night.

Spurs fell behind in just the second minute of the contest, but Harry Kane scored twice in the final 12 minutes to secure all three points for the Premier League outfit.

In truth, it should have been more comfortable for the home side, but PSV goalkeeper Jeroen Zoet was in fine form for the visitors.

Tottenham actually had Paulo Gazzaniga between the sticks, with first-choice goalkeeper Hugo Lloris suspended following his red card in the clash with PSV in the Netherlands.

A selection of Tottenham fans were so impressed with what they saw from Zoet on Tuesday that they have called on their club to sign the 27-year-old as Lloris’ replacement.

Indeed, Lloris’ form has been dodgy at best in recent weeks, and it seems that the Spurs supporters have their eye on Zoet.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie has signed a new three-year deal that will keep him at Paradise until 2021.

The Scot has been in red-hot form for the Hoops in recent weeks – scoring three in his last five games and also setting up Odsonne Edouard for the winner in a sensational victory over RB Leipzig in the Europa League.

The former Inverness CT man follows Olivier Ntcham, who signed a four-year deal last week, in securing his future in Glasgow but, despite making the switch to Brendan Rodgers’ side in 2015, has only just broken through to the first team.

Injuries to captain Scott Brown and the aforementioned Ntcham saw the 23-year-old thrust into the limelight and he hasn’t shied away as he becomes a firm fan favourite.

Celtic face Hamilton after the international break before a trip to Rosenborg in the Europa League and Christie will be hoping to build on his performances so far.

Here’s how the Bhoys and Ghirls reacted to the new deal on Twitter.

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