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Ilkay Gundogan has been voted the GMS Fans’ Premier League Player of the Month for January. In a poll run by fan engagement experts Snack Media, the midfielder took 24% of the vote after scoring five goals and making 10 dribbles. Burnley’s Nick Pope was in second place with 20%. 

In the first of five votes carried out over seven days via Snack’s digital and social networks, the 5 foot 11 German’s performances clearly struck a chord with Premier League fans up and down the country. 

The full list of contenders from the final shortlist polled as follows: 

• Ilkay Gundogan (Manchester City) – 24% 
• Nick Pope (Burnley) – 20% 
• Paul Pogba (Manchester United) – 18% 
• Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) – 15% 
• Bukayo Saka (Arsenal) – 13% 
• Craig Dawson (West Ham) – 11% 

The Championship vote opens at 11 am on Monday 8th February. To vote go to: 

http://bit.ly/36EBNZ6   

When Sunderland travel away from the northeast under Lee Johnson, they appear to be a formidable force.

Their 1-0 win over Ipswich means that Lee Johnson is yet to taste defeat on the road since taking over The Mackems.

Although they need to improve at the Stadium of Light, it will bring them enormous confidence that they can go away and defeat fellow promotion hopefuls. Their 4-0 win over Lincoln was eye-catching but their ability to grind out a 1-0 victory at Ipswich should also be applauded.

Of course, they were helped by the red card to Ipswich’s Kayden Jackson who was given his marching orders after an appalling challenge on Bailey Wright, but they were good value for their win despite that.

Charlie Wyke was once again in the right place at the right time as he took his League One tally for the campaign to 12 strikes as he got the only goal of the game. The tall striker has been indomitable in recent weeks and is finding the net with superb regularity.

Though, it was arguably his supplier that was Johnson’s true hero on Tuesday night. Max Power delivered an inch-perfect cross that Wyke was able to get on the end of to prod the ball home.

Since moving to right-back, Power has defined his own surname. He is a force on the flanks and uses tremendous energy to get up and down. He linked well with Aiden O’Brien, particularly for the goal.

The winger beat his man and then put the ball into the path of the rampaging Power who provided the cross.

Coincidentally, that was just one of four balls into the area – two of which were successful. For context, his completion rate was better than anyone in the entire Mackems squad.

He was also keen to get on the ball and the very fact he touched it on 122 occasions goes to show what a threat the right-back was. Power had 66 more touches than the highest haul registered by an Ipswich player and managed 31 more touches than the next best for the Black Cats.

His influence was mighty, winning more aerial duels (3) than anyone besides Bailey Wright and Jordan Willis for Sunderland. Josh Scowen, meanwhile, was the only person to win more ground duels (4) than Power (3).

This was an all-action display but we shouldn’t be surprised. After all, he delivered a similar showing against Port Vale in the Papa John’s Trophy a few weeks ago.

This, however, was a far more important game with promotion aspirations on the line and Power delivered the goods.

AND in other news, Sunderland must swoop for 20 y/o gem who terrorised £44m worth of talent last month…

Southampton’s January transfer plans look to have suffered a blow as Michael Obafemi’s loan move is off after the Irish striker suffered an injury ahead of the Saints’ fixture against Liverpool recently.

According to Daniel Sheldon, the Athletic’s Southampton correspondent, Obafemi sustained a significant muscle injury in training recently, meaning his prospective loan move to the Championship is now off.

The 20-year-old had been heavily linked with a move to the second division recently, with Swansea City amongst the suitors but unfortunately for the youngster, he now looks set for a long spell on the sidelines.

It is a big blow for the former Leyton Orient youngster, as he has managed just one substitute appearance for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side so far this season and was no doubt desperate to get some game time out on loan to prove that he is still capable of making it at the South Coast club.

Obafemi has seen the likes of Nathan Tella and Dan N’Lundulu move ahead of him in the pecking order this season, whilst the loan signing of Theo Walcott has also meant that the opportunities have been hard to come by.

Therefore, a loan move where the Republic of Ireland U21 international could get regular football and perhaps goals under his belt would’ve been ideal to build up his confidence, in the hope that he could return next season and challenge the likes of Danny Ings and Che Adams for a starting spot in the Southampton first-team.

The 20-year-old has 35 first-team appearances for Southampton to his name already, in which he has contributed five goals and four assists but Hasenhuttl has questioned his professionalism in the past, which certainly seems a factor in why he has barely featured so far this season.

Considering this season has been something of a write-off, and his contract is set to expire in June 2022, Obafemi will have to work hard to impress Hasenhuttl next season if he wants to have a long-term future with Southampton.

AND, in other news, Southampton signing “brave” gem will be the final nail in the coffin of forgotten Saints dud…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast’s Tom Ward, former England midfielder Carlton Palmer waxed lyrical over “talented” Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli after his impact from the bench this weekend.

Jose Mourinho’s side could only muster up a draw at Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon, but still managed to keep their place atop the Premier League table ahead of this week’s stern test against defending champions, Liverpool.

Alli, who has been linked with an exit in January, has barely featured in the top-flight this season. Indeed it was only the third time he was actually named in their matchday squad.

In all competitions, the 24-year-old has played just 338 minutes, though Palmer was impressed with what he saw against the Eagles during his five-minute cameo.

He told FFC:

“He’s a young lad and without a doubt, he’s a talented player. If he takes that on board, which is the side of his game which is missing.

“It’s just like [Jack] Grealish. Jack Grealish has done that.

“When they had the break just before the end of the season, where Villa had those three or four weeks where they had to change things around because they were as good as down. Jack Grealish has realised that’s [defensive duties] part of the game now.

“He knows he has the ability on the ball, but he now knows what he has to do off the ball. And he’s doing that now.

“Dele Alli can turn his career around as simple as that.

“As he did on Sunday when I realised that and Mourinho’s the type of person that will give him plenty of confidence and will have told him ‘this is what I expect from you’.”

According to the Daily Mirror, Premier League rivals Everton are a potential destination for the out-of-favour attacking midfielder, who is currently valued at a whopping €70m (£64m) by CIES Football Observatory.

Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain could well reignite their loan interest from the summer too, as per Sky Sports, so Alli won’t be short of options.

However, if Alli continues to display a new defensive side to his game as Palmer suggests, then there could well be a future for him under Mourinho in N17 – as unlikely as that currently seems right now.

AND in other news, 38% duels won: Spurs calamity with 93 touches surely left Mourinho reeling with anger…

Many Everton fans have been discussing an update about Lucas Digne that recently emerged on social media.

The Times’ correspondent Paul Joyce has recently reported that the Toffees are now preparing to offer the left-back a new contract. An article written by the journalist has claimed that this is an attempt from Everton to ward off potential suitors for the Frenchman amidst reports linking him with a move. The defender is expected to get improved terms in the new deal and Everton are hoping he will sign the deal after he was linked with a move to Manchester City (as per the Times).

Digne is currently out injured and could be out well into the New Year too, but Carlo Ancelotti has already revealed that his rehab is going very well indeed (as per the Times). Digne is currently valued at £29.70m.

Digne arrived at Goodison Park from Barcelona in the summer of 2018 for a fee of £18 million. Since arriving at the club, he has made 87 appearances in all competitions for the Toffees while picking up 17 assists and a total of five goals (as per Transfermarkt).

Many Everton fans were raving about this update and they took to Twitter to make their opinion clear about Digne’s potential new deal.

What did Everton fans make of this update about Digne?

In other news, many Everton fans have been talking about the club’s links with a move for Sami Khedira – read more about it here.

Whilst summer signing Konstantinos Tsimikas was never likely to be a regular in Liverpool’s first-team whilst Andy Robertson is fit and firing, Reds fans will have been expecting a lot more from the Greek international compared to what he has shown so far.

The left-back, who joined from Olympiakos in the summer transfer window, made just his second start for the Merseyside club in their 2-0 defeat against Atalanta on Wednesday evening.

The 24-year-old’s only other appearance of note was in the 7-2 win against Lincoln City, where he was perhaps unlikely to be tested as much in what proved to be a comfortable win against League One opposition.

Considering Liverpool had beaten Gian Piero Gasperini’s side 5-0 away from home in the reverse fixture, a lot of Reds fans will have surely been expecting a comfortable victory at Anfield but it was far from it, as the Serie A side claimed all three points in Group D thanks to goals from Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens.

Jurgen Klopp will surely have been disappointed with the performance of Tsimikas in the defeat, with the Greek international replaced by Robertson shortly after the hour-mark.

As per SofaScore, the defender earned a 6.3 rating for his display against Atalanta, which was the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

It was a disappointing display both attacking and defensively, as when he received the ball high up the pitch, he was very wasteful, with none of his four crosses finding a Liverpool shirt, whilst none of his long balls were accurate.

The former Olympiakos man recorded a pass accuracy rate of 78%, with 29/37 of his passes finding their mark.

He also struggled to win duels against the Italian opposition, as he was successful in just three of his nine ground duels on the evening.

When you compare this horror-show to Robertson’s superb display against Leicester City recently, which was excellent from both a defensive and attacking point of view (he set up Diogo Jota’s goal and helped keep a clean sheet), it seems as if Tsimikas is a long way off replicating the sort of performances the £67.5m-rated man has regularly produced since joining the club.

Whilst it may be too early to write Tsimikas off completely, the early signs are certainly not good.

And, in other news… Liverpool made an inexcusable error in selling “superb” centre-back

Southampton were reported to have made a bid for Sampdoria defender Omar Colley during the summer transfer window and they look to have now been handed a boost in their potential hopes of signing the centre-back in January, with the Serie A side now reportedly open to selling him.

It was suggested during the summer that the Saints were planning to bid €15 million (£13.4 million) for the Gambian defender but a move to the South Coast club never materialised.

However, Calcionews24 have now suggested that Blucerchiati are now open to selling the defender, as he has been relegated to the bench in recent weeks.

The 28-year-old has made just two appearances in Serie A so far this season, in which he put in mixed displays, earning a disappointing 6.05 rating in the 3-0 defeat against Juventus, whilst a goal in a 3-2 defeat against Benevento earned him a much more impressive 7.41 rating (per WhoScored).

Southampton’s centre-backs have been impressive so far this season, with Jan Vestergaard currently the club’s third-best performer in the Premier League, having averaged a superb 7.29 rating (per WhoScored). The Dane’s rejuvenation in recent weeks does make you wonder if Colley would still be a useful addition for Hasenhuttl.

Jan Bednarek has also impressed, having averaged a solid 6.84 rating across eight Premier League appearances, suggesting that it would be difficult for Colley to break up that current partnership.

While Jack Stephens has struggled at times this season, with the 26-year-old’s 6.40 average rating from his four top-flight appearances perhaps something for Hasenhuttl to worry about, he provides able back-up, while the club are still yet to see a glimpse of summer buy Mohamed Salisu.

WhoScored suggests that Colley’s strengths are aerial duels and interceptions, whilst he has no significant weaknesses, so perhaps he could be compared to former Saints man Virgil van Dijk, who has established himself as one of the world’s best defenders since joining Liverpool for £75 million.

That said, having kept four Premier League clean sheets already this term, maybe the south coast outfit should have other priorities if they want to buy in January.

Earlier this week we discussed how Steven Gerrard should start Glasgow Rangers ace Ianis Hagi against Standard Liege in the Europa League so that the 21-year-old gains valuable experience in his football career, but there’s a certain player in particular we forgot to mention who should be in contention to start at the Stade Maurice Dufrasne too.

Jermain Defoe was surprisingly omitted from the Europa League squad to make room for Bongani Zungu due to a lack of homegrown players. Whilst some may argue that the 29-cap South Africa international is just making up the numbers, as Gerrard was full of praise for his midfield after the Gers romped to a 2-0 win over their arch-rivals Celtic in the first Old Firm derby of the season, we think that he could be given his first-team debut on Thursday night.

Glen Kamara put in a tremendous performance at Celtic Park, as he won seven out of nine ground duels whilst neutralising the attacking threat of Celtic wing-back Jeremie Frimpong, so he could be rested for the Europa League clash.

And ex-Ibrox midfielder Neil Murray seems to agree, saying: “The manager has another big decision to make for the Liege game and you could see Kamara missing out if he switches it up.

“You hope that healthy competition, where no players are guaranteed to play in that midfield, keeps everyone on their toes.”

If Kamara does indeed drop out, then this will create space for the South African to slot into place alongside Ryan Kent, who is almost certain to start, as he has made 13 appearances for the Light Blues this season so far.

In any case, competition for places is important, so Zungu should be given the chance to show what he can do. He was denied the chance to feature in the Old Firm derby after being forced to quarantine due to coronavirus restrictions in Scotland.

Once hailed as a “special talent” by Flavio Meireles, the sporting director from Vitoria de Guimaraes, the 28-year-old made 21 appearances in Ligue 1 for Amiens last season, whilst he made one clearance and more than one tackle per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Kamara is only averaging 0.7 tackles per game in the Scottish Premiership this season, as per WhoScored.

We don’t envy the tough decision at all, that’s for sure. What better way for Zungu to make a good impression than by making a statement in the European competition? One thing is for sure, it’ll be interesting to see if and when he will make his debut for the Gers. All eyes will be watching.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must take a gamble on long-term target Jack Wilshere…

According to an update courtesy of Portuguese broadcaster tvi24, via @LastWordOnSpurs, Tottenham are interested in signing Benfica star Carlos Vinicius but don’t want to pay over £27.6 million – even despite an eye-watering drop in his valuation well below the original proposed £92.1m to trigger a release clause. 

Vinicius fired home 24 goals in all competitions last season for the Primeira Liga side, attracting interest from the likes of Man United and Wolves, but circumstances surrounding a global pandemic have decreased Benfica’s asking price according to reports.

Indeed, a recent claim from tvi24 reveals that the club may well be willing to accept an offer around the £46 million mark to let Vinicius leave – and Levy should arguably try to take advantage of his potential 50% valuation drop given his huge potential and pedigree at just 25-years-old.

Nicknamed ‘the beast’, Vinicius stands at a towering 6ft 3 and possesses the physicality needed to do well in the Premier League – with his prolific goalscoring record over 2019/2020 potentially making a swoop worthwhile.

However, as per this report, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy feels that any fee over £27.6m is too high a price to pay – but given Tottenham’s urgent need for a back-up to star striker Harry Kane, Vinicius seems like the perfect candidate and worth heavy investment.

Given his mountainous release clause is over double Benfica’s heavily reduced current tag, Spurs may not have a better chance to swoop for the striker at a discounted rate, and Levy will debatably have to reconsider his stance with the Lilywhites potentially about to miss out.

Spurs fans, should Levy reconsider paying over £27.6m to land Vinicius? Have your say in the comments below…

Sunderland boss Phil Parkinson has confirmed that Max Power will be the new team captain for the 2020/2021 season.

After last season’s disappointment which saw the Black Cats finish eighth in League One and fail to secure either a promotion or play-off place, Parkinson has been busy preparing his side for a third stint in England’s third tier.

Six new signings have arrived at the Stadium of Light with Danny Graham being the biggest name to sign on the dotted line for the Wearsiders.

With the pressure firmly on Parkinson’s shoulders, a decision has now been made on Power being the new team captain.

Aside from confirming Power’s captaincy, it has also been confirmed that Grant Leadbitter and Bailey Wright be Club Captain and Vice-Captain, respectively.

Former Wigan Athletic midfielder Power has made 85 appearances for the Black Cats, netting seven goals and gaining 4 assists.

Speaking about the announcement on captains, Parkinson said: “Grant has returned to the group for pre-season and has been a massive plus for us. He has come back to the club in excellent condition and trained well, and he has also really helped the younger players within the group. He has the club at heart and is desperate to have an impact on the pitch, which I’m sure he will, and he will be an invaluable asset for us throughout the season.

“We are fortunate to have a squad of players with an abundance of leadership qualities, and Max and Bailey epitomise that. They both lead by example and like Grant, they will be key to establishing a culture within the dressing room that will drive the club forward throughout the season.”

Sunderland will face Bristol Rovers this coming Saturday (12/9) as the League One season kicks off.

This seems like a good decision as Power has the experience and will likely be a key player for Sunderland next season.

With Power, Leadbitter and Wright all leading the club for the new season, Parkinson can feel assured that he has the right men by his side.

Do you think Power is the right choice to be Sunderland captain? Let us know in the comments section below….