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Glasgow Rangers manager Steven Gerrard may have opened up an unnecessary can of worms by saying Alfredo Morelos is gunning for the Champions League.

What’s the word?

Morelos endured a mini goal drought at the start of the season but bounced back with two goals in his past two games in the Europa League to take him past Ally McCoist as the club’s all-time top scorer in European competitions. He netted his 22nd strike in Thursday’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Benfica.

Speaking after the game, Gerrard said: “Yes, he was very happy after the game about his record-breaking (achievement). I think he’s got his hunger back and you can see it in his eyes, he wants to go and score more goals in the competition.

“I know he’s got dreams and aspirations of playing in the Champions League one day, which is good for him.”

Gerrard should have kept his mouth shut

Whilst Gerrard’s intentions may have been honest, his baffling comments will surely only to add fuel to the fire. It was reported last month that club chief Ross Wilson had reached an agreement with the 6-cap Colombia international that the centre-forward could move if Rangers received a suitable bid in the summer.

Before the start of the season, several reports had suggested that the 24-year-old was on the verge of leaving the club after it was claimed that he had agreed personal terms with Ligue 1 outfit Lille.

Last year Leicester City were credited with a January move for Morelos as Gerrard’s former manager Brendan Rodgers wanted to add depth in attack to compete with Jamie Vardy and Kelechi Iheanacho for a place in the starting line-up.

The Foxes missed out on Champions League football last season but once again find themselves amongst the running for a top-four finish. Could they return for the Colombia star striker in the future? That remains to be seen.

By announcing to all and sundry that Morelos’ ambition is to play in the premier European competition, this could open up a bidding war in the winter transfer window if some bigger clubs come calling, as he has attracted interest from a whole number of Premier League clubs over the past few months. Wilson may be unable to resist a tempting offer in the transfer market.

If that’s the case, the Ibrox boss will only have himself to blame, that’s for sure, as he really should have kept his mouth shut instead.

We suspect the Colombian will have a part to play if the Gers are to regain the title for the first time since the 2010/11 Scottish Premiership season – although that depends on whether or not he is still at the club, of course.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers should give Connor Goldson a rest after Benfica showing…

West Brom are still without their first win of the season but they can be encouraged by their outstanding display on Sunday afternoon.

Slaven Bilic’s side were beaten 1-0 by Spurs at the Hawthorns with Harry Kane popping up with the winner just two minutes from time, but the result was not only harsh but also cruel on the Midlands outfit.

They dominated large spells of the match and were arguably the better of the two sides having won more duels and looked far better on the ball.

Filip Krovinovic and Conor Gallagher were particularly impressive in the energetic Baggies engine room, but not everyone was at the races – especially £15m summer signing Karlan Grant.

The 23-year-old has struggled since swapping Huddersfield Town for the Premier League last month, scoring just one goal in four starts whilst it is now back-to-back blanks for Bilic’s leading man.

Grant was largely anonymous before being withdrawn in the 84th minute – per SofaScore, the young forward fired both of his shots off target, made just 13 passes, lost possession 12 times and was found offside on one occasion.

BirminghamLive weren’t positive on his display either, grading him a bog-standard 6/10 and claimed: “[It] didn’t fall for him in the first period. Grant fluffed his lines when the ball fell to him in the box.”

Whilst The Athletic’s Steve Madeley tweeted that Grant was “not really in the game” during the second half. He also lost 54% of his duels against PL veterans Eric Dier and Toby Alderweireld.

You could forgive Bilic if he felt slightly let down by his performance.

Albion have only scored six goals all season, the third-lowest of any other Premier League side this season. Only the two teams below, Burnley and Sheffield United, have scored fewer.

The €10m-rated (£9m) striker cannot afford many more games where he goes missing throughout, it will only raise question marks over why he was brought in over some of their other more experienced mooted targets, like Troy Deeney of Watford.

Bilic now has an international break to figure out how to exactly get the best out of a man who scored 19 times last season.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit tips 66 y/o to replace Slaven Bilic…

After going off injured in Newcastle’s 1-1 draw against Wolves on January 11, Paul Dummett surely could not have imagined still not making his first-team comeback almost a year later.

The defender saw his season ended due to a tendon injury in that game at Molineux, and whilst he had recovered by the time of the Premier League’s restart, the new rules in place meant he couldn’t reclaim his place in the squad.

Now, The Chronicle have revealed that Dummett has picked up a hamstring problem, which follows on from a muscle injury he sustained over the summer.

The 29-year-old had taken to the pitch for an U23s clash against Fulham in October, but this latest setback is likely to mean 2020 won’t be the year in which he marks his competitive comeback.

It’s a devastating blow for the versatile defender, but also a costly one for Steve Bruce, who has seen his defence ravaged by injuries over the course of the past few months.

The Magpies did strengthen their back-line with the purchase of Jamal Lewis from relegated Norwich, but a shoulder injury to Matt Ritchie saw their options dwindle in that left-back role, whilst the Tyneside club have also seen numerous injuries to their centre-backs too.

Whilst he may not be the most glamorous name in the Newcastle squad, former boss Rafa Benitez made it clear just how highly he thinks of him in a Q&A with The Athletic last year.

When asked which players he has worked with that he feels have gone under the radar and under-valued by supporters, the Spaniard said: “Also Paul Dummett at Newcastle. He is very consistent and is very clever in a tactical way. He can help the players around him and the fans do not always notice that.”

Dummett’s injury is bad news on a personal note, but it’s just as big of a blow to the team as well.

Dean Smith must light a fire underneath Trezeguet with the Aston Villa forward failing to deliver when it matters the most.

Trezeguet has started eight of the Villans’ opening 10 Premier League fixtures while being introduced from the bench in the remaining two, yet has registered just a single assist and is yet to score this season.

The Egypt international failed to turn the ball home against Championship side Bristol City in September’s EFL Cup win, either, and was hauled off in the 74th-minute of Monday night’s 2-1 loss at West Ham United having directed just one of three shots on target and offering only one key pass.

Smith needs to see far more from Trezeguet than what the 26-year-old is so far bringing to the table, with the winger ranking second only to Jack Grealish (26) at Villa Park for shots taken in the Premier League thus far this term (22) but directing just six of those efforts on target, per WhoScored.

Trezeguet ranks just fifth for key passes (9), too, which is six fewer than Chelsea loanee Ross Barkley who has only played 455 minutes of top-flight football in claret and blue to the £7.2m-rated attacker’s 720.

Midfielders Grealish (40) and John McGinn (24) have also registered a higher number of dribbles attempted (16) than Trezeguet, who further ranks behind Ollie Watkins (13) and Barkley (11) for successful attempts (10) with a per-90-minute record (1.3) worse than Anwar El Ghazi (5.1) and Bertrand Traore (1.7).

Despite Trezeguet’s often tame efforts, Smith continues to place a great deal of support behind the 26-year-old who West Ham star Declan Rice claimed forced David Moyes into changing his side’s shape during Monday night’s clash at the London Stadium.

“He [Moyes] was unhappy,” Rice told Sky Sports during their post-game coverage (30/11). “He didn’t go into too much detail as we know as players that half wasn’t good enough. They were playing a 4-3-3 and we were a 5-2-3, and they were causing us problems in the midfield.

“We couldn’t get around them quick enough and when you have players like Jack and Trezeguet coming in off the lines, causing problems, the manager had to change it and that’s why we went to a four [in defence for the] second-half.”

Moyes’ change in system worked perfectly for West Ham, with Trezeguet restricted to just 11 touches after the break, while playing a mere five accurate passes, not attempting a single dribble, failing to take possession with his only tackle and missing the target with one of his two shots on goal, per WhoScored.

Villans hero Gabby Agbonlahor was far from impressed with Trezeguet for missing what he felt to be a gilt-edged chance when picked out in the box by Watkins, with the player-turned-pundit telling Football Insider: “He’s just got to connect with it and as frustrating as the save was, the actual shot was going wide.

“In the Premier League, you get punished for not taking easy chances like that. If that ball fell to anyone else but Trezeguet, they would have scored. I just feel his game is a bit erratic, he works hard but his final ball at times was poor. He makes the wrong decision.”

If Moyes was able to nullify Trezeguet’s threat during a half-time team talk, Smith must be alert to other sides seeing the £75,000-per-week forward as a weak link they can ignore to focus their efforts toward taming Grealish and Watkins.

AND in other news, a major Premier League decision has come at the ideal time for an “outstanding” Villa titan who’s badly letting Dean Smith down.

Aston Villa return to Premier League action this evening as they host Burnley at Villa Park.

Dean Smith’s men will be looking to build on their 1-0 victory over arch-rivals Wolves at the weekend, and they know that three points here would see them move into a top-seven place.

However, the Midlands outfit will need to do so without several key players who are either missing through injury or through suspension.

So, what sort of XI could we see the 49-year-old select? Here’s what we’re predicting tonight…

There could be as many as four changes to the side that narrowly defeated the Old Gold on Saturday.

Smith will be without first-choice right-winger Trezeguet, who is struggling with a hamstring problem, whilst Douglas Luiz (sent off) and Matty Cash (fifth yellow of the season) will also be missing.

However, in better news, we could see the return of loan sensation Ross Barkley. He was assessed on Wednesday ahead of this encounter and whilst there have been no further updates on that front, we expect him to come straight back in should he be fit enough to feature.

He’ll replace young 19-year-old dynamo Jacob Ramsey with Conor Hourihane taking the place of Douglas Luiz. Both will feature alongside John McGinn in the engine room.

A defence involving Matt Targett, Tyrone Mings, Ezri Konsa and goalkeeper Emi Martinez remains largely intact, though it’s between Frederic Guilbert or Ahmed Elmohamady for Cash’s replacement.

We think Smith could go with the former should he also be fit enough to play.

In attack, both Jack Grealish and Ollie Watkins remain whilst we could see Anwar El Ghazi given his first start of the season after scoring the winning penalty at Molineux.

It does mean that £17m summer signing Bertrand Traore, who earns £60k-per-week, is axed after failing to impress at the weekend.

AND in other news, Aston Villa could have got a perfect Ollie Watkins partner in £20m “natural” talent…

Edinson Cavani stole the show to send Manchester United into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, having produced a Man of the Match-worthy display against Everton on Wednesday night.

Cavani scored his fourth goal of the season and his second against Everton before Anthony Martial came off the bench to put the game beyond the Toffees.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have been pleased with the performance the Uruguay international produced upon his return to the starting line-up, as he led the line with great aplomb and dropped deep into his own half to bring others into play.

It’s the sort of display United fans will have been expecting to see from the 33-year-old, who has now racked up 12 appearances across all competitions since he first arrived at Old Trafford in the summer.

Solskjaer was effusive in his praise for the former Paris Saint-Germain striker after he scored in the 2-0 victory over Everton at Goodison Park.

“Edinson Cavani should’ve scored three in the first half,” Solskjaer said, via quotes by The BBC. “But he is a top striker – his movement, quality. The goal was excellent.”

While Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba pulled the strings from the midfield, Ed Woodward’s bargain buy once again proved his worth to United against Everton, as Cavani took 40 touches of the ball and made one key pass, as per SofaScore.

No player from either side could match or better his tally of seven shots in total, as the Uruguayan centre-forward took four shots on target, one shot off target, missed one big chance and had one shot blocked, while he also only lost possession five times in his 90 minutes on the pitch,

Cavani was also fouled twice before the final whistle blew at Goodison Park, won three out of his six ground duels (50%) and provided one accurate long ball.

He also successfully completed his only dribble attempt of the game, wasn’t dribbled past at all and made one interception as well, which shows that he was a real handful throughout the game.

His performance alone more than merited their place in the League Cup semi-finals before substitute Martial sealed the win with the last kick of the game against Carlo Ancelotti’s side at Goodison Park.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Former Hull City striker Dean Smith says Jadon Sancho shouldn’t join Manchester United…

According to Football Insider, RB Leipzig have made an approach to sign Aston Villa starlet Jaden Philogene-Bidace in the January transfer window.

Nightmare for Dean Smith

The 18-year-old has yet to make a single senior appearance for Dean Smith’s side, spending all of his career thus far with both the U18s and U23s.

This season has seen the left-winger start off the campaign superbly, bagging four goals and providing a further two assists in just eight Premier League 2 level games.

Now, Football Insider claim that Leipzig are keen to take advantage of the fact he has just six months remaining on his current contract, and that the Bundesliga side have been alerted to the fact they could sign him on the cheap next month, and that will be a nightmare for Smith.

Unforgivable from Lange

As Jack Grealish has shown over the past few years, giving a young rising talent the chance to shine in the first-team can see a pretty big risk pay off spectacularly.

And in Philogene-Bidace, they have got someone who has got considerable talent, and is very similar in his style of play to the club captain. His former coach, Ahmed Abdulla, said: “He can come inside or go on the outside. The model winger.

“He hugs the touchline and can beat his man. (He’s) Very confident and very light on his feet and skips past tackles, not one of them that gets hit and goes down. He bounces off tackles. He’s very strong and outstanding in one-v-ones.”

It would be unforgivable from Villa’s sporting director, Johan Lange, to just let Philogene-Bidace walk away without first seeing how he might perform in the first-team. The fact he has just six months left on his contract and can leave on the cheap makes the whole situation that much more ridiculous.

Lange is heading for a inexcusable nightmare unless he intervenes.

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw is still not ready for action after a horrible 15-month lay-off.

In response to supporters on Monday, The Athletic’s Phil Hay claimed the 29-year-old “has been trying to get over the last hurdle for a long time”

A hip problem has seen Forshaw sidelined since September 2019 with his final appearance in a Whites shirt being a 45-minute stint against Charlton.

The former Brentford and Middlesbrough man has played a total of seven matches since the start of the 2019/20 season and underwent surgery nearly a year ago in the United States.

With the emergence of Jamie Shackleton, the signing of Rodrigo and Stuart Dallas a natural central midfielder, it’s hard to imagine Forshaw ever playing for the Yorkshire giants ever again.

And because of that, it would be wise for Victor Orta to look to move him on at the earliest convenience, as ruthless as that would be.

Leeds are merely wasting financial resources keeping players like this at the club.

Between Forshaw (£60k-per-week) and Gaetano Berardi (£35k-per-week) alone, they are spending nearly £100k-per-week on a pair of players who aren’t going to contribute one minute to their cause this term.

Those wages could be spent elsewhere – on a central defender who is going to help shut up shop, perhaps?

Indeed, the 5 foot 9 maestro has cost the club around £500k-per-game since the start of their Championship-winning season and overall, around £265k-per-match since his £4.5m arrival in 2018.

It would be a brutal call to sack him off, but United need to look at the bigger picture to help their chances of remaining in the top-flight.

Noel Whelan believes Forshaw would even welcome fresh start elsewhere, he told Football Insider: “The January window has obviously just opened and I’m sure he wants to go and get settled in a team where he can play football. He’s a good footballer, so I’m sure that will be on his mind.”

Orta must show no mercy over the “exceptional” and long-serving midfielder this month.

AND in other news, Orta can find Bielsa his next Kalvin Phillips in £13m BRUTE…

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s injury problems at Southampton look to have grown after youngster Will Smallbone was forced off against Leicester City on Saturday night.

The 21-year-old was making just his third appearance of the season, and his first since September, in the 2-0 defeat against the Foxes, but he was forced off through knee injury in the second half.

The youngster tried to play on following a collision with Timothy Castagne but it was clear that he could not continue when he went down again just a few minutes later.

Hasenhuttl spoke to the BBC following the game about Smallbone’s injury, saying:

“We have again injured players. Will is not looking good, his knee – and now are coming a lot of games. I hope that players are coming back as soon as possible.”

The Austrian manager’s squad is looking extremely thin at the moment, following injuries to Moussa Djenepo, Nathan Redmond, Oriol Romeu and Jannik Vestergaard.

Youngsters Nathan Tella and Michael Obafemi are also injured, whilst Danny Ings was self-isolating for the game at Leicester, meaning Smallbone was selected out of position on the left-wing.

His injury represents a real issue for Hasenhuttl now, as he is seriously lacking midfield options and he may well be forced to play a similar side on Tuesday night against Shrewsbury Town in the FA Cup, due to the lack of depth currently available to him.

The Austrian suggested before the transfer window that signings were unlikely in January but following this latest injury setback, it seems clear that chief executive Martin Semmens must act to bring in some more midfield options during the current transfer window, otherwise he risks leaving Hasenhuttl with a threadbare squad.

You would also imagine that, given Southampton’s hectic schedule, Smallbone’s injury will not be the last, and if replacements are not brought in, then the Saints’ impressive start to the season could well be undone.

And, in other news… Lost possession 25x: Sloppy Southampton ace was nowhere near his best vs Leicester

Some Arsenal fans were left blasting the display of Cedric against his old club Southampton in their side’s 1-0 away loss in the FA Cup at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Although there were many poor performances for Mikel Arteta’s team, Cedric, in particular, flattered to deceive some members of the Emirates Stadium faithful.

The 29-year-old lost out on four of his duels and also failed to block any shots or make any tackles against the Saints (Sofascore).

He also lost possession of the ball no fewer than 23 times in the game, which was the most out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch, earning him a quite measly 6.5 overall rating on Sofascore, the joint-second worst out of any Gunners player.

Arsenal fan reaction to Cedric display

These Gooners blasted his performance on Twitter, with one AFC supporter even going as far to claim that the Portugal international is ‘awful’:

“I would really like to see Willian or Pepe deliver a statement performance in a game like this, but both remain short of form and confidence. Cedric was very poor playing on the opposite side. Nketiah had to do more with the chances he had #SOUARS”

Credit: @guyberes

“A terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad match. Willian should never see the pitch again. Any Sunday League player could put in better crosses than Cedric. An absolutely woeful, sloppy, flaccid performance. #DoBetter #SOUARS #FACup”

Credit: @Benzaiohio

“Holding’s awful, Cedric’s awful, Xhaka’s awful, Willian’s awful, Pepe’s awful, Elneny’s awful #SOUARS”

Credit: @Covill44

“Willian, Cedric and Pepe should all be sold. No intent, no idea, simply wasting time by strolling on the pitch. #SOUARS #FACup #Arsenal”

Credit: @Sandesh_Ulloor

“Can we get rid of the useless Willian, dancing aimlessly Pepe and clueless Cedric already. #SOUARS”

Credit: @mwaura24

“Get Cedric off the pitch, I feel sick watching him #SOUARS”

Credit: @AinsSzn

In other news, find out who else was slammed for his display here!