Following the season-ending injury sustained by Liverpool captain and defensive marshall Virgil van Dijk, the Reds have not been able to cope well in the defensive department and have been using make-shift options in recent games.

Van Dijk's defensive partner Joe Gomez is also out with injury, leaving Jurgen Klopp's men prone to defensive frailties from the opening stages of the season. The Reds have identified Roma defender Roger Ibanez and have added him to the list of possible transfer candidates when the January transfer window opens for business.
The defender is also wanted by Premier League outfits Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur as they lock horns and remain in the battle to land the defender in the next transfer window.

Jose Mourinho has done such a fantastic job no one would have believed he would do after being announced as the new Tottenham boss last season.

Jose Mourinho has done such a fantastic job no one would have believed he would do after being announced as the new Tottenham boss last season.

The former Real Madrid and Manchester United manager has transformed attackers Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son into world-class players and the pair are currently tearing the league apart in terms of their goal contributions.
In their most recent clash, which was against Arsenal in the north London derby, Kane supplied his South Korean teammate with a sublime pass which he slotted home calmly to give Spurs the lead.

Chelsea manager Frank Lampard will have to be without first choice goalkeeper Edouard Mendy for some weeks in what's a big blow to the Blues boss. This is because Mendy will be away on international duty with his country Senegal between January and February 2022. The Chelsea shot stopper will miss several games within this period after he helped the Teranga Lions to qualify for the 2021 African Cup of Nations (AFCON).

Senegal have joined both holders Algeria and hosts Cameroon in securing a spot at the AFCON tournament. The tournament was initially billed for next year before the Confederation of African Football (CAF) made the decision to push the tournament back until the opening weeks of 2022.

Arsenal need to look away from Mesut Ozil, who clearly does not have a future at the club, according to Nigel Winterburn. Mesut Ozil was the club record signing for Arsenal back in 2013 when he signed from Real Madrid for more than £45 million. Even though he was able to make a number of influential performances, his lack of defensive awareness have led to managers not including him in the team on a permanent basis. Mikel Arteta has gone one step further by completely freezing out the World Cup winner from the squad.

Ozil has not featured for Arsenal since March. Winterburn does not expect the situation to improve any further considering that the gunners are playing extremely well without the 32-year-old. There is a sense of stability surrounding the Arsenal team at this moment.

Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has expressed his delight after midfielder Kevin de Bruyne was named the Premier League Player of the Year. The Cityzens had an average season in the Premier League as they finished 18 points behind runaway champions Liverpool, but De Bruyne had an individual campaign to remember.

The Belgium international made 33 goalscoring contributions in the league and he was handed the Playmaker award for the most assists (20) during the season. On top of this, he was recently voted as the Premier League Player of the Year and Al Mubarak is pleased that De Bruyne was rewarded for his efforts, he told:
“I was very pleased. Very pleased because it is so well deserved. It was a combination of being pleased, but also a bit relieved.