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For any Liverpool fan expecting a big name star to make the move to Merseyside this summer, their hopes look to be all but quashed.

With reports that Matthijs de Ligt won’t be making the move to Anfield, it is looking like for the first time in a while it will be a quiet summer for Liverpool after two massive transfer window’s in the past few years, and that the next few months will be all about bolstering the quality away from the starting XI.

With many fringe players expected to depart Liverpool this summer, Jurgen Klopp will have the task of having to improve the options on the bench and beyond, and so far it is looking like the Reds boss is taking a youthful approach to new signings, and one of these players should excite supporters.

According to JM, Liverpool are the frontrunners for Sporting Lisbon prospect Andre Cardoso, who has impressed with the Portuguese giants at youth level as well as with the Portugal U-18.

Mainly a striker, Cardoso can also operate as a number 10 behind the main centre-forward, and this could mean that Klopp might see the young attacker as a potential replacement for Roberto Firmino in the future.

Finding a player who can freely operate as a striker and as an attacking midfielder is hard to come by in the modern game, which is what makes Firmino so unique for Liverpool, and Cardoso will be the perfect understudy for the Brazilian.

Taking a step back from signing superstars and going for youth seems to be a smart move from Klopp, and in Cardoso, the club will have a player who can succeed a key figure with one of the most specific roles in the team.

Liverpool fans, would Cardoso be a good summer signing? Let us know!

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Since Dean Smith arrived at Aston Villa he’s been a breath of fresh air to the football club.

He’s revitalised the Midlands side, who are now on the verge of a Premier League reunion, standing potentially just 90 minutes away from the top-flight.

Having lost the play-off final last season to Fulham, they now have a tremendous opportunity of making up for lost time.

Since then, there’s been a host of changes. But Smith has made three key decisions in the last half of the season that have proven vital in their quest for promotion.

Recalling Steer

Major decision number one was recalling Jed Steer. After the additions of Orjan Nyland and Andre Morreira last summer it looked like he had no future with the Villans. Steve Bruce decided to loan him out to Charlton but Smith subsequently recalled him on the final day of 2018.

After initially being kept out of the side by Lovre Kalinic, he has since starred, becoming one of the first names on the team sheet.

Steer has been inspired and is arguably in the form of his career so far.

His two penalty saves in the shoot-out against West Brom were massive and should Villa go up, they’ll owe the 26-year-old plenty of gratitude.

Mings signing

In December 2018 Birmingham Live claimed that Villa were looking at centre-back options. They then signed Tyrone Mings on loan from Bournemouth.

The January deadline day arrival of the 26-year-old was absolutely game changing. With Tommy Elphick and James Chester spending a considerable period of time out through injury, it seemed sensible to bring in an extra body.

But his performances since arriving in the Midlands have been outstanding, providing far more than just some extra depth.

Without him, it’s highly unlikely they’d have embarked on the run they did towards the back end of the season. If possible, Villa must do all they can to get him back next season.

Addressing the full-backs

Another significant decision came in shifting Ahmed Elmohamdy to right back and giving Neil Taylor a consistent run in the team.

The two full-backs have been consistently reliable performers and have gone about their jobs in a silent yet deadly fashion.

“Fair play nonsense!” – Watch one fan’s astonishing defence of Leeds’ controversial goal against Villa on Sunday in the video below…

Fittingly, their reinstatements at full-back came in a 4-0 win over Derby in March. Elmohamady had spent large parts of the season playing higher up in right midfield but moving him back helped to stabilise the defence.

Taylor has meanwhile done the same. Before that win over Derby, he’d spent the last two matches on the bench. Reintroducing him was a masterstroke and ahead of the play-off final, Villa’s right and left back will be crucial.

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Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to laud Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, after he congratulated the Reds on their sixth Champions League title.

The Merseysiders were crowned champions of Europe with a 2-0 win over the team from north London in Madrid, thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi.

Does your club have a legend who is criminally overrated? Fans answer this tough question in the video below…

It would’ve been easy for the Argentine to say that his side actually deserved the win, given the fact that Spurs were arguably the better team, but the former Southampton boss showed his class by congratulating the Reds instead.

Both finalists have very impressive managers who will undoubtedly find themselves at this level of the game again in the near future, and they will continue to win over the masses by showing their gracefulness as Pochettino has done here.

The final was an event of good nature between both teams on the pitch and the supporters around Madrid, and the respect between the two clubs will only have been strengthened after Pochettino’s kind words.

Let’s take a look at some of the best tweets from the Liverpool fans on Twitter…

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As they look to solve their left-back problems, West Ham United are interested in Fenerbahce skipper Hasan Ali Kaldirim, claim BBC.

The Hammers currently have two options in the position, former England international Aaron Cresswell and Democratic Republic of Congo man Arthur Masuaku.

Cresswell is undoubtedly the better defender, but the issue with the 29-year-old is that he’s just too injury prone to hold down the first choice position permanently.

This means that Masuaku often finds himself in the starting Xl and whilst the 25-year-old catches the eye going forward, his defensive skills are simply not up to Premier League standard and that’s become clear after three seasons.

What Kaldirim would bring to the London Stadium is improved defensive capabilities without the injuries or the rash decision making going forward, joining attacks needlessly and leaving huge gaps in the defence.

But what is there to suggest that the 29-year-old who could be available to Manuel Pellegrini for his low release clause of just £4.4m this summer could cut it in the best league in the world? His statistics in one of the world’s premier club competitions, the UEFA Europa League, suggest he’ll do just fine.

The former Turkish champion made six appearances in the tournament over the course of the 2018/2019 campaign as his team made it through to the first knockout round.

In those matches, he averaged 1.3 shots per game, which displays that he is willing to have a go when he joins attacks, something every side wants from their full-back no matter how defensive they are.

His passing is wonderfully consistent, hovering at an average of 80 per cent pass completion while playing against some of the strongest teams on the continent.

1.5 tackles per match also shows Kaldirim’s willingness to get stuck in and stop attacks from flowing down his flank, something that should appeal to Pellegrini having watched his team exposed down the left plenty of times last campaign.

And while he may be a tough tackler, the experienced customer is not sloppy, giving away just 0.8 fouls per game. He also clears the danger very often with an average of 1.5 clearances.

Debates may still rumble on about how the quality of the English top flight compares to the Champions League and Europa League, but these stats are proof that Kaldirim can perform on the biggest stage under huge pressure and with the best players, a pretty good simulation of what the Premier League is like.

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West Brom’s search for a new manager will go on after Express & Star confirmed that the club had cooled their interest in Bruno Labbadia.

The German boss had two rounds of discussions with Luke Dowling last week but it doesn’t appear as though they’ve now progressed into a formal approach.

Taking to Twitter after seeing the news, Albion supporters were fuming with their club as the wait for someone to replace Darren Moore shows no sign of stopping.

Some fans laid into the club for taking the cheap option as one sarcastically claimed he must have been asking for more than £20 a week. It was a scathing attack on the club’s hierarchy with a further supporter laying into Guochuan Lai for the way he budgets.

Another fan was concerned with how long it was taking to find a new boss, taking issue with the squad rebuild that needed to take place. West Brom were also branded as incompetent for letting another manager slip through the net.

A number of targets have seemingly been lined up by the club with a four-man shortlist put in place. Chris Wilder is the latest manager to have attracted their interest.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

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After a fantastic season, in which they earned promotion to the Premier League via the Championship play-off final, Aston Villa have a busy summer ahead as they prepare to get their squad ready for the step up in quality. Today’s transfer roundup brings you reports on Villa’s interest in two players, as well as a potential addition to the backroom staff…

Smith interested in Butland

According to the Sun, the Villans are preparing to launch a bid of £20m for Stoke City shot-stopper Jack Butland. The England international is valued at £23m by the Potters, and Dean Smith is looking to add a top quality goalkeeper to his side ahead of the new season. The bid is expected at some point this week.

Juve youngster to Villa?

Villa also have their eyes on a loan move for Juventus youngster Stephy Mavididi according to TEAMtalk. The 21-year-old former Arsenal player joined the Old Lady from the Gunners last year and spent most of the previous campaign in Juve’s U23 squad. Others such as Everton and Newcastle are also interested.

WBA Academy Manager incoming

West Bromwich Albion’s Academy Manager Mark Harrison is on the move to Villa Park according to the Daily Telegraph’s Johns Percy. Harrison has spent the past 13 years with the Baggies and is expected to take a similar role at Bodymoor Heath.

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So far during this transfer window, Liverpool have been linked with more outgoings than incomings, with Ryan Kent and Harry Wilson just two of the potential departures. Today’s Reds transfer roundup, however, brings you news of interest in two players, as well as a report of another exit in the works.

Dembele available for right price

TEAMtalk is reporting that Barcelona have given the green light to Liverpool to sign Ousmane Dembele. The Catalan club are looking to recoup the initial £96.8m they paid in 2017 for the Frenchman, who scored 14 goals and provided nine assists in all competitions last term.

Targett of interest

Liverpool are interested in bringing Southampton left-back Matt Targett back to Anfield according to 90min.com. The England U21 international, who measures in at 6 foot, is seen as a good back-up option for Andy Robertson amid Alberto Moreno’s departure from Merseyside.

Camacho refuses new deal

Portuguese outlet A Bola is reporting that Rafael Camacho is refusing to sign a new contract with Jurgen Klopp’s team. Sporting Lisbon are interested in the 19-year-old, with Liverpool looking for €10m (£8.9m) for his services, and due to his contract expiring next summer an exit seems likely.

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According to club insider ExWHUemployee, West Ham United have sent a number of scouts to the European Under-21 Championships this summer.

The competition is currently taking place in Italy and San Marino.

According to ExWHUemployee, the Hammers are closely watching the France team although there are no indications of any potential signings at this point.

West Ham signed Pablo Fornals from Villarreal earlier this month and the midfielder has been in fine form for Spain’s Under-21 side at the tournament thus far.

France Under-21s, meanwhile, beat England Under-21s in the group stages last week with Lyon’s Moussa Dembele, Paris Saint-Germain’s Colin Dagba and Celtic’s Olivier Ntcham amongst those featuring against the Three Lions.

It will certainly be interesting to see if anything comes of the scouting mission.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

The West Ham fans have been on social media offering their views on the tweet from ExWHUemployee and a selection of their reaction is available to view below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Slaven Bilic could have an almighty job on his hands this summer in order to undo where West Brom went wrong in 2018/19.

The Baggies, of course, failed to achieve promotion at the first time of asking and are now left staring at what may be a more difficult second term in the Championship.

Luke Dowling has confirmed that the club will have a kitty to spend this summer but final decisions will be made by Bilic.

However, with Albion looking to cut back on wages, they should choose to make use of their excellent youth academy and bring through their young starlets to help them keep down player salaries – rather than having to negotiate lucrative terms with potential new recruits.

It would be a cunning tactic to put into operation, so here are three players who should be involved…

Jamie Soule

The star of Albion’s FA Youth Cup run last campaign, scoring four times in four games, Soule is one of the leading lights of their flourishing youth system.

There are several excellent young attackers coming through the ranks but the 18-year-old is arguably one of the best, finding the net 14 times in all competitions at youth level in 2018/19.

Dwight Gayle will not return to the club whilst they could also lose Jay Rodriguez. With that in mind, the stage could be set for a striker like Soule to make an impact.

Morgan Rogers

The 16-year-old has already had a taste of first-team action, playing in the FA Cup last term and therefore he’ll likely be relishing a further opportunity to get his paws stuck into senior football.

A winger by trade, the exciting youngster scored 13 goals and claimed a further seven assists for the U23s and U18s last season.

He is one of the best talents to come through their academy and with Albion lacking genuine options in wide areas, he could be a useful asset for Bilic.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

Kane Wilson

A left-field pick, Wilson could also benefit from the lack of options West Brom have in wider areas of the pitch.

The 19-year-old right back spent the second half of last season on loan with fellow academy star Dara O’Shea at Exeter, featuring 17 times for the League Two outfit.

At the moment, the Baggies’ only option on the right side of defence is Allan Nyom. There’s no guarantee he’ll stay after spending last season out on loan and with his contract due to expire next summer, but they have been linked with Carl Jenkinson and Sam Byram.

Could Wilson be used as back-up? It certainly seems like a viable option.

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Liverpool fans on Twitter have expressed that they would like to see the club sign Dani Alves after his PSG contract expired.

Influential fan account @AnfieldHQ asked the fanbase if they would like to see any of the newly-available free agents sign for Jurgen Klopp’s side and the response was overwhelming.

Despite him being 36 years of age, many Reds supporters called for the club to sign Alves. The right-back was considered one of the world’s best at the height of his powers, and many believe he still has something to offer.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is quickly establishing himself as one of the best attacking full-backs in the world after breaking the assist record for a defender in the Premier League last season, and a number of Liverpool supporters want him to learn from the former Barcelona man.

Most of the responses called for the Brazillian to be a back-up to Trent, while others stated that the veteran could act as a mentor for the 20-year-old.

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Here’s what the Anfield faithful have been saying on Twitter…