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The gap in quality between Liverpool’s starting front three and their reserves is staggering – it is hard to think of a greater discrepancy in the Premier League – but Dominic Solanke stands the best chance of bridging that gap.

The Englishman, valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, is doubtless a bright prospect, full of desire to improve after finding gametime limited at Chelsea.

Yet, he still has work to do in order to convince the Reds’ fans that he will eventually become a viable backup to Roberto Firmino as Liverpool’s first-choice frontman.

A large part of that is down to how he has lacked cutting edge in front of goal, as well as how his physical approach appears to contrast with Klopp’s high-tempo demands – yet having a genuine alternative is always a useful weapon.

Solanke showed what he could do in Sunday’s final day stroll against Brighton, an afternoon when the Reds made a mockery of any pressure to run out 4-0 winners and the frontman got his maiden Liverpool goal.

He also contributed more than just his strike, with three key passes and two dribbles to suggest that maybe he can offer a more rounded option to Klopp than his bulk and tender years may suggest.

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His passing was also sound as Solanke did all he could to prove he could be a viable option next term, or maybe off the bench in the Champions League final…

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As Southampton continue their meteoric rise, with one foot in the door of the Europa League, it is still remarkable to think about just what Ronaldo Koeman and the club have achieved after repeatedly losing their best players. Touted as relegation-fodder last year, the South Coast side enjoyed a fantastic campaign after blending some astute buys and excellent youth prospects into the team. Despite losing Nathaniel Clyne and Toby Alderwield this year, the Saints looked in good shape against Vitesse Arnhem in their European qualifier – they won 3-0.

Rather than placing their hopes for the new season on an incoming transfer, a man who missed all of last season could well have the biggest impact. Jay Rodriguez is closing in on a return to first-team action, having missed the entirety of last season. Cruelly injured with the 2014 World Cup on the horizon, the former Burnley star had only recently broken into the Three Lions camp after a string of stellar performances on the South Coast. During March 2014, he scored five goals in four matches, taking his tally up to 15 with a month and a half of the season left. Then he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament against Manchester City.

Though he did not play against Vitesse, the goal-getter has looked sharp in pre-season. A brace netted against Red Bull Leipzig, followed by another against Dutch outfit KVV Quick 1920 has led a return of four strikes in four pre-season appearances. Not bad for a player returning from a year out.

Rodriguez himself has expressed his eagerness to pull on a Three Lions shirt once more: “as a player you always want to play at international level”, he told The Mirror, “I want to try and become the player I was.” His steely determination could help create a nice headache for England boss Roy Hodgson, who can currently field a number of different striking options. The Saint, however, is perhaps the most natural wide-forward available to him, a lethal mix of a winger and a front man.

Before pulling on all the all-white of England, the Southampton man must get back to his best Premier League form. Despite an excellent season last year, the Saints tailed off towards the end of the campaign and finished well below the Champions League spots they had thrillingly chased for a prolonged period. Italian star Graziano Pelle, who was excellent for the side, seemed to lose his goal scoring touch after the Christmas pile up and Shane Long failed to provide any real consistency.

Rodriguez offers goals from wide positions, and if he can rekindle the ‘bromance’ he enjoyed with Adam Lallana with current Saints schemer Dusan Tadic, there will be much to cheer on the South Coast. If he can take some of the burden away from his Italian strike partner, perhaps Koeman’s side can sustain a more substantial challenge in their constant quest to improve.

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With Southampton’s foray into Europe, strength in depth becomes vital. New signing Juanmi and last season’s revelation Sadio Mane provide competition in the final third, but ‘J-Rod’ has proven quality. Having recently signed a new deal, reportedly keeping the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham at bay, Jay Rodriguez’could prove to be a ‘lightning rod’ for his side.

Team News

Swansea boss Michael Laudrup is expected to stick with the same side that were beaten by Manchester United, despite doubts lingering over Michu’s hamstring. Goalkeeper Michel Vorm and midfielder Ki Sung-Yeung are absent.

Fulham are expected to have Kieron Richardson fit as they head to south Wales with no fresh injury worries. Steve Sidwell sits out the final match of a four-game ban.

Michael Laudrup… “That’s a problem isn’t it — how can you better this? It’s nearly impossible. That is the only downside of this season — that is it almost impossible to do better. You always have to try to find a mark, and a mark for this club, with the lowest budget in the Premier League, is to try to consolidate in mid-table. I know it sounds a little bit arrogant for a club with our budget to try to do that.”

Martin Jol…”I signed an option and that is a long time ago, ages ago. For me, there is no difference. It is not something from the last 48 hours as [the speculation] happened before. If people make up a little story and I speak about new players coming in, of course you need a little bit of money. They associate us with the chairman and he has to give us the funds, but we are a healthy club. We will try to get some players in so there is no story.”

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Match Statistic: 11 of the 14 Premier League goals Dimitar Berbatov has scored this season have come before half-time.

Prediction: Swansea City 2-1 Fulham

Sunderland midfielder Adam Johnson has said he doesn’t regret joining Manchester City as he embarks on the next chapter of his career in the north-east.

Johnson won both the FA Cup and Premier League at City after joining from Middlesbrough in January 2010.

He rejected an initial approach from the Black Cats in favour of City, but defended his move by claiming it was too good an opportunity to turn down.

“Looking back, I think anyone in my position would have signed for City at the time,” he said.

Johnson signed for Sunderland earlier this week for an undisclosed fee after making 97 appearances for City and scoring 15 goals, but 43 of those came from the bench – a major factor in his decision to switch the Ethiad Stadium for the Stadium of Light.

He has 11 caps for England and started in the recent 2-1 win over Italy, but Roy Hodgson understandably wants all of his senior players to be in action week in, week out.

Martin O’Neill has spoken publicly over his satisfaction in bringing the winger to Wearside, something Johnson believes has made him feel wanted – unlike under his previous manager at City.

Despite the great respect the City players have for Mancini, Johnson eluded to feeling trapped by the Italian’s somewhat overly-critical nature, but now feels he can re-ignite his career.

“You can only take so much criticism and no praise as a player; it doesn’t matter who you are.

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“The other night, when I made my debut, it felt as if I’d had the chains taken off me. I was playing again and the manager has already given me that confidence and the freedom. Hopefully that’ll continue.”

You can follow all the deadline day deals on our live blog right here

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Southampton finally showed that they are ready to make a real fight of preserving their Premier League status during their 2-1 win against Bournemouth, and it was a potentially positive sign for the future – if they do survive.

The south coast outfit came into the match against their local neighbours four points from safety – with just four fixtures remaining – and they knew they simply had to get the three points despite tasting success in just one of their previous 21 top flight matches.

Mark Hughes had taken just one point from a possible 12 since succeeding Mauricio Pellegrino, and while there had clearly been an upturn in performances and the goal threat they were bringing, mistakes at the other end of the pitch were continuing to punish them.

Nevertheless, Saints started strongly against the Cherries and it was clear to see that the 11 players in the red and white stripes were determined to get the win, and it was great for the St Mary’s faithful to see given their shocking displays against Newcastle United and West Ham United in March, and with players such as Sofiane Boufal and Mario Lemina sometimes not seeming as though they were putting in as much effort as they should have been.

Lemina was one of those that really stood up and was counted against Eddie Howe’s side, and while he may have played a few minutes in a Champions League final for Juventus less than 12 months ago, Hughes has clearly got him up for this relegation battle based on his most recent showing.

In fact, for the first time since they finished in sixth position in the Premier League in 2016 before former boss Ronald Koeman departed for Everton, the players looked really motivated and willing to press the opposition.

Southampton have certainly lost their identity and the envious eyes of their top flight rivals under the Dutchman’s successors Claude Puel and Mauricio Pellegrino, and Hughes has been given the task of not only saving the club from the drop, but also to try and forge more of a relationship with his players that hasn’t been evident under the previous managers.

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The 54-year-old is certainly starting to do that – as well as improving their fitness and bringing back that same willingness to work – and it appears as though he feels he has a real affinity to the club having played for them towards the end of his playing career in the late 90s, and that can make all the difference to the supporters and getting that feel-good factor around St Mary’s that had almost disappeared under Puel and Pellegrino.

If the south coast outfit do survive – their fans on Twitter are already feeling confident ahead of their trip to Goodison Park to face Everton on Saturday – the Welshman will certainly be one of the frontrunners to get the job on a permanent basis, and if that does end up being the case you can expect a major overhaul of the playing squad in the summer.

The likes of Ryan Bertrand, Cedric Soares, Dusan Tadic, Mario Lemina, Sofiane Boufal and Manolo Gabbiadini could be just some of the high-profile individuals on their way, and a big rebuilding job could be on the cards.

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However, if the club ensures that they hand Hughes the funds from those sales – plus some more on top – there is no doubt that he has the ability to bring some great players to St Mary’s himself and create a side that can be challenging in the upper echelons of the Premier League table once again.

The 54-year-old was part of the team that brought the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Jese Rodriguez – despite it not working out for the attacker – to the Britannia Stadium, and those types of talented individuals mixed with a hard-working and committed core can take Southampton up the standings.

That is exactly the setup they had under Ronald Koeman previously when they finished seventh and then sixth in successive campaigns, and given Burnley are set to end the campaign in the former it shows that it won’t be out of reach for Saints again next term should they stay up and then make the correct decisions.

Unless results go their way on the final day of the season, Manchester United will end their first campaign under Louis van Gaal’s stewardship in fourth place. A return to Champions League football is all that was truly expected of the Dutchman’s first season in charge. However, looking towards next season, what constitutes a good second term for Van Gaal?

Following the debacle of David Moyes’ time in Manchester any positive movements that were made in this campaign would be rightly lauded. Although they have returned to European football’s premier competition it has not gone without a hitch and it certainly has not been a cheap return.

Angel Di Maria was clearly the centrepiece of Van Gaal’s first summer transfer policy and along with the expensive loan of Radamel Falcao neither has added a great deal to United and both could be on their way in the coming months. Arguably only Herrera and Blind could be deemed a success from last year’s transfer binge. This time around United must get in right in the transfer market and a repeat of last year’s lapses may not be overlooked so lightly.

With no European competition of any variety this year, their workload has been substantially lighter than any of their competitors; next year’s return to the Champions League will not be seen as a nice day out and their fans will want to see them challenge. That will add a significant amount of work for the squad next year and in order to ensure his team can handle the additional demands, the depth must be improved. Too many times this year they have relied on a small group of players, they have got away with it due to the relative lack of games, next term will prove sufficiently harder.

In terms of cup competitions, this year lengthened their trophy ‘drought’ to two years;  they were soundly beaten by third tier MK Dons in the Capital One Cup before a disappointing defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup. Mourinho proved in his first spell at Chelsea how important a cup win can be to begin a reign, Van Gaal should be taking all competitions seriously next year, the fans at Old Trafford demand success and a cup win would please the more pessimistic element of their fanbase.

In terms of league position they have been streets away from the leading pack; they will finish at least 12 points behind Champions Chelsea and that is a gap that must be bridged next year. This year Van Gaal was given quite an easy remit; return United to the top four and all else will take care of itself.

In year two of ‘The Van Gaal Project’ more will be expected of his charges, next year fans and press alike will have heightened expectations of what United can do. If next season pans out as this one has there may be significantly more pressure on the manager than there currently is.

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Next year is a big one for both Manchester United and Louis van Gaal, although this season has been a good start, it is just that, a start. Next year must be better.

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QPR chairman Tony Fernandes has opened the door for a return for Joey Barton although he wants to stay in France.

The midfielder slammed the current crop of Loftus Road players following the club’s relegation to the Championship last weekend for what he perceived was a lacklustre approach to survival and has always maintained that he would like to stay in France.

There is no agreement in place with Ligue 1 club Marseille to turn the loan into a permanent deal and Fernandes is thinking the former Manchester City midfielder could be an asset in the second tier of English football.

“If Joey and Marseille want (the transfer), then we will talk. However, he is a QPR player, and is contracted to QPR,” he said on QPR Player.

“He helped Newcastle out (of the Championship). Some would say we lacked his fighting spirit in the midfield.

“Marseille have got to put an offer in. Joey is under contract and Joey would be a very useful player for Queens Park Rangers.

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“That has to be a financial deal which would have to be worked out if he wants to go to Marseille, but as far as I am concerned he is a QPR player and in the summer will come back.”

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Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are both in the race to sign the Fulham attacking midfielder Moussa Dembele, according to Talksport.

It is thought that Spurs are more likely to capture the signature of Dembele as they will be more willing to trigger a £15 million pound buy-out clause which would see the Belgian international have free reign to move to North London.

Dembele, 25, would be a welcome addition to Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas after the imminent departures of Luka Modric to Real Madrid and Tom Huddlestone to Stoke. Dembele, who himself was rumoured to be of interest to Real Madrid last week, joined Fulham from Dutch outfit AZ Alkmaar for £5 million pounds in 2010.

Dembele has been capped 40 times by a talented Belgian side that includes new Chelsea star Eden Hazard, Everton midfielder Marouane Fellaini and incidentally new Tottenham centre-back Jan Vertonghen.

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In the post-Mark Clattenburg era, there are two referees who stand out as arguably the best in the Premier League right now – Michael Oliver, who may be controversial but certainly carries an element of authority about him, and Anthony Taylor, who seems to strike a healthy balance between making big calls and avoiding needless decisions.

Indeed, from the 20 referees to work in the Premier League so far this season, Taylor ranks in the middle of the pack – no higher than 9th or lower than 13th – for fouls per tackle, fouls per match, yellow cards per match and penalties per match.

That should ensure we see a fair and balanced game when Manchester United face Tottenham on Saturday, with the 39-year-old appointed to officiate their FA Cup semi-final showdown, or at the very least a game that isn’t overshadowed by a wrong decision or disrupted by the pedantic awarding of fouls.

That rings even truer in terms of penalties; Taylor has awarded just one in the Premier Leage this season, suggesting it will need to be clear cut for Tottenham or United to concede one on Saturday. Both managers will surely see that as good news ahead of the Wembley encounter – neither Jose Mourinho nor Mauricio Pochettino will want a controversial spot kick to have a decisive impact on the game.

However, there is a bad omen for Spurs here. From the three Tottenham fixtures Taylor has officiated in the top flight this season, they’ve lost two of them. Manchester United, on the other hand, have won two of their three Premier League games with Taylor in charge this term including both of the last two – victories over Stoke and West Brom.

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Homegrown Liverpool players have been capturing the headlines over recent months for reasons both positive and negative, while one such star has been largely forgotten.

While Steven Gerrard is set to leave Anfield after a career as a Red, Raheem Sterling has seemingly no intention of committing to the Merseyside outfit like his current skipper has.

The emergence of Jordon Ibe suggests that the historic club have another youth product turned superstar on their hands also.

However, arguably the most likely to play a significant role in the club’s chances of challenging for silverware consistently for the next five-to-ten years is Jon Flanagan.

The versatile defender has not played one single minute of Premier League action this season due to a serious knee injury but is reportedly on the mend and on the verge of a first-team return.

The local right-back has been on the Kop’s radar for a number of years but had his breakthrough campaign last season, starting 23 league games in Liverpool’s quest for the title.

Despite the presence of an array of international stars in the Anfield set-up, Flanagan quickly became a fans’ favourite within the Reds supporters.

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His tireless work-rate, commitment and never-say-die attitude captured the imagination at the club, with the youngster applying himself with gusto every time he was afforded an opportunity to play.

Interestingly, with the tactical tweaks Brendan Rodgers has made this campaign and the personnel at the Northern Irish manager’s disposal, Flanagan looks like a player that could play a prominent part in the Reds’ 2015-16 campaign.

The bespoke 3-4-3 formation that the Merseysiders have most often deployed in recent times calls for virtuous wing-backs, with the right flank a selection issue for Rodgers.

As Glen Johnson prepares to leave the club this summer and other candidates for the role are better suited to other positions, there is no reason why Flanagan cannot become first-choice in the team next term.

Although the homegrown star still has development to make with the ball at his feet and from an attacking perspective, having Flanagan at right wing-back would certainly solidify the team from a defensive viewpoint.

The youngster has the work-rate and required effort in his locker to successfully fill the role, while he has proven at full-back that he has a good reading of the game and positional sense.

While the contract situations of Sterling and Jordan Henderson may well fill newspaper columns, not many lines have been afforded to the future of Flanagan.

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The 22-year-old is out of contract this summer, but will surely pen a new deal at Anfield if physically fit to play.

This unassuming and down-to-earth character is a desirable personality in a sport that is increasingly dominated by unpleasant, greedy and ego-based individuals.

With Liverpool losing stalwarts such as Jamie Carragher and Gerrard in recent years, Flanagan, not Sterling, looks like a unique player in the fact that he could be a Red for the foreseeable future.

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