Bayern Munich star Bastian Schweinsteiger has been urged to stay at the club amid interest from Manchester United, according to reports from the Independent.

Schweinsteiger has been heavily linked with a move away from the Allianz Arena in recent weeks, after a season in which the Germany international fell down the pecking order under manager Pep Guardiola.

And with Red Devils boss Louis van Gaal already having managed Schweinsteiger during his days in charge of the Bavarians, the Dutchman is keen on bringing the central midfielder to Old Trafford.

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There has been speculation that Van Gaal is set to submit a £18million offer and hopefully begin negotiations, but German legend Franz Beckenbauer has insisted that the 30-year-old should remain in the Bundesliga.

“I would advise him not to go to England,” he said. “He can stay here as well. This challenge, at his age, it’s not what he needs.

“I would play one or two more years in Munich, at this high level. And then, if he still wants to and if he still feels like playing football is the thing, he can make a step back and maybe go to the USA.

“In New York, Cosmos is searching for players, also Red Bull. So I think if he, as a world champion, goes to New York or another club in the Major League Soccer, that would greatly improve the standing of football there.”

If United are unable to complete a deal for Schweinsteiger, the 13-time Premier League champions are ready to turn to Southampton’s Morgan Schneiderlin as an adequate alternative.

Schneiderlin has been allowed to leave this summer, but the Red Devils may have to move quick with Arsenal and Tottenham both monitoring the situation.

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According to the Sunderland Echo, Sunderland have been offered the chance to re-sign Newcastle United midfielder Jack Colback.

What’s the story?

Colback came through the youth system at Sunderland before representing the first team between 2008 and 2014 – making close to 150 appearances for the Black Cats.

The midfielder was controversially sold to Newcastle at the end of the 2013-14 campaign, and he has made 94 appearances for the Magpies in all competitions.

The 28-year-old made 21 Championship appearances for Newcastle last season, but he has not made a single appearance under Rafael Benitez this term.

It seems certain that Colback will leave St James’ Park when the January transfer window opens for business, and the Sunderland Echo claim that a shock return to the Stadium of Light could be on the cards.

Are Sunderland the only club in the picture?

Newcastle might not want Colback, but it seems that there are plenty of Championship clubs that are interested in signing the experienced midfielder.

Wages could be a problem due to the fact that Colback collects in excess of £40,000 a week at Newcastle, but it is thought that a loan move could occur in January.

According to the Sunderland Echo, Leeds United, Derby County, Bristol City, Reading, Hull City and Wolverhampton Wanderers are all closely monitoring developments.

That said, it is thought that Colback, who is valued at £4.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, fancies a return to Sunderland to play under Chris Coleman.

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There is no way back for the former England Under-20 international at Newcastle after Benitez closed the door last month, and a return to Sunderland might well suit all parties.

One of the most historic occasions on the English calendar is here – the third round of the FA Cup. And while the competition comes with great prestige and tradition, the pressures of the Premier League often mean pragmatic managers view it as a chance to rotate a squad in need of a rest following the relentless Christmas period.

That will likely be the case this Friday night, even in a fixture as heated and intense as the Merseyside derby. Everton and Liverpool represent one of the biggest rivalries in English football but with clashes against Tottenham and Manchester City on the horizon respectively, it’s likely both managers will look to make changes for the FA Cup clash. In fact, Jurgen Klopp is practically certain to amid the absences of Philippe Coutinho and Mohamed Salah.

With that in mind, we’re keen to hear the opinions of Liverpool fans regarding who should and who shouldn’t be brought into the side to face the Toffees. So, Reds supporters, which three fringe players would you start on Friday night? Vote for those you would with a thumbs up, and those you wouldn’t a thumbs down…

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The 2018 January transfer window was a big one for Liverpool. It saw one of the Reds’ key stars leave for Barcelona in a huge transfer deal, but that loss was somewhat softened by bringing in Virgil van Dijk from Southampton.

And there’s a simple way to think about that deal. In essence, Liverpool have traded some of their abundant quality in attack for some much-needed improvement in personnel at the opposite end of the pitch – while picking up £37.08million profit (excluding future add-ons) according to Transfermarkt.

Meanwhile, Lazar Markovic, Daniel Sturridge, Marko Grujic and Jon Flanagan all left Anfield on loan before Wednesday’s transfer deadline. But some would argue the Reds failed to address their deficiencies in holding midfield and between the sticks.

So, Liverpool fans, how do you rate your club’s January transfer window? Was it a good one or a bad one for the Merseyside club? Let us know by voting below…

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Tottenham Hotspur face a tough test in the Premier League tonight, with Manchester United coming to Wembley stadium. Jose Mourinho’s side eked out a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture earlier this season and it looks set to be another cagey, low-scoring affair this time around.

But the Lilywhites have a huge challenge in store this weekend as well when they travel to Liverpool – a ground where Jurgen Klopp has lost to a member of the Premier League’s big six just once since replacing Brendan Rodgers as Reds boss.

With some rotation clearly needed, we asked Tottenham fans earlier this week whether Dele Alli should come out of the side to make way for Erik Lamela, with the Argentine – who Transfermarkt value at £22.5million – just returning from injury.

And although the majority think Alli should keep his place in the team according to our poll, it’s certainly interesting that 41% voted for Lamela instead. The England international hasn’t quite maintained his usual standards this season, leading to criticism from some sections of the Spurs support.

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Javier Mascherano spent three years at Liverpool before joining Barcelona in 2010.

The midfielder did not win any silverware with the Merseyside outfit, but he is regarded highly by the majority of fans at the club.

The Argentine went on to have a very successful career at Barcelona, winning 17 trophies, including four La Liga titles and two Champions League crowns.

In January, the 33-year-old ended a seven-and-a-half-year spell at the Camp Nou and joined Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune.

Today, Liverpool celebrated their former player by posting a tweet remaining fans that Mascherano signed for the club on this day 11 years ago.

The reaction to the tweet was largely mixed, with some fans praising their former midfielder, while others slammed the Argentine for abandoning the Reds.

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Some tweeted their disappointment that the club failed to replace Mascherano with another player of his calibre.

Liverpool are no strangers when it comes to dealing transfers with Barcelona as the club have sold Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho to the Spanish giants in recent years.

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Victor Wanyama is being monitored by Premier League rivals Liverpool, and Spurs fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.

The Daily Mail says that the Reds, along with Manchester United and Chelsea, are all watching developments surrounding the 26-year-old closely as he has only been sparingly used by Mauricio Pochettino following his return from a knee injury at the start of 2018.

While the Kenya international has started all of the club’s three FA Cup ties since then, he has only been used from the substitutes’ bench in the English top flight and the Champions League, while he made an instant impact with a brilliant goal against Jurgen Klopp’s side at Anfield earlier this month.

Tottenham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the story, and while one described him as the “one player Poch won’t wanna lose”, another said it “would be a sideways move at best”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Sevilla midfielder Steven N’Zonzi has been linked with a move to Arsenal in recent months, and with Gunners boss Arsene Wenger splashing out on strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the last two transfer windows, fans of the club could barely be happier about their side’s pursuit of the holding midfielder – who is rated at £27m by transfermarkt.com.

In our poll yesterday, a massive 80% of Arsenal fans thought that the Gunners should swoop for the Frenchman, and it’s easy to see why they come down so heavily on one side of the argument.

The north London side are currently struggling to find an answer to their leaky defence, but a more solid defensive midfield presence could be just what they’re looking for.

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Current central midfielders Mesut Ozil and Aaron Ramsey are both attack-minded midfielders, and besides, both have been struggling with injuries this season.

N’Zonzi also has Premier League experience with Blackburn Rovers and Stoke, so would adapt quickly to the physical English style of play.

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Here’s the full results of yesterday’s poll:

The future of Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane has been a talking point for some time.

The England international has been at the centre of constant media reports that Real Madrid are interested in his signature.

So far, the striker has remained committed to Tottenham, where he has been since a youngster when he broke through the academy in 2009.

Kane has had a stellar season having netted 35 goals in 39 appearances so far, but there are concerns about his fitness after he suffered an ankle injury against Bournemouth at the weekend.

Spurs fans have not seemed too worried, though, but something that they could be feeling nervous about is whether another club will snatch the striker away from North London.

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Ryan Mason, who played alongside Kane at Spurs after coming through the ranks in 2008, believes that his former teammate has no intention of leaving the club.

The former midfielder, who was forced to retire earlier this season at the age of 25 due to a head injury, gave his thoughts on Kane’s future while speaking to talkSPORT.

“What I believe is that Harry wants to go down in the record books as a record-breaker and going out to LaLiga that’s not going ot happen. Staying in the Premier League with Tottenham, that will happen. He’ll break Shearer’s record, he’ll break Rooney’s record for England – I’m so confident. He doesn’t need to win a trophy right now. Harry I belive will stay at Spurs, he will stay there scoring goals, and I believe he will win trophies with Spurs.”

Steve McClaren seems to have an impressive knack of annoying people, and Newcastle fans are mocking their ex-manager for his comments on Aleksandar Mitrovic.McClaren signed Mitrovic for Newcastle back in 2015. The Serbian international scored five goals for the former England boss before he was sacked by Newcastle in 2016.Mitrovic has his fair share of admirers around St. James’ Park, but even they can understand why Rafa Benitez took the option to loan the 23 year-old out. Since moving to Fulham in January, Mitrovic has managed a superb seven goals in seven Championship starts, and McClaren says he knows why.“I think (Slavisa) Jokanovic, being Serbian, I think they’ve got that connection and once you get the best out of him, he’s not only a good player outside the box, bringing other players into it, he scores goals,†said McClaren.[ad_pod ]“He came in as a young boy at Newcastle, he needs to be loved, needs to be believed in, trusted.â€Whether or not Mitrovic has a future at Newcastle is still up in the air, but if he does stay on Tyneside then the loan spell can only have done good things for the young striker. Providing Newcastle keep themselves in the Premier League, the move could be a win-win for all involved.Of course, Newcastle fans don’t take too kindly to people dissing their beloved manager, especially a man who they despise for his stint in charge on Tyneside.Needless to say, fans have been reacting fairly negatively to McClaren’s comments, and some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…