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Taking to Twitter, journalist Jordan Campbell of The Athletic has shared news involving Rangers star Ryan Jack as manager Steven Gerrard waits on his return.

The Lowdown: Gers without Jack…

The Scotland international has been out of action for Rangers since the end of last season, even undergoing knee surgery and missing the national side’s Euro 2020 campaign.

Recently, Jack suffered a setback in his recovery with Gerrard admitting he had been told to ‘slow it down’.

The 29-year-old’s comeback has been delayed as a result, but Campbell now has some optimistic news on the midfield maestro.

The Latest: Gerrard set for Jack boost in ‘matter of weeks’…

As per reliable reporter Campbell, sharing news from within Ibrox, a timeline has now emerged for Jack’s return to action in a Gers jersey.

The journalist says that his recovery is now ‘a matter of weeks’ after Jack resumed light training.

“Just light training for the time being but a matter of weeks I believe,” he explained on Twitter.

“Nothing more specific than that yet that I know of. Being cautious after the surgery to make sure everything is healed properly, which is understandable.”

The Verdict: Big boost incoming…

News of Jack’s potential return for Rangers within weeks comes as a boost for Gerrard and the champions, especially considering his impact when available.

He adds a degree of real composure to Gerrard’s midfield, evident by his impressive 89.9% pass accuracy over 16 Scottish top flight starts last season.

Out of Rangers’ regulars with over 15 appearances, only Glen Kamara managed a better percentage last season (WhoScored).

In other news: ‘No way’, ‘Will be the end of the season’…BBC pundit drops Gers claim after what he’s seen, find out more here.

Liverpool are set to launch a big-money move for Villareal star Arnaut Danjuma in this January transfer window as they look to try and cover for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

What’s the story?

According to Spanish publication Fichajes, Jurgen Klopp’s side are preparing a £37.5m bid for the Netherlands international this month as they look to try and cover for their two AFCON-bound superstars.

The report adds that there is doubt over whether Villareal would be willing to sanction a sale for the winger, but such a deal would represent a significant amount of profit from when they signed him from Bournemouth.

He can replace Salah and Mane

Speaking to This is Futbol about Danjuma, former Leeds man Carlton Palmer simply said: “He’s an exciting player. He’s got flair, he’s got pace and he scores goals” – exactly what he showcased in his time with Bournemouth.

The former Cherries speedster netted 17 goals and provided another eight assists in all competitions last season, and it was no surprise that his performances earned rave reviews.

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Speaking on The Official EFL Podcast, former Bournemouth boss Jonathan Woodgate said: “He’s an exceptional player, in a really good place at the minute, Arnie. He’s another one who I’ve always done a lot of work on him at his previous clubs, so I knew all about him coming into this role, I knew what type of player he was.

“He made an unbelievable run for one of the goals, I showed him that, but then I showed him what he did winning the ball back, when he had to sprint 50 yards and get the ball back. That’s what makes a really good player, for me, getting that work rate in because we know, with the ball his feet, he’s a top player. Can he do the rest going the other way? And he’s starting to show that now, so yeah, he’s doing well.”

His debut campaign at Villareal has seen him hit the ground running, scoring nine goals in just 18 games in all competitions, proving he is the kind of goal-scoring winger that could try and fill the boots of Liverpool’s much-vaunted wide-men.

The Villareal star is exactly what Liverpool need given that the likes of Salah and Mane are off to AFCON, and can help ensure they don’t miss the sheer number of goals and assists they produce.

Meanwhile, Liverpool must make a swoop for this Bundesliga midfielder…

Wolves right-back Nelson Semedo could return for his side’s Premier League clash with Newcastle United, according to injury expert Ben Dinnery.

The Lowdown: Semedo missing recently

The Portuguese ace has been out of action since the 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal in late February, having picked up a hamstring injury.

Prior to that setback, Semedo had started 23 Premier League matches for the Wanderers, proving to be an important part of Bruno Lage’s plans.

With Wolves visiting Newcastle on Friday evening, an injury boost may have emerged in the hours leading up to kick-off.

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The Latest: Dinnery makes key claim

Taking to Twitter, Dinnery, an injury analyst who runs the Premier Injuries site, claimed Semedo is in line to make a return to the side at St James’ Park:

“Nelson Semedo is training at a ‘good level’ and the right-back is in contention for the trip to St James’ Park.”

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The Verdict: Last-minute boost

This is a welcome boost for Wolves, and while Semedo may not be deemed match fit enough to start, the update suggests he will be able to play a key role between now and the end of the season.

Having the 28-year-old back in the fold means Jonny could revert to his preferred left-back role, giving the side an ideal balance in the two full-back positions.

Lage needs as many key men available in the final weeks of the season and Semedo certainly falls into that bracket, having averaged 2.3 tackles per game in the league this season. Only Toti (4.0) and Rayan Ait-Nouri (2.9) have a higher average.

In other news, Wolves are in a four-way battle to sign one player this summer. Find out who it is here.

Leeds have faced struggles at the top end of the pitch this season as they sit on 11 goals scored in 11 Premier League games.

Patrick Bamford has only played five league matches due to injury, scoring once in those games, and summer signing Dan James is yet to score his first goal for the club since his summer move from Manchester United.

In order to solve this issue, Marcelo Bielsa could look to the younger players in the squad to burst onto the scene and inject some fresh energy and enthusiasm in the final third instead of going into the transfer market to buy a new player.

Forget Gelhardt

One youngster who has been given a taste of Premier League action this season is the talented Joe Gelhardt. He has played twice in the top-flight, winning one penalty, and showed signs of promise. However, forget Gelhardt, there is another young player in the academy who plays in a similar position who could come through and make a big impact on the first-team – Sam Greenwood.

The 19-year-old is capable of playing across the front line, as a striker, second forward and winger, and could be a versatile, energetic, option for Bielsa to call upon.

Ex-Whites forward Noel Whelan once hailed the youngster’s ‘immense’ ability and compared him to Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse. He told Football Insider:

“Free-kicks are his forte. Immediately you think about someone like James Ward-Prowse and what an unbelievable dead ball specialist he is. When you see the goals Greenwood has scored from set pieces you put him up there on that mantle.

“It took him a couple of attempts but he got his range right in the end yesterday.

“Another player who possesses an immense amount of ability. To have a weapon like that in your side is great.

“You can see the ability he has but the free-kicks are about the hard work he puts in on the training ground and for that he deserves to be praised.”

In the Premier League 2 this season, Greenwood has five goals and three assists in 10 matches. He also scored in his one EFL Trophy appearance, showing that he can do it against senior opposition. This, along with Whelan’s comments, suggests that he could have the potential to make the step up to first-team football.

If Bielsa unleashes him and he shows a similar run of form in the Premier League and is able to find the back of the net then it could save Orta millions ahead of the January transfer window. That is why the Argentine should unleash Greenwood in the coming weeks and offer him the chance to show that he can make a difference in the top-flight to reward him for his form in the academy.

AND in other news, Possession lost 103x: “Headless” Leeds flop who’s lost 62% duels has let Bielsa down…

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Divock Origi to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who revealed on a recent episode of The West Ham Way Podcast that, despite David Moyes holding some reservations about the 26-year-old, the Liverpool centre-forward could become an option for the 58-year-old manager if he cannot land his preferred targets this month.

Speaking about the Hammers’ interest in the Belgium international, the club insider said: “Origi of Liverpool could be available. I think Moyes isn’t convinced but that could change if other targets don’t come to fruition.”

Dream signing

With West Ham desperately in need of backup and competition for Michail Antonio in the second half of the current campaign if the club are to have any hope of securing Champions League football at the London Stadium next season, Origi would very much appear to be something of a dream signing for the club.

Indeed, the £10.8m-rated man has made something of a reputation for himself as being a super-sub, having bagged a quite astonishing 11 goals for Jurgen Klopp’s side when coming off the bench – six of which came in the last ten minutes of the match in question.

Furthermore, the German manager is quite clearly convinced that the £82k-per-week forward is a player who deserves to hold more than a role as simply being a bit-part player, with the 54-year-old Reds boss stating of the Belgian: “If I would be in another club I would go for him. I thought that would happen but I cannot believe if you don’t play for Liverpool, you cannot be good. But I am very happy he is still here.”

As such, with West Ham very much in need of a player who is capable of doing a job from the bench, as well as possessing the ability to push Antonio for his starting spot in Moyes’ XI, the man whose “skills are outstanding” in the words of Klopp, would very much look to be the perfect target for the East London side to pursue this winter.

In other news: “Interestingly…”: Sky Sports journo drops big transfer claim, WHU fans will be livid

With Sheffield Wednesday having racked up three draws in their previous three League One matches, Darren Moore’s side are back in action this afternoon with a clash against Cheltenham Town to try and secure a win rather than yet another draw or a defeat.

On the chalkboard

Looking ahead to the fixture, one player who we think should be in the starting XI for the Owls is on-loan winger Theo Corbeanu, who Moore has praised in the past for being able to get into “wonderful” positions on the pitch.

Predominantly due to Wednesday’s three previous league results, we feel that Moore could do with shaking up his team in some way. Whether that’s with the personnel he’s using on the pitch or the formation he’s asking them to utilise, they just need something fresh to turn their form around.

Therefore, given how Corbeanu has yet to start a League One game for the Owls since joining the club back in August from Wolves’ under-23 side and has only played eight minutes from one appearance in their past seven league games, we feel that now is a great time for Moore to unleash the winger from the start against Cheltenham to see what sort of impact he has on the team and this game in particular.

Despite having yet to register a goal or assist for Wednesday, we think that starting Corbeanu against Cheltenham could be a gamble worth taking at this point in the season to see if he can change the Owls’ fortunes in terms of results, as well as his own record in his first loan spell away from Wolves.

In the two Papa John’s Trophy matches where he has played 90 minutes for Wednesday, the 19-year-old – who is currently valued at £900k according to Transfermarkt – has had eight shots (five on target) and two key passes, along with an average passing accuracy percentage of 80%. That shows how much of an attacking threat he can be, albeit against lower opposition like Newcastle United’s under-21 side and League Two outfit Mansfield Town.

Looking ahead to the match against Cheltenham, in terms of who Corbeanu could come into the team and replace, we feel that Moore should take Saido Berahino out of the line-up considering that he hasn’t managed to score a goal in his last six league appearances for the Owls.

In other news: Moore must ruthlessly axe Owls disaster with the “wrong mentality” for Cheltenham clash

Paul Scholes compared West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice to Steven Gerrard after the Hammers’ 1-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday.

The Lowdown: Irons beat Spurs

The Irons hosted Spurs at the London Stadium at the weekend in an all-capital clash off the back of maintainig their 100% Europa League group stage record last Thursday.

The home side prevailed 1-0 thanks to a solitary goal from Michail Antonio, with David Moyes’ side now up to fourth in the Premier League table as a result.

Rice played a big part in West Ham getting one over on their London rivals. Nobody could match his eight tackles or 11 duels won, while he misplaced only three of his 41 passes all afternoon in a hugely composed performance (SofaScore).

The Latest: Scholes praises Rice

Speaking to Premier League Productions (24/10/21, 1:55 pm, via HITC), Scholes showered Rice with praise and even compared him to former Liverpool star Gerrard. The ex-Manchester United midfielder said:

“I think he has been right up there for the last year or so. Again, he is a player who plays the position brilliantly. He reads play. He senses danger. You see him intercepting all the time.

“He’s not just got that to his game. He has also got this side to it (driving forward). He has got a bit of Steven Gerrard about him. He has really added that drive and that way of playing to create chances for his team.

“I did think, at one point, he would be a centre-back. But I think he is now turning into a complete midfield player.”

The Verdict: Different players

There is no doubt that Rice is developing into a quality midfielder. He is a star player for West Ham as they continue to ascend the table and impress in the Europa League, and he was a key member of Gareth Southgate’s squad as England reached the final of Euro 2020.

However, 114-cap Three Lions international Gerrard was a player who regularly averaged 10 goals a season (Transfermarkt) – in 157 games for the Hammers, Rice has found the back of the net just seven times. He is more defensive-minded than the current Rangers manager, so it wouldn’t be wholly accurate or fair to compare him to a midfielder who enjoyed playing further forward.

In other news, many West Ham fans react to this Jesse Lingard update

Speaking in a football.london Q&A, Tottenham Hotspur reporter Rob Guest has made a claim about highly-rated youngster Dane Scarlett.

The Lowdown: Scarlett set for stardom?

The 17-year-old made his competitive Spurs debut against Ludogorets in the Europa League last season, becoming their youngest ever player to do that (Goal).

Following another cameo against Wolfsberger in the same competition, former Spurs boss Jose Mourinho lauded the forward as a ‘diamond’ whilst backing him to become a ‘fantastic player’ (BT Sport via The Sun)

The Portuguese also likened Scarlett to Manchester United star Marcus Rashford, with Guest now making a claim about the Tottenham teenager.

The Latest: Guest makes Scarlett claim…

Speaking in the Q&A, Guest said that the promising talent ‘should get plenty of minutes’ under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo this season.

Meanwhile, the reporter also said that Scarlett is ‘rated extremely highly’ within the club.

“Scarlett is rated extremely highly at the club and he should get plenty of minutes in Europe and the cup competitions,” Guest replied when asked exactly how much faith is being put in the youngster at Spurs.

“Chances will also more than likely be there for him in the league going on the lack of another out-and-out striker. However, he just needs to be eased into action given his age.”

The Verdict: Exciting times in the academy…

As well as Scarlett, there seems to be plenty of hype surrounding the likes of Oliver Skipp and Alfie Devine to name a few.

Tottenham’s thriving youth prospects have always been a major talking point at N17 and there have been no sign of that slowing down over the last two or three seasons.

Scarlett in particular, now Spurs’ youngest ever debutant, will have eyes on him this year and it will be very interesting to see just how much he will feature under Nuno.

In other news: ‘Finished article’…Sky pundit in awe of Spurs starlet who’s an ‘improved version of Ndombele’, find out more here.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans have ben left slamming the display of Ianis Hagi in their game away at Lyon in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday evening.

The Romania international was largely an anonymous figure on the pitch, recording fewer touches (30) than his own goalkeeper Jon McLaughlin before being hauled off by Giovanni van Bronckhorst just after the hour mark for Juninho Bacuna (SofaScore).

Hagi failed to record a single shot on target, dribble, key pass, accurate cross or long ball in the entire match, and was also guilty of giving up possession seven times (SofaScore), in what was a frustrating evening individually for the midfield player.

It means that he is yet to score under the new manager, while he has only managed one assist (Transfermarkt), and will no doubt want to improve on his recent performances.

Rangers fans slam Hagi

These members of the Ibrox faithful slammed his performance on Twitter, with one Light Blues supporter even going as far as to claim that he was a ‘let-down’:

“Hagi was a let-down tonight”

Credit: @DefNotJKen

“Hagi angry about coming off he’s been anonymous”

Credit: @redviper84

“Hagi vastly underperforming tonight, great to see rolling subs for a change though”

Credit: @lnheritant

“Hagi has been very poor under Gio so far imo”

Credit: @EveryOtherSatu1

“Hagi and Roofe are terrible footballers. Doing nothing out there tonight.”

Credit: @Robertc_12

“Hagi frustrating yet again.”

Credit: @RABERTO55

In other news, find out what off-field news has Gers gushing here!

Former Premier League star Carlton Palmer believes that Tottenham Hotspur should try to bring Nathan Ake into the club if they sell Harry Kane to Manchester City.

The striker was absent from training all last week as he attempted to force through a move to the Etihad Stadium this summer.

City are reportedly willing to pay £130m to sign the England captain, while other reports have outlined their desire to potentially include players in any deal.

Various options have been touted, including Raheem Sterling and Bernardo Silva, but Palmer thinks that Ake could be seen as an attractive option by Spurs in any potential swap deal.

Ake has struggled at times to force his way into Pep Guardiola’s plans and he made just 10 Premier League appearances last season as City won the title.

He cost them £40m and has the ability to play at full-back or at centre-back, and Palmer believes he could be a smart addition for the north London giants.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, he said: “There’s Ake there, the centre-back, he’s not featured much. They paid £40 million for him, they need a centre-back, there’s three or four players there.”