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Before Jurgen Klopp arrived at Liverpool during the 2015/16 season, their success in the transfer market over the preceding five years had been woeful to say the least, with only a few gems making up for the countless flops that joined under Roy Hodgson and then Brendan Rodgers.

One of those standout purchases was Joe Gomez, who arrived at the Reds from Charlton Athletic in the summer of 2015 for a paltry sum of just £3.5m with the 18-year-old highly regarded upon his arrival on Merseyside.

He only had 24 senior appearances to his name before signing for Rodgers, and it was evident he was a player earmarked for the future.

Fast-forward nearly eight years later, and he is still standing in the Liverpool first team while his value has soared.

How much is Joe Gomez worth now?

It took a few seasons for the Englishman to break into the side on a regular basis, having to wait until the 2017/18 campaign to make more than 20 Premier League appearances for the club, yet he was about to become part of the greatest Liverpool era since the halcyon days of the 70s and 80s.

Gomez would win the Champions League and a Premier League winners medal while adding in countless other trophies all while remaining a key part of the team. Although never truly one of the first names on the team sheet, Klopp is certainly a fan of the defender, saying this back in 2020:

“He is a sensational footballer, which is good. He has outstanding speed, which helps us a lot to keep our last line high; he is a really good challenger; good in one-on-one situations; football-wise, I said already, good.

“The package is really nice. It was always clear in the moment he starts playing and can get rhythm again, everything will be fine – and that’s how it is.”

High praise from one of the finest coaches in the world and although Liverpool have been patchy this term, Gomez has managed to achieve a Sofascore rating of 6.92/10, ranking him as the second-best centre-back in the squad.

The initial £3.5m outlay back in 2015 now looks like a stroke of genius, particularly with Football Transfers now valuing the 25-year-old at €33m (£29m) which represents an increase of 728%, a staggering rise.

Having signed a new long-term deal last summer, Klopp could certainly cash in on the player for a massive profit, however, with his ability, keeping him at Liverpool may be the wisest move.

Tottenham Hotspur fell to yet another disappointing Premier League defeat yesterday, as Cristian Stellini oversaw a miserable afternoon against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It marked their third league game without Rodrigo Bentancur, who was ruled out for the foreseeable future following his injury against Leicester City. The Uruguayan will undergo ACL surgery, thus leaving a gaping hole in the engine room alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

The Denmark international had struck up a fine partnership with the 25-year-old, so to break them apart will only scupper their top-four hopes further.

This defeat to the Old Gold represented a missed opportunity to capitalise on Newcastle United’s loss, and they must find a solution for their midfield vacancy to avoid dropping more points in their race to retain Champions League football once again.

Who could replace Bentancur at Spurs?

Whilst Oliver Skipp has deputised over the last few games, Pape Matar Sarr is the outstanding candidate for Stellini and Antonio Conte to be Bentancur’s long-term successor going into the new season.

He boasts the energy and quality that differentiates him from Hojbjerg, whereas the English midfielder does not. The 27-year-old records an 89% pass accuracy per game, and acts as more of a deep-lying playmaker alongside his 80.9 touches per game, via Sofascore.

The Senegalese youngster was thrown into the deep end to face AC Milan last month and showed poise and maturity beyond his youth. He earned a 7.1 rating for that display, making 77 touches, one key pass and maintaining an 83% pass accuracy. This was underpinned by a mammoth five tackles too according to Sofascore.

Journalist Seb Stafford-Bloor was full of expectation for Sarr upon his return from a loan spell, as he took to Twitter to claim: “There’s so much ability there.”

With just eight senior appearances under his belt for the Lilywhites, if he is to replace their injured stalwart then the end of this season represents a fine opportunity to build up his confidence in the first team.

When compared to other midfielders across Europe, the 20-year-old ranks in the top 1% for interceptions and the top 14% for tackles, whilst surprisingly also in the top 15% for assists, via FBref.

All the attributes are there for Sarr to star for Spurs and put to bed their injury woes as they enter the business end of the season.

Leeds United have reportedly contacted manager Gerardo Martino over a potential move to Elland Road.

The Lowdown: Martino profiled

Martino is an experienced coach who is currently out of work after leaving Mexico following last year’s World Cup in Qatar. The 60-year-old managed Barcelona back in 2013 and has even worked in the MLS with Atlanta.

He has a win over Leeds legend Marcelo Bielsa on his CV and has connections to the Argentine in regards to also managing the national side and Newell’s Old Boys.

In total, Martino, who plays a 4-3-3 system, has managed 413 games during his career, winning 223 of those.

The Latest: Leeds links

Argentine outlet TNT Sports shared a story on Monday evening regarding Leeds and Martino.

They claimed that contact has been made over a potential move to Yorkshire. Martino is yet to rule out an offer but would prefer to take over a side in the summer, when he has time to properly build a squad in his image.

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The Verdict: Big struggle

Leeds have found it a major struggle when it comes to replacing Jesse Marsch, with Andrea Radrizzani and the 49ers Enterprises suffering a number of setbacks. Therefore, it could be a wise move to look at an interim appointment until the summer, when it seems most managers want to get back into work, including Martino.

Who that could be remains to be seen, although the likes of Steven Gerrard and Nuno Espirito Santo have been linked and already have Premier League experience under their belt, so are perhaps ideal short-term solutions despite questions over their long-term suitability.

Vinny O’Connor has claimed live on Sky Sports that Newcastle United may have finally reached a compromise for Anthony Gordon.

The Lowdown: Persistence set to pay off

The Magpies were keen on landing Antony Gordon over the summer only to be bullied out of any deal by Chelsea who were said to be willing to pay £60 million for the young winger.

However, Newcastle have not lost any interest in Gordon as they are now seemingly keen on bringing him in before Tuesday’s deadline, although agreeing on a transfer fee has appeared to be the big stumbling block.

Gordon appears to have taken matters into his own hands of late in trying to force through a move as he failed to turn up to training for three days in a row before making a shock appearance this morning.

The Latest: Newcastle could soon land Gordon

O’Connor – who’s been positioned outside of Everton’s training ground – has claimed Newcastle and Everton may have now reached an agreement for Gordon to move up north and join Eddie Howe’s side.

He said: (13:45) “So Newcastle we know of the interest and we know they’ve been in contact, the difference between the two clubs there is in regards to a fee and we’re wondering now, or certainly, we’re hearing noises that maybe a compromise has been reached that would see Everton get a fee in the region of £40-45 million but that is still far from being confirmed at the moment.

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“As I say, still up in the air Anthony Gordon’s future, it appears though in the remaining days of this transfer window that Anthony Gordon could be moving on.”

The Verdict: Gordon the man Howe wants

While Gordon’s attacking numbers are nothing to be amazed by and will certainly raise questions as to why Newcastle could potentially shell out over £40 million for the winger, it may well be his underlying numbers and off-the-ball work that’s got Howe’s attention.

This is because Newcastle are currently using a very high-intensity game plan that sees them press from the front and Gordon’s speed that’s been on show this season will be a huge asset for the Magpies.

Out of all the Everton players, Gordon has made the most tackles in the final third (FBRef) which shows how capable and willing he is to defend from the front, which could be invaluable for Newcastle to allow players such as Miguel Almiron and Joelinton to have a rest if Gordon is capable of doing the job they’ve done so far.

Tottenham come into New Year’s day with a tricky encounter against Unai Emery’s rejuvenated Aston Villa side.

Spurs will be hoping for a great deal more fortune as they kick off 2023 knowing a win will take them back into the Premier League’s top four.

In order to achieve such a feat, however, they will need to be better than they ended the previous year, with Antonio Conte’s men seemingly intent on coming from behind to seal victories.

Indeed, the Londoners have now fallen behind in nine consecutive games across all competitions, a record they will need to put behind them in order to mount a serious challenge in the second half of the campaign.

Fortunately, they will be boosted ahead of their encounter with the Villans. With players set to return to the squad, here is how we at Football FanCast anticipate the Spurs XI to look like:

Spurs predicted XI (5-2-3): Lloris; Doherty, Romero, Dier, Lenglet, Perisic; Skipp, Hojbjerg; Kulusevksi, Son, Kane.

We are tipping the Tottenham boss to make three alterations to the team that drew with Brentford on Boxing Day.

The first change sees Hugo Lloris reinstated to the line-up following Fraser Forster’s Premier League debut for the Lilywhites over the festive period.

The French stopper missed that game as a result of an extended rest period following his nation’s World Cup final defeat to fellow Spurs teammate Cuti Romero.

As it happens, the Argentine defender is also set to return with his arrival on the scene a huge boost for a Tottenham team who are conceding on a regular basis.

The €50m (£44m) centre-back, who has been dubbed a “Rolls-Royce” by Sky Sports’ Adam Smithy, is likely to replace Japhet Tanganga who hardly covered himself in glory against the Bees.

He was labelled a “construction worker” by journalist Rory Robinson with the defender having been run “ragged” by Ivan Toney in the words of Football.London reporter Alasdair Gold.

The final change comes in the middle of the park where Yves Bissouma – another of the underperformers against Brentford – comes out of the team in favour of Oliver Skipp who will sit alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the absence of Rodrigo Bentancur who is out through injury.

Richarlison is still unfit for selection meaning a dangerous front three of Dejan Kulusiveski, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane will presumably take to the field.

Chelsea returned to winning ways in the Premier League in their first match back since the resumption of domestic action as the 2-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth marked a first league win since October.

The game was arguably won in the first half, as goals from Kai Havertz and Mason Mount gave Graham Potter’s side a two-goal advantage after just 24 minutes as Bournemouth struggled to get into the game.

Christian Pulisic then had a goal disallowed just before the break and the Stamford Bridge side went in at the interval in a healthy position.

Shortly after the restart, Reece James had to be substituted with an injury and Potter will hope it isn’t serious, especially since this was his first match since the middle of October.

Chelsea couldn’t extend their advantage despite dominating possession and having 15 shots in total during the tie. Havertz was excellent, scoring and assisting while making two key passes during the encounter, however, it was Raheem Sterling who got back to his best after a wonderful display on the right wing.

Sterling was superb

The winger hasn’t set the world alight since joining Chelsea in the summer, scoring five times across 19 matches, yet he returned to form last night and this will give Potter a massive boost going forward.

The Englishman received a Sofascore rating of 7.6/10 for his performance, which included an assist for Havertz to score the opener – with Ben Jacobs describing the cross as “delightful” – one shot on target and three key passes made during the tie.

He also succeeded with two out of his three dribble attempts while taking 52 touches and completing 33 out of his 36 passes at a success rate of 92% and creating one big chance.

Statman Dave claimed Sterling was “enjoying himself” following a first-half performance that lit up Stamford Bridge and will be a major confidence boost for him heading into 2023.

It was a much-needed three points for Potter as he looks to stabilise his side and regain some momentum from the embryonic stages of his reign, and although many will be thinking a 2-0 win at home to Bournemouth shouldn’t be anything to be excited about, the result could well be the catalyst for the Blues to embark on a solid run of form.

Chelsea playmaker Hakim Ziyech has not exactly had an easy ride since joining the club, often finding himself outside the starting line-up and struggling for consistent form at the west London club.

As per Sofascore, the 29-year-old ace has only started one Premier League game this season, playing an average of just 30 minutes per match and recording an average rating of 6.85.

However, at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, with Morocco, Ziyech has been a driving force behind a monumental campaign that saw the African nation beat Croatia and Belgium in the group phase to top spot.

Then, in the round-of-16, Morocco put in a dogged display to defeat Spain on penalties, earning a spot in the quarter-finals.

His nation will face Portugal next, avoiding what would have been their hardest fixture yet in the form of Thiago Silva’s Brazil, with Chelsea’s central defender also shining on the grandest stages this autumn with some exemplary displays at the back.

Scoring a goal and assist apiece, while recording 1.5 shots per match, Ziyech has been an offensive thorn in the sides of his opponents and would be a match even for Silva in current form. Sparkling at the top end of the pitch, he is also contributing effectively from a defensive standpoint with an average of 2.0 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per outing.

After such resounding success, Blues boss Graham Potter must be itching to bring the star back to Stamford Bridge and transcend his dazzling form to his efforts in the Premier League.

Chelsea’s 17 goals in 14 matches thus far in the league season is the lowest tally of any side in the top-half, and Ziyech must be utilised in order to unearth a vein of prolific form that has been evading the Blues.

Former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard once heralded the Moroccan magician as “an absolute dream”, and indeed that’s what he has been in Qatar. The self-belief and flair on the ball that he’s shown in the Middle East of late were contributing factors behind the rise to ascension at former club AFC Ajax that resulted in a £33m move to Stamford Bridge.

As per FBref, the 47-cap star ranks within the top 9% for total shots, and 15% for progressive passes when compared to attacking midfielders and wingers throughout Europe’s top five leagues across the last year.

He is evidently a player that can provide artillery from varying angles, capable of destructive power and the wand of a delivery to unlock even the meanest of defences.

Morocco next face Portugal, with the agonisingly tantalising prospect of a semi-final showdown looming around the corner, Ziyech will be solely focused on completing the unimaginable and bringing his country unprecedented triumph.

Such feats will have not gone unnoticed by Potter, however, who indeed will be pondering just how he can maintain the form that Ziyech is currently riding at club level.

Tottenham Hotspur journalist and reliable source Alasdair Gold has shared an update on the club’s chances of signing Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha.

The Lowdown: Zaha set to leave?

The 30-year-old’s current deal at Selhurst Park is set to expire next year as things stand, prompting many Premier League clubs to ponder a potential 2023 move.

Many sides abroad are also interested in Zaha who has been on fire for Palace under Patrick Vieira this season.

The Ivory Coast international has racked up six goals and two assists in 13 league starts for the Eagles but they could risk losing him.

When asked if Spurs have a chance of signing Zaha for manager Antonio Conte, reporter Gold of football.london shared a message for Lilywhites supporters.

The Latest: Gold shares Zaha transfer update…

Speaking in a Q&A, Gold claims it is unlikely but you can ‘never say never’ considering Ivan Perisic did break the mould of Tottenham only going for younger players.

Refusing to completely rule out a move, the journalist also states that Zaha’s contract situation will be ‘attractive’ for sporting director Fabio Paratici.

He explained (via football.london):

“His contract situation will make him attractive for Tottenham with just six months remaining, but at 30-years-old he’s edging away from being the usual profile of signing they’d go for, especially with the contract he would require.

“Ivan Perisic did break away from that mould which means you can never say never, but when it comes to Premier League free transfers foreign clubs often hold the advantage because they can speak to players from January.”

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The Verdict: Make the move?

Zaha, labelled ‘unplayable’ by former top flight defender James Collins, will require significant wages but his quality and the fact Spurs opted for Perisic means you cannot completely discount this transfer.

As per WhoScored, the forward would certainly be worth a potential swoop if foreign sides don’t get there first, especially considering he is Palace’s highest-rated player by average match rating.

His proven English top flight quality would provide Conte with an alternative attacking dimension and seriously excite fans.

Everton making a move for Inter Milan left-back Robin Gosens is a real possibility, according to a fresh claim from journalist Simon Phillips.

The Lowdown: Gosens could leave Inter

The 28-year-old has made a name for himself during an excellent spell at Atalanta which saw him score 29 goals and chip in with 21 assists from a left wing-back role.

Gosens’ form earned him a move to Inter earlier this year but things haven’t gone to plan, with only one Serie A start coming his way so far this season.

It could be that the German leaves the San Siro in the January transfer window, and Everton have been linked with a move for him in recent weeks.

The Latest: Everton move talked up

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Phillips claimed that he could see Gosens heading to Goodison Park, with Everton manager Frank Lampard expressing an interest in him in the past.

The journalist said:

“Frank Lampard looked at him and tried to sign him when he was at Chelsea. He was a player that they took to the board, so I can definitely see this link being legit and transpiring.”

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The Verdict: Upgrade at left-back

Gosens’ stock may have fallen of late, not helped by him being omitted from Germany’s World Cup squad, but he could still be an excellent signing by Everton.

He would provide more attacking thrust from left-back than Vitaliy Mykolenko, who has no goals or assists in 15 Premier League appearances this season, and he could be an all-round upgrade on the Ukrainian.

Gosens has been hailed as an ‘amazing’ player for former Germany boss Joachim Low, and at 28, he should remain in and around his peak for the next few years, bringing much-needed experience and quality to Everton’s squad.

Leeds United are at the front of the queue for Birmingham City midfielder George Hall, according to Alan Nixon.

The Lowdown: Leeds links

The Whites were first linked with a move for Hall back in April and even reportedly made an offer for his services over the summer.

However, as we know, a transfer to Elland Road never materialised and the midfielder remained with the Championship side.

Hall has gone on to turn out on 15 occasions for Birmingham in the second tier this season, scoring once and providing an assist, however, the majority of those appearances have come from the bench.

The Latest: Transfer update

Nixon shared an update for The Sun regarding Hall on Sunday morning, where Leeds were once again name-checked.

The reliable reporter said that the Whites were at the front of the queue for his services, with his lack of game time encouraging them to make a move. He adds that Leeds ‘may try their luck in January when he could be available to buy’.

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The Verdict: Next gem?

The Whites have had plenty of success in recent years when it comes to academy additions, with the likes of Illan Meslier, Pascal Struijk, Sam Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt and Crysencio Summerville now all considered regulars in the first-team squad.

Hall has been labelled a ‘really exciting’ player who can ‘influence games’ by Blues academy coach Martyn Olorenshaw, so he could be the latest exciting signing in the academy.

You’d expect that he’ll know all about the pathway through to the first team in Yorkshire, so this could be one to watch heading into 2023.