A Merseyside football roundup.
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00:00Looking at Liverpool and the January transfer window, they have a lot of youngsters, a lot of players in general on loan from the first side, a number of players performing out on loan.
00:13Ben Doke is one probably a standout for Middlesbrough, he's playing fantastically well and they're big to get promotion.
00:20How do they go about the January window in terms of recalling players? Is any business going to be done there to bring anyone back into Arnish Shortside and maybe aid that title push?
00:31Yeah, it is an interesting one because, as you say, there are players like Ben Doke who are doing well, but I would think that when Liverpool are sending these players out, they see it for the season because they want them to go and get game time.
00:45Maybe the problem is when the players aren't playing enough that you look at it and think, well, do we need to do something there?
00:54One would be Kate Gordon who's gone to Norwich. He was really highly-raced when he came in from Derby a few seasons ago and has injury issues and he's not playing too much at Norwich, so maybe we'll look at that.
01:07An interesting one, actually, is Stefan Persetic because he went out to RB Salzburg. There was reported interest from Barcelona in him to bring him in on loan for the season, which shows how highly-regarded he is in the game.
01:21But with Jadon Clough's former assistant Pep Lindsay's goal and taking charge of Salzburg, Liverpool felt that was the right move.
01:27Now, Pep Lindsay's lost his job at Salzburg. He has a really tough start and they've made the decision to part ways with him, so do Liverpool look at that and think, do we need to bring him back?
01:39Maybe to even bolster their midfields where they are a little bit light or do they look to get him out elsewhere if it might not work?
01:49On the flipside, Liverpool have signed a lot of players from the Red Bull franchises, Leipzig in particular, so the model that they want to play perhaps maybe suits Liverpool a little bit.
02:02I just want to mention as well another one, Owen Beckham, who's really thriving at Blackburn this season. He's a left-back. He has a really good loan at Dundee last season and he's thriving in the Championship now.
02:14Maybe if Robertson or Simmer suffered a serious injury, would he be ready to step up? I don't think they'd really want to bring him back, but you think of Conor Bradley a couple of years ago when he was at Bolton.
02:26He has a really good loan and now he's a bonafide first-team player and Owen Beck, he's playing at a better standard than Conor Bradley did.
02:34Conor Bradley was in League 1 and came back and made the steps to the Premier League, so maybe Liverpool will look at that. I'm thinking Owen Beckham could come back and make an impact.
02:43I don't think Liverpool will want to get too many back. A lot of them are playing regularly. Some of them are about to come back injured, like some of the changers from Wigan and Callum Scanlon from Milwaukee.
02:54They've had issues, so they will be going back out to try and get more game time. If you're looking at one, it's probably Kate Gordon and Bessettas. It'll be an interesting one.
03:06Looking at Liverpool and in terms of their injuries, it was no secret that JĂĽrgen Klopp suffered very heavily with injuries in his final season.
03:15That depleted side that took on the cup runs were fantastic in that achievement. The squad is already quite small. We've discussed how small and tight-knit the squad already is.
03:29There have been a few big injuries so far this season. If you look at Alisson's injury, Keller had stepped up fantastically well. How important is it that if players are to go, the second in line really do continue to step up and perform?
03:43What's the latest you can tell us on injuries ahead of this festive period?
03:48Yes, that's massive. Keller was excellent, but Alisson has come back into the team now and that performance keeps growing under him.
03:56Slott was so keen to restore him to the number one position. In terms of the injuries, there haven't been any real long-term ones, if that makes sense.
04:06Xabi Ali was out for a few months, Alisson for a few months, Josef for almost two months. There have been no severe knee injuries, which usually end players' seasons.
04:21As things stand, you've got Conor Bradley and Ibohima Kanate who are out. Conor Bradley has been second choice for the most part behind Trent Alexander-Arnold, which is to be expected. Kanate has been a dominant figure alongside Virgil van Dijk this season.
04:38Fair play to Joe Gomez, you say players stepping up. Joe Gomez hasn't played a lot of football in his favoured central position over the last few years. Last season he did play quite a lot of football, but that was right back and then left back when Andy Robertson and Costa Simacas were both sidelines.
04:57Simacas is now on his way back from an ankle injury himself. There have been some doubts over Andy Robertson's form this season. He had that red card against Fulham. Simacas has done fairly well, to be fair to him, when he has played this campaign.
05:16Another one who looks like he might be at the end of a lot of issues is Federico Chiesa. He came in from Juventus at the end of the transfer window in the summer. He didn't have a pre-season at Juventus, which severely hampered him. Liverpool were building his fitness up, then he suffered an issue after making three appearances. Liverpool have just had to be patient with him to try to make sure that he doesn't break down again.
05:44As I say, there haven't been many serious injuries yet. Maybe that's a credit to Arnaslott because he has taken some players out, substituted them when they need to. Players like Van Dijk and Ryan Granbert have played a lot of football this season and maybe they need to be looked after a little bit carefully in the coming months.
06:11Looking at Everton and the injury situation, obviously a few have been out but as a whole they've had quite a well-shaped squad up until this halfway point of the season. What's the latest you can tell us on their injuries? Who's maybe expected out for a while? Who's expected back into this side? Those players who are coming back, how will they help Everton in their bid to cement their season?
06:36It's looking a lot better to be honest with you. Everton have got a thin squad because they are trying to keep their weights down etc. It has been difficult when players have been missing. It looks like there might be a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.
06:55Two serious ones are James Garner and Timmy Raboonham. Both have been out since October's international break. Garner has a back injury and Raboonham has a foot issue. Last time Sean Dyche gave an update he didn't give a timeframe on them which is always a little bit precarious isn't it? If you can't say he's back to be on the grass as Sean Dyche likes to say in a week or whatever.
07:22So that could imply that they're still not too close to a return and it leaves seventh short in central midfield. Drissi Garnaghey, Arun Mangala and Absolutely Takore are the only options. You could argue Takore is more of a number 10 now. It's where he's done a lot better for Everton.
07:47Just on Armando Broziad who has a really good cameo when he came on for his debut against Wolves in the 4-0 win and showed a little bit about him at Arsenal to be fair to him as well. He was isolated, can't play in the Chelsea game because he's on loan from Stamford Bridge which is a little bit of a blow.
08:06Everton are starting to get options now especially in the final phase of the pitch where that's been a little bit of a thankless task for Calvert-Lewin at times. Does Sean Dyche really trust Beto to lead the line? I don't think he does now. It would be a massive surprise I don't think to a lot of fans if he was to leave the club in January.
08:28It's looking better but if Dyche can get a couple more options or at least one more option in central midfield then that will be big because Drissi Garnaghey is 35 now and he'll need a little bit of a break at some point.
08:42Looking at Everton and on the contrary to Liverpool's festive fixtures, these look quite tough. They look like it's going to be a challenge. They are playing all four of them, four of the top six so far this season. Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth have been having fantastic spells so far.
09:01Manchester City have been a bit depleted now but they are still a dangerous side especially at home in an early kick-off you could think. Everton obviously went to the Emirates and got that draw. Just on that game, it was quite an impressive way of dealing with Mikel Arteta's tactics and the set-pieces that they've been so good at.
09:23Sean Dyche won that day and it was a fantastic point away from home in the context. Just have a little review on the Arsenal game and then look ahead to the festive fixtures which are going to be quite defining for Everton's little spell that they're on now.
09:40I think when supporters were looking at this run of Arsenal, Chelsea and Man City and Liverpool before that, albeit the derby was cancelled, anything more than zero points would have been a bonus. I think a lot of fans were just being pragmatic looking at it thinking we might get anything from these games.
10:00They went to Arsenal and they delivered a professional performance. I don't think it wasn't like Everton were fighting for their lives and they were really put under siege. Joan Pickford made a couple of good saves but it wasn't like Arsenal were incessantly banging on the door and that's credited to Sean Dyche.
10:24Look, there is the argument that some fans think that Everton should have a little bit more of a goal but at the end of the day they've returned with a point and it was a really good defensive performance. Chelsea to come next, that's a tough fixture isn't it? Chelsea are flying, they've really found the rhythm but Everton have got really good records against Chelsea, good to some part to be honest.
10:47So they can take a little bit of comfort from that. Manchester City to say they're in an absolute slump, well they've picked themselves up by the time that Everton visit on Boxing Day because they just look devoid of attacking ideas really.
11:04Australia Man City which it all seems so bizarre to say doesn't it given the wealth of talent that they have but they just don't look like they've got the answers. Maybe previously supporters were looking at that and thinking right we'll get over those games then we've got Forrest at home. Forrest is going to be a difficult one isn't it?
11:26Nuno Santos got them absolutely ticking and they look like they are bona fides European contenders this season. Just to make life a little bit more difficult Everton then go to a Bournemouth side who are having a really good campaign themselves and Everton haven't exactly got a fantastic record of the vitality stadium.
11:48But Sean Dyche to be fair to him says you've got to play all these teams at some point. It hasn't really concerned him and he'll just be taking it game by game and seeing what Everton can get from these fixtures.