West Brom’s search for a new striker has led them to pursue Southampton forward Jay Rodriguez, with the England international potentially moving clubs on Deadline Day.

What’s the word?

After losing Saido Berahino to Stoke City earlier this window, West Brom are keen to bolster their forward line for the remainder of the season and The Daily Express reports Tony Pulis’ side have launched a £10m push for the striker.

Fighting back from injury, Rodriguez has made just six starts this season for Southampton and has fallen down the pecking order in the eyes of Claude Peul. With the Saints’ own potential Deadline Day deals, Rodriguez could disappear altogether.

However, West Brom will have to be wary of reported interest from West Ham United, Bournemouth and Sunderland, all of whom could look to hijack a move.

Will Southampton sell?

Southampton are prepared to listen to offers for 27-year-old Jay Rodriguez but will not sanction a departure until they get their club-record deal for Manolo Gabbiadini over the line, a signing that is expected to go through today.

Set to spent a club-record fee of £17m, £14m of which will be paid to Napoli up-front, cashing-in on Jay Rodriguez will balance the books on the South Coast- although the need to sell is not pressing for Southampton, who’s finances are stable.

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Leicester City have released a statement giving their backing to manager Claudio Ranieri, and fans think that it only means one thing.

The Italian has been experiencing a completely different season to the last as his Premier League champions are now in a relegation fight.

The Foxes are just one point above the relegation zone after losing 13 of their 24 games and winning just five of them.

This time a year ago, Ranieri’s men were on their way to claiming their first ever top-flight crown and they did it in remarkable fashion by sealing it with a 10-point margin.

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Leicester lost a pivotal player in N’Golo Kante to Chelsea in the summer, but the likes of Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez have failed to match last season’s form.

Despite the disappointing spell, the club’s hierarchy have thrown their support behind the former Chelsea boss.

The statement read:

“In light of recent speculation, Leicester City Football Club would like to make absolutely clear its unwavering support for its first-team manager Claudio Ranieri.

“While there is a collective appreciation from everyone at the club that recent form needs to improve, the unprecedented success achieved in recent seasons has been based firmly on stability, togetherness and determination to overcome even the greatest of challenges.

“The entire club is and will remain united behind its manager and behind its players, collectively and firmly focused on the challenges ahead.”

Unfortunately for Ranieri, generally in these circumstances, a vote of confidence tends to eventually end in a sacking.

Some supporters have reacted to the news by urging the club to keep hold of the Italian, while others, as well as fans of rival clubs, believe that it is only a matter of time before he’s gone.

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Chelsea face a game that could have huge ramifications on their title pursuit this weekend as they host Swansea. Last time out in Premier League action the Blues surrendered points to another lower-end team in the shape of Burnley, and although their advantage at the top of the table remains a healthy eight points, another slip up will surely see that reduced and perhaps hand the momentum to the chasing pack, with Spurs hosting Stoke and Liverpool travelling to a rudderless Leicester.

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Naturally, Chelsea supporters are worried, after all Swansea have looked like a team rejuvenated under Paul Clement, and their recent win at Anfield shows they can go to the homes of the big boys and get results. However, the omens are good for the Londoners in the form of the Premier League’s refereeing choice for the Stamford Bridge clash, with Neil Swarbrick in charge. ‘Why are the signs positive?’ you may ask… well, of his 15 games officiated this season, the home team have won 53.3% of the time…

As the numbers show, the majority of Swarbrick’s matches end with the home team on top, while he gives fewer fouls-per-game than the league’s average (23.1-per-game), which suggests this tie will be allowed to flow.

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Leeds United were without Luke Ayling for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Fulham, and they will be more than happy to welcome him back for this Saturday’s encounter against Queens Park Rangers.The versatile player has been a welcome addition to the team since his move from Bristol City last year, helping the Whites move into the playoff places.Garry Monk’s men currently reside fourth in the standings, nine points adrift of the automatic promotion spots and eight above Fulham – the closest challengers to the playoff positions.Leeds dropped points at Craven Cottage in midweek and they were without Chris Wood due to a calf strain and Ayling, who was absent to attend the birth of his baby daughter.Both players are expected to return to the fold for this weekend’s encounter at Elland Road, and if Ayling is back in the team, he could rack up an impressive statistic.

As the tweet from Championship Stats show, the 25-year-old is just two tackles away from joining Wolverhampton Wanderers’ David Edwards in winning more than 100 tussles this season.

Ayling has been ever-present in Monk’s team, missing just two of the club’s 36 league games, and he has also provided three assists in the second tier.

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Warren Joyce was given his marching orders by Wigan Athletic this afternoon, and Manchester United fans have responded by urging their club to bring back the former youth coach.

Joyce spent eight years at United coaching the reserve squads before departing Old Trafford to take on the managerial job at the DW Stadium.

It was a short-lived spell, though, as he only managed four months at the Championship outfit before the axe fell.

Today, Wigan released a statement on their official website confirming the departure of Joyce, who oversaw just one victory on home soil in his 22 league matches in charge.

In total, the 52-year-old recorded five wins, five draws and 12 defeats, which has prompted Wigan to take action.

United fans believe that the club should offer Joyce a return to the North-West outfit to coach the Under-23s.

Despite his poor record at Wigan, the Red Devils’ following have not been put off and would welcome him back with open arms.

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Tottenham Hotspur announced on Friday that they had agreed an extension until April 30 to make the decision on whether they will play all of their home matches at Wembley Stadium next season.

The north London outfit said the decision had been made “to give ourselves greater flexibility before making the final decision on the decommissioning of White Hart Lane”.

Their first choice is to play at Wembley next season before moving to their new home in the 2018/19 campaign, however they could yet choose to stay at White Hart Lane and then play at Wembley during the 2018/19 season depending on the progress of the construction work.

Spurs have played four European matches – in the Champions League and Europa League – at the national stadium during the current campaign, but having won just one of those, some fans are worried that the move to Wembley could harm their chances next year.

Tottenham supporters were quick to have their say via social media on the latest twist.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction to the story…

Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has garnered plenty of praise this season, but some football fans are not jumping on the bandwagon.

The England international has particularly impressed in the last few games, scoring five goals in the last six Premier League matches.

He was influential in Saturday’s 4-0 rout over Watford, opening the scoring in the 33rd minute with a goal that was very easy on the eye.

At the age of just 20, Alli has become a pivotal figure in Mauricio Pochettino’s team, scoring 16 goals and creating five assists in 30 Premier League appearances.

The midfielder has helped the North London outfit become Chelsea’s biggest challengers for the league title as the club sit seven points adrift with seven games left to play.

Supporters and pundits alike have been showering Alli with praise, but he does not seem to be everyone’s biggest fan.

Some rival supporters are growing increasingly exasperated with the hype surrounding the young player, and they have not hidden their views on Twitter.

Many have questioned his quality purely because he was not influential for England in last summer’s European Championships, nor did he help Spurs shine in the Champions League.

Manchester United left-back Luke Shaw has said that playing the full 120 minutes of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Anderlecht will stand him in good stead for the rest of the season.

The England international has had a difficult campaign after struggling to fully recover from the mental and physical damage that last season’s horrific leg break caused.

Shaw has returned to the fold in recent weeks, however, and the full-back started and finished Thursday’s European tie at Old Trafford as the Red Devils booked their spot in the semi-finals of the competition with a 2-1 victory in extra-time.

The 21-year-old has also spoken about Man United’s ambitions this season, insisting that the club want to finish in the top four in the Premier League in addition to lifting the Europa League trophy.

Shaw told MUTV:

“I haven’t had much game-time recently and I think, especially with the 120 minutes, it will help a lot with my fitness levels.

“It will help me get through the games coming up easier. Of course, we will recover well but the great thing about our squad is we have quality players all around in every position and people can come in and go out.

“When their chance comes, they take it and the team at the moment are very strong in training and everyone is fighting for a place because we have important games coming up.”

“Obviously, we want to fight for the top four as well and now we have the semis and everyone wants to be playing, so the sort of quality in the training is good with everyone showing what they can do to get in the first XI.”

Man United, who will take on Celta Vigo in the semi-finals of the Europa League, will continue their pursuit of the top four in the Premier League when they travel to Burnley this weekend.

It remains to be seen how Arsene Wenger will set up his side when Manchester United come to town on Sunday. The honeymoon period of 3-4-3 came to a crashing end against Tottenham last weekend, so reverting back to 4-2-3-1 type could be in order as Arsenal look to find a positive result amid an otherwise incredibly disappointing finish to the season.

But regardless of which formation Wenger picks, it will almost certainly have a solitary striker slot – which has been filled by Olivier Giroud in recent weeks. The Frenchman has found himself thrust back into the action after a lengthy stint on the bench but has struggled to deliver, failing to score in his last three starts.

Alexis Sanchez hit the bar when deployed as the front-man against Leicester but didn’t manage to trouble their goal much otherwise. So who should start up front when Manchester United visit the Emirates Stadium on Saturday? Should Wenger stick with Giroud, turn to Sanchez or another member of the Gunners’ forward cast?

Let us know by voting below…

Everton announced on Friday that defender Seamus Coleman had signed a new five-year deal with the club despite suffering a double leg-break while on international duty with the Republic of Ireland earlier this year.

The Toffees agreed the long-term extension to the 29-year-old’s current contract prior to the injury, but the announcement has been delayed while he has continued his rehabilitation.

Coleman suffered the season-ending injury following a poor challenge from Wales’ Neil Taylor during the two nations’ crucial 2018 World Cup qualifier in March, and he could be out of action for the rest of 2017.

Everton supporters were quick to give their thoughts on the new deal via social media, and while many were happy to see the club show their faith the right-back, others were less understanding in case the player doesn’t return to the form he had shown prior to the injury.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…