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This week has been a busy one as far as transfer rumours are concerned at Elland Road.

Loan striker Eddie Nketiah has been the subject of a possible recall from Arsenal with Bristol City swooping around the striker once again.

However, some possible incomings are in the pipeline too. Midfielder Billy Gilmour is being targeted over a potential loan deal while the same can be said for Reece James.

Football Insider have suggested that the Whites are keeping tabs on the defender with a view to trying to bring him to west Yorkshire if he fell out of Frank Lampard’s plans at Chelsea.

James spent the opening weeks of the season out through injury and as a result, has made just two appearances in all competitions for the Chelsea first-team this term.

That comes after a stellar campaign with Wigan in the Championship where the 19-year-old played 45 times both at right-back and in defensive midfield.

With the potential for a temporary deal to be done in January, do Football FanCast writers think Leeds should continue their pursuit?

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Charles Jones:

“Of course Leeds should be looking at signing Reece James on loan in January. After all, the right-back made the Championship Team of the Year last term despite playing in a poor Wigan side.

“Luke Ayling has struggled with injuries so far this season, and Jamie Shackleton is more of a midfield player than a full-back.

“James would instantly improve Bielsa’s side, especially with his attacking mantra, playing 1.6 key passes per game last season. Not only that, but he’d also allow Ayling to provide some much-needed cover at centre-half for when Gaetano Berardi inevitably gets sent off again.

“Whether or not they can get him is another question as Frank Lampard seems to be a fan of his and the Chelsea manager’s relationship with the Yorkshire club isn’t the best after Spygate, but if they can pull this one off it’d be a huge coup.”

Thogden ranks all 24 Championship home kits in the video below…

Vijievan Jeevathayalan:

“The Championship can be an unforgivable testing ground for young players, what with its gruelling 46-game season, and bruising physicality. But Reece James’ impressive performances on loan at Wigan last season proved exactly why Marcelo Bielsa must go all in with a January swoop for the 19-year-old.

“The England U20 international cleaned up at the Latics’ annual awards ceremony, and even earned rave reviews from Leeds legend Eddie Gray about his willingness “to take chances and shots on goal”.

“The powerful teenager would give Bielsa’s side an attacking impetus from right-back, having averaged one shot and 1.6 key passes per game for Wigan. At 5 foot 9, and weighing 87kg, James is a marauding tank that could prove to be an unstoppable force from the flanks were Leeds to pull off a major coup in the winter.”

Jon Radcliffe:

“Considering he has already made his Champions League debut this term, it could be seen by many as a step down if Reece James were to move on loan to Leeds. But, realistically, it wouldn’t be the worst move in the world.

“He has plenty of promise, granted, but he has the unfortunate problem of playing in the same position as the club captain at Chelsea. No matter how well he performs, it is unlikely that Frank Lampard will drop his leader too often.

“At Elland Road, though, he would surely play in the majority of matches, especially if he’s going to a club in order to improve a side that already has Dallas and Ayling as options. There are far worse managers to work under than the legendary Marcelo Bielsa too.

“The Whites are fighting for promotion to the Premier League, which therefore means that the 19-year-old would be playing in a competitive atmosphere where every result counts. For the Yorkshire outfit, this would be a coup. James is a quality right-back, as his Player of the Year award at Wigan last year indicates, and he would slot in nicely on that side of the defence. Their promotion push will no doubt be boosted by the arrival of a player who made such an impact in the Championship last term.”

Matt Dawson:

“A move for James would certainly be an interesting one but I’m not so sure it’s the correct call, particularly given the other areas Victor Orta should be looking at strengthening in the winter.

“It’s no secret that Leeds are struggling financially, even Andrea Radrizzani admitted it wasn’t sustainable to keep their wage at the level it’s currently at in an interview with The Times this week. With that in mind, they must be more careful with their resources in January.

“Leeds already have six players on loan and adding any more would simply lead to an even bigger fight for places.

“Considering they have filled their loan quota, it would make sense to target someone in another position, not at right-back where they have able options in Stuart Dallas and Luke Ayling. The former has earned rave reviews while the latter played as many as 40 times last season.

“The Whites are struggling to hit the back of the net, amassing the tenth highest goals tally in the division, so perhaps they should look at bringing in a forward on loan instead.”

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Carles Alena is currently struggling at Barcelona and according to Mundo Deportivo, Tottenham Hotspur might be looking to take advantage of that fact and sign him on a permanent deal.

Barcelona simply can’t allow that to happen.

What’s the word, then?

Alena, who was once likened to Andres Iniesta, was supposed to be Barca’s next big thing coming from their famous La Masia academy. And for a while, it really did look like he could follow in the footsteps of Blaugrana’s greats.

After all, his successful stint at Barcelona B – during which he scored a total of 18 goals and assisted a further 14 in 89 games – warranted him a promotion to the senior team that was set into motion as the ongoing 2019/20 season started.

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It really did seem like he was flying high as he was immediately given a place in the starting XI in Barcelona’s curtain-raiser against Athletic Bilbao – a game they ended up losing 1-0 – but along with that defeat, Alena also lost much more than just three points.

We’re now past matchday nine and there’s still no sign of the 21-year-old midfielder who has been completely frozen out of the team, still clinging to a single appearance in his breakthrough season.

And now, rumours are circulating of Tottenham’s interest in the La Masia talent.

New reports coming from Mundo Deportivo claim that Mauricio Pochettino is not eyeing a loan deal but rather a permanent transfer that would take Alena away from the Camp Nou for good.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

If true, that would be a huge loss for the Catalans, despite the midfielder’s far from ideal current situation at the club.

But there’s a way to flip the situation on its head.

Buyback clause crucial

Mundo Deportivo also mentions that Barcelona would be looking to add a buy-back option into his contract if Spurs were really adamant in securing his signature in a permanent deal. This would not be a bad thing.

Seeing how he has a €75m (£64.7m) release clause currently in his Barcelona contract, he is definitely highly rated but it’s also unlikely that Tottenham will end up paying that, considering it would represent their club-record fee for a 21-year-old youngster who’s not even a regular in his current squad.

While Barca will likely be loathed to lose him, they could make sure he has a way to safely return when and if the times comes.

So lowering their asking price enough for Spurs to remain interested and then inserting a favourable buy-back clause into his contract would suddenly turn this situation into a win-win scenario for the Catalans.

Not only would Alena theoretically get the minutes he so desperately needs but Barca would also have a way of recalling him in case they deem him good enough to don the Blaugrana once again.

Gaetano Berardi could have a decision to make over his Leeds United future at the end of the season, according to the Mirror.

The Swiss defender’s contract is set to run out in June, and it could be up to him whether he stays at Elland Road or moves on.

Berardi has been at Leeds since 2014 and has played 136 times for the club in that time, scoring two goals.

However, under Marcelo Bielsa, he has seen his game time significantly reduced. Indeed last season he made just 13 Championship appearances after failing to break back into the team following injury (via Transfermarkt).

He has once again struggled to force himself into the starting 11 this term, with Liam Cooper and Ben White starting the campaign as the first-choice pairing at centre-back. He has started just three times in the Championship, and two of those have come recently due to an injury to Cooper.

Despite not being a regular, the Mirror are reporting that Leeds are still prepared to extend the Switzerland international’s contract beyond the summer.

It is thought that he is a popular player in the dressing room, and the club’s hierarchy would like to keep hold of him due to his experience. However, they are believed to be prepared to leave the decision down to Berardi, so he must choose whether to stay or leave on a free transfer.

It will be a tough decision for Berardi, after all, he is currently in his sixth season with Leeds.

But he is not getting much game time at all and is clearly seen as defensive cover by Bielsa who has preferred White and Cooper this term.

It is possible that the Whites will be promoted to the Premier League this term, and if they do then Berardi’s opportunities to play would probably be limited even further as they would surely look to bring in some higher calibre players.

Leeds fans, would you like to see Gaetano Berardi stay at Elland Road? Or has the time come for him to move on at the end of the season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

After an encouraging spell of form, in which they managed to take seven points from Brighton, Manchester United and Sheffield United, Southampton have entered somewhat of a rut.

A disappointing sequence of results has seen the Saints lose their last three Premier League games on the spin, and in miserable fashion.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men went out with a whimper against south coast rivals Bournemouth, before losing to a Tottenham side who had ten men for over half of the game after Serge Aurier’s 31st minute red card.

Most recently, Southampton lost 4-1 to Chelsea at St Mary’s – it’s time for a few players to step up.

James Ward-Prowse

Just what has happened to Southampton’s academy graduate?

James Ward-Prowse enjoyed an excellent second half of the 2018/19 campaign under Hasenhuttl, scoring six goals in nine games around the festive period as he looked to have gone up a gear.

Sadly, he seems to have regressed – the 2-cap England international has scored just once this term, and even that was courtesy of a penalty.

We recently outlined why the 24-year-old could be a casualty of Hasenhuttl’s 4-2-2-2 system due to his ineffectiveness out on the right, but whatever the reason for his poor form, he is one who needs to step up.

Angus Gunn 

The former Manchester City and Norwich goalkeeper needs to take a step back, and return to the basics.

Angus Gunn has made a notable error in each of the Saints’ last three league defeats, and he must cut them out quickly.

A complete and utter moment of madness saw him race out of his goal to challenge Jan Bednarek for a ball against Bournemouth, allowing Callum Wilson to nip in and slot into an empty net.

Against Spurs, Gunn allowed Tanguy Ndombele’s shot to go straight through him, before he needlessly came off his line against Chelsea and allowed Tammy Abraham to lob him.

Gunn simply must step up and sort his form out.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

When Crystal Palace saw Luka Milivojevic enter the book in the 93rd minute of their 2-0 win over Norwich, the prospect of having to face West Ham without their captain became reality.

The Serbian international is one of the first names on Roy Hodgson’s teamsheet – Milivojevic played every minute of the 2018/19 Premier League campaign – while he also finished as the Eagles’ top scorer with 12 goals last term.

Palace would’ve been well within their rights to be concerned about his absence against the Hammers.

However, one man stepped up to deliver an excellent performance on what was his first Premier League start for the south Londoners.

James McCarthy.

Lining up alongside his former Hamilton and Wigan midfield partner James McArthur, the Republic of Ireland international looked at ease in the middle of the park.

The 28-year-old completed 84.6% of his 39 passes, buzzing about the midfield to some effect.

McCarthy stung the palms of Roberto with a fierce first-half drive from long range – in what was his only shot on target – while also completing two tackles as Palace beat West Ham thanks to Jordan Ayew’s 87th minute winner.

If the former Everton man had cost £5m, £8m or even £10m upon his arrival back in the summer, you would be hard pushed to complain about such a fee on the basis of his composed performance at the London Stadium.

However, quite astonishingly in this day and age, Palace managed to bring the energetic midfielder to Selhurst Park for under £1m, as The Athletic’s Dominic Fifield outlines here.

“McCarthy, once the second-most expensive signing in Everton’s history, would cost less than £1 million.”

It must be extremely reassuring for Hodgson and, presumably, the majority of the Selhurst Park faithful to know that if a key player such as Milivojevic is ever unavailable again for whatever reason, then there is a more than capable pair of hands in McCarthy to step in and do the business.

Barcelona fans have been comparing Frenkie de Jong to legendary midfielder Xavi in reaction to a recent club post on Twitter.

The Dutchman was signed from Ajax in the summer transfer window to become the Catalan club’s latest maestro, and in a recent tweet Barcelona made reference to his outstanding passing ability and love of doing it.

They captioned an image of De Jong laying on the floor and staring at the grass with: “Each individual blade of grass has the potential to affect passing accuracy.”

Many Barca fans have responded to this by likening the Netherlands international to their former player Xavi, who himself was noted for his love of passing the ball as well as being extremely gifted at it.

Whilst De Jong has a long way to go to reach the heights that Xavi did, there are certainly similarities in how they both play the game.

Xavi himself has previously commented on De Jong’s ability, saying: “De Jong is a footballer who can mark an era in Barcelona. He is able to dominate the game, he sees it easily and doesn’t lose the ball.”

Barcelona fans will likely be hoping that De Jong can go on and achieve close to what Xavi did in his time at the Nou Camp. Here is how some of responded to the post on Twitter, with most comparing the Dutchman to the great Spaniard…

Do you think De Jong could go on to emulate Xavi as a Barcelona player? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

The hierarchy at West Brom, most notably sporting and technical director Luke Dowling, were left with an important decision over the summer – aside from appointing a new senior boss, they too were on the lookout for a new man to spearhead their ‘enviable’ academy setup.

Mark Harrison was poached by fellow Midlands side Aston Villa after spending 13 years at the Hawthorns.

Under his leadership, the likes of Kemar Roofe, Saido Berahino, Tyler Roberts, Romaine Sawyers, Rekeem Harper, and Nathan Ferguson have all broken through.

To put it in perspective – last season West Brom amassed more England youth internationals than Manchester United and Liverpool.

The U18 squad managed to reach the FA Youth Cup semi-final for the first time in over 40 years with a team that had been mostly plucked from the Black Country.

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So it’s fair to say he leaves behind quite the legacy, but his replacement couldn’t have been more ideal as Richard Stevens takes the reigns after a similarly fruitful spell in charge of the Coventry youth setup.

As Football FanCast have highlighted earlier this week, he was the man to kick-start the careers of James Maddison and Callum Wilson, who are now both regularly playing in the Premier League.

Based on their successes, who in the Albion youth ranks is likely to follow suit?

One possible winner from Stevens’ appointment could be Jamie Soule, who we have tipped for big things in the past.

The young 18-year-old continues to light up the Premier League 2 with his goalscoring exploits.

This season he’s bagged four goals in his last three outings to add to a remarkable record of 28 strikes in 56 youth appearances.

He’s yet to feature for the senior side, but Wilson’s rise from being a non-league loanee to now being linked with Manchester United should inspire him to do the exact same.

Likewise, with Finn Azaz, who has Maddison-like attributes after being described as a ‘goalscoring midfielder’ and a ‘creative passer of the ball.’

No player recorded more key passes in the Premier League last term than the 22-year-old Leicester star and Azaz’s record from attacking midfield is actually quite impressive.

In 74 appearances he’s bagged 15 goals and seven assists, the majority of which have come in Premier League 2.

These are just two of the many promising talents that could receive a timely boost on their career prospects thanks to the arrival of Stevens.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Allan Saint-Maximin may have scored six goals and registered five assists for OGC Nice last season, but the Frenchman’s name is arguably more recognised for him sporting a Gucci headband. If ever you needed a snapshot of modern footballers, that right there is about as good as you’re going to get.

Despite arriving at St. James’ Park this summer with a reputation for annoying his former managers – just ask Patrick Vieira about how much he infuriated the Arsenal legend – the 22-year-old has shown plenty of promise with his limited minutes on the pitch. All 57 of them to be precise.

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The winger has had his start to life on Tyneside disrupted by niggling injuries, but in the very short time the Magpies faithful have laid eyes on him, there is certainly a sense of promise about what he could bring to the side. In fact, just take a look at his electric 18 minute cameo against Brighton on Saturday.

The Frenchman came on to the pitch in the 72nd minute, with the Magpies looking devoid of any real creativity or ideas. Both Miguel Almiron and Christian Atsu did their usual huffing and puffing without blowing the Brighton house down, and Steve Bruce’s introduction of his summer signing injected some life into the team and the supporters.

With one of his first touches of the ball, Saint-Maximin skipped past a couple of challenges in his own half before terrorising the Seagulls with his incredible pace and direct dribbling. It lifted the Magpies faithful off their seats and added an urgency to the side’s style of play. By the end of the game, he had completed three successful dribbles and delivered a key pass too.

For all of Almiron and Atsu’s qualities, the duo don’t possess the sheer unpredictability Saint-Maximin brings. He commits opposition defenders by sizing them up and then quickly beating them on the outside. When you have strikers like Joelinton and Andy Carroll in your ranks, you need wide-men who can take players on before delivering a cross into the box. The 22-year-old does that with regularity.

If the France U21 international is fully-fit, Bruce must have no hesitation in throwing caution to the wind and unleashing his winger. Gucci headband and all.

Liverpool have suffered a double selection setback ahead of their third-round Carabao Cup tie against Norwich City after right-backs Neco Williams and Trent Alexander-Arnold were both ruled out of the game.

What’s the word?

The Reds are already without key midfielders Harvey Elliott and Thiago due to injury issues, and now the club’s only two natural right-backs will also the sidelines for the League Cup game at Carrow Road

After Alexander-Arnold was unexpectedly absent for the weekend’s clash with Crystal Palace due to illness, assistant manager Pep Lijnders confirmed he will once again be unavailable for the trip to Carrow Road.

“He wanted to play, but we took the decision to leave him out. He’s still not feeling 100%. He will not be in the squad for tomorrow. But hopefully ready for the weekend,” Lijnders confirmed in Tuesday’s press conference.

He then also revealed that Williams is “progressing well” but not ready for Norwich, meaning the versatile James Milner is expected to deputise in their absence once again.

Jurgen Klopp will be gutted

Although Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has often preferred to rotate his squad in the domestic cup competitions, he will still surely be gutted to be without both of his senior right-backs as he’ll either have to ask Milner to play there again for the second time in less four days – hardly ideal for a 35-year-old – or use a youngster from the U23s set up.

Their hosts this evening are currently pointless in the Premier League, but thrashed second-tier Bournemouth 6-0 in the previous round of the cup, potentially giving them hope of pulling off a shock result.

The Carabao Cup is one of the trophies to have eluded Klopp since he arrived at Anfield back in 2015, and the German tactician will be hoping to keep his teams chances in this competition alive when they take on a struggling Norwich.

However, he’ll have to do that with his third or fourth choice right-back option playing, which is far from ideal.

And, in other news…Signed for £34m, now worth £90m: Edwards struck gold with “exceptional” Liverpool gem 

Some Wolves fans have been left fuming at Gabby Agbonlahor after his prediction involving them emerged on talkSPORT.

Speaking on talkSPORT’s Sunday show, the former Aston Villa and England international striker has now predicted that the Midlands club will be in a relegation battle this season after their 2-0 home loss at the hands of Brentford in the Premier League at Saturday lunchtime.

As Agbonlahor put it, the performance was ‘shocking’, but some members of the Molineux faithful believe that he is being too reactionary as it is still very early on in the campaign.

There are also his past connections with AVFC to contend with as well, and so it is not a surprise at all to see so many WWFC supporters disagree with his opinion despite the poor result and disappointing performance.

Wolves fans on Agbonlahor prediction

These Wanderers were left fuming as the prediction made by Agbonlahor was shared by talkSPORT on their official Twitter page:

“What a surprise a former Villa player and Villa fan saying his team’s rivals are going to be in a relegation battle after 1 bad performance”

Credit: @JaysonGibbons2

“…and last week you said wolves would be fine this season. You just go with the flow Gabby”

Credit: @dave_golding

“Shock, Villa fan says Wolves are in trouble. Every team in the league has off days. Villa gave taken 1 point out of a possible 6 against newly promoted teams so far.”

Credit: @charlie_bish93

“Bore off”

Credit: @salopwolf

“As bad as we were yesterday one game doesn’t make a season. First 4 games we could have easily had 12 points! On to the next one”

Credit: @Leicesterwolf

“Gabby giving his opinion that nobody asked for again”

Credit: @DanWWFC89

In other news, find out what John Percy update has Wanderers buzzing here!