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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull who moved from West Bromwich Albion to Wolves in 1986, admits he can’t see Chris Wilder taking the job at the Hawthorns if they decide to not stick with Sam Allardyce next season.

Wilder parted ways with Sheffield United through mutual consent last week after guiding them to a ninth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, before The Daily Star reported that the Baggies could look to bring him to The Hawthorns as a replacement for Allardyce.

The former Blades player took over when they were in League One and in three seasons they had made it to the top flight despite operating on a relatively small budget. However, both parties saw it fit for Wilder to leave his boyhood club.

Speaking on whether Chris Wilder could make an immediate return back into management at West Brom and what might be holding him back from doing so, Bull told FFC:

“Chris Wilder probably could but I think it would be the same situation as at Sheffield United because they’ve got no resources and no money. Would the chairman back him? I don’t think so.

“I think Chris Wilder has been in management now so he probably wants to have a six-month rest and charge his batteries up.

“He’ll want to get the zest back in him and then Chris Wilder will be out there again soon.”

Sheffield United were pushing for a place in Europe last season before the season was paused for Covid-19 and they haven’t been able to cope playing without any fans.

The Blades have won just seven league games since football returned last June, with three of them coming at the end of last season.

The 2016-17 Ligue 1 champions are presently languishing in the relegation zone but their new coach has inherited a squad still packed with talent

• VALERY HACHE
  

  Radamel Falcao

  Club captain and star man, Radamel Falcao joined Monaco in 2013 and has hit double figures in the two seasons since his ill-fated Premier League adventure, which consisted of frustrating loan spells at Manchester United and Chelsea.

  The 32-year-old is also Colombia's skipper and all-time leading goal-scorer, with 32 international goals.

  Falcao's leadership skills and goals will be key to Henry's hopes of turning Monaco's season around.

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  Aleksandr Golovin

  Aleksandr Golovin was one of the hottest properties on the market during the summer after helping Russia reach the World Cup quarter-finals and it was Monaco who secured his signature despite reported interest from many of Europe's elite.

  The creative midfielder is only 22 but he has already been a title winner with CSKA Moscow and has a UEFA European Under-17 Championship winners' medal too.

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  Benjamin Henrichs

  Benjamin Henrichs is a typically versatile German youth product who primarily operates as a right-back but has been used as a left-back and even a left winger since making his senior debut for Bayer Leverkusen at the age of 18.

  He made 75 appearances for his boyhood club in total before joining Monaco in the summer and has also already won three senior caps for Germany, as well as a Confederations Cup title.

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  Kamil Glik

  An experienced centre-back at club and international level, Kamil Glik secured a move to Monaco back in 2016 after four strong seasons in Serie A with Torino and is now vice-captain at the Stade Louis II.

  He has been capped 62 times by Poland, appearing at Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup, and is also a proven threat from set-pieces, with 31 career goals to date.

The Real Madrid left-back has picked a former QPR goalkeeper in his team, along with the likes of his Brazil team-mate and the French World Cup winner

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  GK | Julio Cesar | Flamengo

  A Brazil international since 2004, Cesar has enjoyed a glittering career, even if his legacy is perhaps tarnished in England due to his spell at QPR. The Flamengo keeper has won five Serie A titles in Italy, as well as three league titles in Portugal, while he has also lifted the Copa America once and the Confederations Cup twice with Brazil.

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• RB | Dani Alves | PSG

  Arguably the best right-back in modern football, Dani Alves has won it all, having been part of one of the greatest club sides in modern football at Barcelona. He is on course to win Ligue 1 with PSG, and has also won the Copa America, and the Confederations Cup twice with Brazil.

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  CB | Thiago Silva | PSG

  Brazil's national team captain at the 2014 World Cup, Thiago Silva has become one of the best centre-backs in world football, winning trophy after trophy in the French capital. He has twice been a medallist at the Olympic Games, winning bronze and silver.

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  CB | Sergio Ramos | Real Madrid

  Arguably the best defender playing the game today, Sergio Ramos has made a habit of winning the biggest trophies. He has won four La Liga titles, three Champions League winners' medals, two European Championships and the World Cup, along with a clutch of other honours. Ramos is footballing royalty.

The Blues have a number of big issues to address as an abject 2018 put them out of the Champions League and into the crosshairs of their critics

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  1Promote the club's youth-team stars

  Antonio Conte has handed debuts to Ethan Ampadu, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Dujon Sterling, but more can be done by the next manager at Stamford Bridge to bring through the club's talented youngsters.

  Chelsea's academy is arguably the highest-performing in Europe, having won an unprecedented domestic quadruple last season and back-to-back UEFA Youth League titles.

  Ruben Loftus-Cheek is an example of a player who has stagnated by remaining at the club, but if the Blues continue their plans to curb their spending, then a strategy of promoting youth-team stars is one to seriously consider.

  A better integration of the top young talent at the club is something they had long hoped to achieve, where the appointment of a committed, long-term manager would surely help matters.

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  2Splash out on a world-class player

  Chelsea's last two or three transfer windows have been poor but there is still an element of rebuilding going on from their 10th-placed finish in 2016.

  The club have missed out on world-class players as they are no longer at the top of the transfer market, with Manchester City, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain in a position to outbid them.

  That rebuilding process has seen many of the older champions leave the club to be replaced by a squad of younger players. They are currently way off the pace to be challengers in England and Europe, and they could do with one or two marquee signings to provide that injection of class.

  While the signings of the likes of Danny Drinkwater, Olivier Giroud and Davide Zappacosta added to the options available and bolstered the squad, they need a genuine superstar in the next transfer window.

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  3Save Bakayoko's Chelsea career

  Tiemoue Bakayoko was signed to be a key player for Chelsea this season but he has epitomised his team's struggles in 2017-18 and been something of a disappointment in his debut campaign in England.

  After his calamitous display against Watford, he was hauled off in his next start against Leicester City, with fears he would repeat his Vicarage Road display by earning a red card.

  The 23-year-old was earmarked to play in Conte's three-man midfield alongside Kante and Cesc Fabregas, but the Blues boss has since abandoned the system to play the 3-4-3 that won the title last season.

  Chelsea haven't been able to adapt and, having moved on Nemanja Matic to make room for Bakayoko, they have lost a great deal of quality in midfield. It isn't over for Bakayoko yet at Chelsea, but he will need to show next season that this was just a one-off.

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  4Get Morata firing again

  Alvaro Morata's poor form has been a huge issue for Chelsea, with the club having banked on him being their main man.

  Olivier Giroud, a player who was deemed surplus to requirements by Arsenal, started the Champions League knockout tie at Barcelona, while Eden Hazard featured in the first leg up front and thus out of position.

  Morata's 2018 goal drought was due in part to a back problem, but he has also seen his mentality questioned as his frustrations on the pitch led to a spate of bookings and even a sending-off.

  The 25-year-old clearly has talent but he needs to be far more consistent to be one of the world's best strikers.

Tottenham Hotspur can still finish in the top four of the Premier League, according to Spurs legend Gary Mabbutt in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

The former captain of the north London club spoke exclusively to Football FanCast earlier this week.

And he believes that the congested and tight nature of the Premier League table means that the club retain every chance of qualifying for the Champions League through their league position.

They have been in relatively poor form in recent weeks, with Jose Mourinho’s side slipping as low as ninth at one point.

Their 4-0 win over Burnley at the weekend, though, moved Spurs eighth, six points behind fourth-placed West Ham United with a game in hand.

And Mabbutt insists that Spurs simply need to string together a run of results in order to be back in contention.

Mourinho’s men play relegation-threatened Fulham on Thursday, before taking on Crystal Palace on Sunday and then playing Arsenal the weekend following. The north London derby comes after a home clash with Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League.

And Mabbutt remains confident that the club can end the season strongly.

He said: “So Spurs dropping two or three results or whatever, here and there. We’ve got, in my own opinion, four or five games, coming up, and those games are all winnable.

“If we suddenly get any team in the top 10 that gets three or four wins on the trot, that’d be them back up in the top four. That’s how it is.”

Spurs also have the potential of qualifying for the Champions League via the Europa League, though they would need to win the competition to do so.

Beating Zagreb, of course, would move them into the quarter-finals of the competition.

Reports have suggested that Manchester United are unwilling to meet Tottenham Hotspur’s asking price for striker Harry Kane.

The England captain has been linked with a switch to Old Trafford for a considerable amount of time. With Edinson Cavani quickly approaching the twilight of his career having only signed a one-year deal at Old Trafford, albeit with the option of a second, the Red Devils have to make a move for Kane.

The Tottenham forward’s Premier League record really does speak for itself.

Now rated at £108m and being paid £200k per week at Tottenham, he has plundered an eye-watering 159 goals in 235 league appearances, an astounding record.

He has hit double figures in each of the last seven campaigns, even notching 30 during the 2017/18 season.

This all means that Kane has a strike rate of 0.67 goals per game, which is better than Marcus Rashford’s 0.31, Anthony Martial’s 0.33, Mason Greenwood’s 0.19 and of course Cavani’s record of 0.33.

With the mercurial Bruno Fernandes teeing Kane up with his 2.8 key passes per game, then an extremely fruitful relationship could well be in the offing in the future.

It won’t just be Kane’s goals that United will benefit from though. The 27-year-old’s creativity has improved just this season.

With ten Premier League matches to go in 2020/21, he already has 13 league assists, having added to those in his exhilarating performance in the 4-1 thumping of Crystal Palace.

The positives of Kane’s arrival at Old Trafford do not end there. Near neighbours Manchester City have also been backed to make a move for the Tottenham superstar in the near future.

If United manage to get there first, it could potentially signal a swing in power, not only in Manchester, but also in the Premier League.

So, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly keen to recruit a striker as soon as this summer, no target makes more sense than Harry Kane.

AND in more news, take a look at Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s brilliant performance in the Red Devils’ 2-0 victory in the Manchester derby…

Leeds’ start to the New Year hasn’t exactly been ideal.

They suffered defeat to Tottenham and were then swept aside in rather embarrassing fashion by League Two Crawley last weekend. They can be thankful, therefore, that the transfer window is open.

What’s the word?

Cast your minds back to last summer and you will remember a certain link to a French striker.

The Sunday Mirror (August 9th print edition, page 66) reported that Leeds were interested in signing Celtic forward Odsonne Edouard.

Of course, a deal didn’t happen, but with speculation mounting again surrounding his future in Glasgow, there has been an update on Celtic’s stance towards the attacker.

That’s courtesy of journalist Ignazio Genuardi who said this week:

“While no agreement could be reached for an extension, Celtic is gradually revising its requirements downwards for a possible departure of the former Parisian Edouard. Today, there is more talk of a price around €25-30m.”

In English money, that price would equate to around £27m.

Orta must sign him

Leeds must bite Celtic’s hands off if Edouard is indeed available for that sort of fee. The Whites aren’t desperately in need of a new striker but they’d certainly land an upgrade on Patrick Bamford here.

The Whites forward has been nothing short of superb since they were promoted, helping himself to ten goals in just 17 outings. However, by signing Edouard, Victor Orta would land an even more prolific striker.

The Frenchman has been a star in Scottish football, racking up goals as though they’re going out of fashion. Last term, he netted 28 goals from 47 appearances and so far this season, he’s registered 11 strikes – one more than Bamford.

However, he isn’t just about scoring goals. Like Leeds’ current number nine, he’s phenomenal at bringing others into play. The Hoops forward picked up 19 assists for his teammates in 2019/20, a record that blows Bamford’s tally of two out the water.

On top of that, his footwork also surpasses Marcelo Bielsa’s favoured striking option. Bamford is a player who likes to play with his back to goal, but while Edouard can also do that, the 22-year-old gets in behind and can run with the ball too.

Epitomising the Celtic forward’s qualities, former Hoops player Frank McGarvey once said: “I just love watching Edouard. He has that bit of magic in his feet, and he reminds me of Charlie Nicholas. You just know if he gets the ball just outside of the box the other team are in trouble.”

Truth be told, that’s what sets Bamford and Edouard apart. Although the former has nifty feet himself, he doesn’t use it on a regular basis.

Reports circulated a few weeks ago that Leeds were slightly concerned about their forward’s future at the club. If they signed Edouard, they may be able to greenlight a potential exit, rather than worrying about his contract situation.

Irrespective of that, however, Leeds must sign him. He is a sensational goal scorer.

AND in other news, Leeds must swoop for “outstanding” 26 y/o, he could be game-changing…

Miguel Almiron lit up the stage as Newcastle United beat Everton 2-0 on Saturday with the Paraguayan often the most creative player on the pitch.

Steve Bruce was desperate for a positive result at Goodison Park with his Magpies side without a win in 11 games across all competitions, but built on the promising second half seen in defeat to Leeds with a brace from Callum Wilson.

Newcastle played with a solid tempo throughout their time on Merseyside to flip the form book and deny the Toffees a chance to move fourth in the table, with Wilson opening the scoring by heading in Jonjo Shelvey’s corner before scoring again in stoppage time.

Wilson had failed to score in his last seven appearances across all competitions but struck his ninth and 10th goals of the season thanks a greater level of service into the ex-AFC Bournemouth striker.

Newcastle’s struggles getting the ball into their £20m man left Wilson anonymous in defeat at Aston Villa last week, while rarely seeing chances to end his drought against Leeds on Tuesday before a change of system.

Bruce stuck with the revised formation for United’s trip to Everton and saw his decision pay off, with Almiron able to pull the strings from the centre and constantly drive at the Everton backline.

Had Almiron not been on form, Wilson may not have been able to punish the Toffees for their toothless performance with Carlo Ancelotti’s side unable to match the pace of the game.

Almiron even brought Isaac Hayden into the Magpies’ attacking moves, teeing the defensive midfielder up for a shot midway through the first half that needed a block from Gylfi Sigurdsson to not test former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

The £42,000-per-week Paraguayan would have been very much deserving of his second assist of the Premier League season and first since matchday one had Wilson managed to find the back of the net moments before the end, too, having seen the striker round Pickford but hit the post from a tight angle.

Almiron’s efforts played a key role in Newcastle snapping their winless run and moving marginally further clear of the relegation zone, having played his socks off in the centre.

United only saw 39% of the ball during their 2-0 win at Goodison Park, ensuring the Toon had to use their time in possession to good effect. But Almiron more than did his fair share, with the 26-year-old ending the game with the joint-most key passes (3) having created more goal-scoring opportunities than any Everton player, per WhoScored.

Almiron also attempted the third-most dribbles by a visiting player (2), attempted the second-most tackles (3), made the joint-most interceptions (2) and was never dispossessed, to highlight his ability at both making a difference with the ball at his feet and in winning it back.

Wilson may have scored twice to seal what has become a rare win for Newcastle, but the 28-year-old was dispossessed seven times – four more than any other player for either side – and failed to create a goalscoring chance for his teammates despite taking six shots.

Bruce must now realise the errors of his ways in playing Almiron out wide in recent months, having also scored against Leeds, and stick with the £14.5m-rated maestro in the middle if Newcastle are to build on their emerging form.

AND in other news, Newcastle could part with a £30k-p/w dynamo before the end of the month…

An interesting name has emerged as a potential long-term striking target for Tottenham Hotspur this week…

What’s the word?

According to Eurosport’s Dean Jones, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is eyeing up a move for Brentford forward Marcus Forss as the 21-year-old goalscoring sensation is attracting interest from several elite clubs, including Borussia Dortmund.

It’s claimed that the Finland international is quickly becoming one of the EFL’s most talented starts, which is an opportunity the tough-negotiating Levy does not want to pass on.

Spurs’ own Werner?

Forss is quite the enigma. He’s started just five matches in all competitions and has scored seven goals. In the Championship alone, he has managed a goal every 69 minutes, per Transfermarkt.

Originally seen as a back-up to £5m summer signing Ivan Toney, the Bees have now started him in their last two league outings, pairing him up with the former Peterborough monster.

David Ornstein at The Athletic has also reported on the Bundesliga giant’s interest in Forss, claiming that there is something Jamie Vardy-like about his physique, movement and finishing.

Forss has even been likened to Erling Haaland as a ‘fox in the box’ who is hard-working and is truly efficient with what touches he does get with the ball, so perhaps it’s not a shock to see why Dortmund might be keen on his services.

Indeed, the combination of the above could also point towards the 21-year-old prodigy being that of a Timo Werner type as if you were to remove the names above, then the ex-Leipzig man would undoubtedly be one of your first guesses.

This is further compounded by Breaking The Lines’ analysis of the Bees striker, who said: ‘Forss also excels at creating space for his teammates via his intelligent movement and quick lay-off passes.’

Back in November 2019, fresh off a successful loan spell with AFC Wimbledon, former Brentford B head coach Kevin O’Connor told Sky Sports:

“Once we got him up to match speed, especially for the B Team, you could see his quality; you could see straight away that he was a finisher and had very good ability with both feet. I think it was only a matter of time before he got in and around the first-team squad.

“He can hold the ball up, he can spin, he’s strong and when he gets half a chance, I expect him to score. He’s clever; he aims for the defender’s legs. He shifts the ball, waits for them to shift their legs and then always shoots in between their legs so the ‘keepers can’t even react. He’s a very intelligent striker in his finishing.”

Forss is even now reaping the rewards on the international stage as he downed 2018 World Cup winners France during the recent break, which can be witnessed here.

He ransacked Spurs midfielder Moussa Sissoko before rampaging through to fire past a helpless Steve Mandanda.

The modern game now, especially at an elite level, requires forwards like a Werner, a Haaland or Vardy, and that’s something very different to Harry Kane, so Levy must do all he can to land the impressive goalscorer in 2021.

AND in other news, Mourinho has totally transformed £27m-rated Pochettino dud into a “sensational” STAR…

Leeds were strong enough to keep Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal at bay this evening, but didn’t do enough to snatch all three points. However, Marcelo Bielsa cannot sniff at a point against the Gunners, who are pushing to catch up with ‘top six’ rivals Spurs and Chelsea.

Neither team could break the deadlock and spoils were forced to be shared at Elland Road. Patrick Bamford looked the most likely to score during the evening, but the 27-year-old fluffed his lines on several occasions and missed putting his side in front.

However, it wasn’t just Bielsa’s golden boy who struggled in front of goal tonight. New signing Raphinha, who made his first senior start for his new club, really struggled to find his groove and was extremely wasteful in front of goal.

Raphinha vs Arsenal

The Brazilian reportedly completed just 68% of his attempted passes, despite playing the full 90 minutes for Leeds. Despite his 100% cross and long ball success, he failed to register a single shot on goal, pulling the trigger four times during the match and failing to hit the target with any (via Sofascore).

With neither side able to beat the opposition’s goalkeepers, both Leeds and Arsenal settle for the lone point in their returning Premier League match. The Whites will more than likely be pleased with the result, given the fact their previous two appearances saw them suffer back-to-back 4-1 defeats to Leicester and Crystal Palace.

Leeds creep up a spot in the table and remain the two points behind Arsenal, who are also struggling for points this season. But Bielsa must be focusing on the fact that despite his attackers’ best efforts, they just aren’t finding that final spark to tuck their goals away.

Raphinha was extremely wasteful this evening and may have ruined his chance of starting more games. The £60,000 per week forward slotted in to replace Helder Costa, who didn’t make it off the bench. However, with Everton next to play, Bielsa won’t want to risk fielding the 23-year-old if he couldn’t make his first start for the club count with at least a shot on goal.

In other news, Cellino made massive mistake in selling this former Leeds player…