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

According to The Daily Star, Tottenham Hotspur are targeting January moves for Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala and Nice’s Youcef Atal, but if they get them they would be making an unforgivable transfer blunder.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Daily Star says that manager Mauricio Pochettino is ready to talk with chairman Daniel Levy about a major January shake-up in north London, with Eric Dier, Serge Aurier and Victor Wanyama among those at risk, while they are ready to listen to offers for Christian Eriksen.

The same report states that Pochettino is pushing for the north London outfit to renew their interest in Dybala after a summer move fell through due to image rights issues, and Atal.

However, they would be making a mistake if they did get the duo.

Why’s that?

Firstly, it has been clear to see that Tottenham’s biggest issue this season has been their failure to keep the ball out of their own net, conceding 12 times in eight Premier League fixtures and nine times in two Champions League matches.

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That includes 10 in the last two against Brighton and Hove Albion and Bayern Munich, where a lack of a quality defensive midfielder protecting the defence and below-par performances from the backline have often left Spurs in trouble.

You may think that signing Atal, whose main position is listed as a right-back by Transfermarkt, would potentially solve one of those issues with Serge Aurier seen as a liability by fans, but in fact he has actually mainly been playing as either a right wing-back or right winger for Nice so far this term, according to his positions in those games recorded by Transfermarkt.

That indicates his manager Patrick Vieira doesn’t believe he is the out-and-out good defender and suggests he isn’t the reliable player the north London club look to be in desperate need of. In that regard he could be similar to the Ivory Coast international, who shone from an attacking sense against Crystal Palace but was sent off for two bookings in the first half against Southampton.

Meanwhile, while it would be difficult to say that Tottenham need Dybala when they already have Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, Giovani Lo Celso and Lucas Moura in the attacking positions, perhaps most worrying of all would be his attitude.

The Argentina international has come out and suggested he never wanted to join Tottenham in the summer according to Corriere della Sera, via The Daily Mail, and having him in their ranks would be the last thing they need when they are already dealing with someone like Christian Eriksen, who also appears intent on going as his contract runs down.

It would be unforgivable if they get both players then, and they really must avoid them instead if they really want to start turning things around for the better from the New Year onwards.

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…

Leeds’ squad might be thin but that hasn’t stopped some fierce battles playing out in terms of roles within the team.

Eddie Nketiah and Patrick Bamford have a rivalry of sorts that’s seen them score the same number of goals, but the former is yet to start a league game.

There’s been a dilemma with Helder Costa on the wing while Stuart Dallas and Luke Ayling now look as though they’ll duel it out for a place at right-back.

That sort of competition is tough to take for a senior professional, let alone a youngster trying to make it in the game as well.

Mateusz Bogusz is one of the rising stars in the Leeds team who have so far found it hard to come by regular minutes.

He earned his debut earlier in the season but has been restricted to Carabao Cup appearances, still failing to make his league bow after appearing on the bench last term.

The young Pole played senior football in his homeland but that’s been a rare occurrence since arriving in west Yorkshire.

His development hasn’t overly stalled yet but it could in the future unless he gains greater exposure.

Bogusz has been a regular fixture of the U23 side but even now injuries have plagued the Leeds midfield with Pablo Hernandez, Adam Forshaw and Jamie Shackleton missing, there is no way through.

The fact Bielsa prefers to play Dallas out of position in midfield should be alarming.

The young midfielder has plenty of time on his side at the age of 18 but it’s perhaps rather damning that neither he or any of the younger pros got a look in ahead of the Northern Irishman in the middle.

It’s not as though Bogusz hasn’t shown he can do it on the first team stage either. He scored against Western Sydney Wanderers in pre-season but hasn’t been granted too much of an opportunity since.

Why are Leeds fans the best in the country? Find out in the video below…

If there is no way through now, there is unlikely to be a route to gaining greater minutes later in the term.

It suggests that for him to continue to develop and not falter, he needs a loan move elsewhere.

Whether that is a possibility remains unclear but given Leeds have just hired Simone Farine to manage their loan players, he could be one of the first to truly profit from this increased focus on who leaves the club temporarily.

In January, Bogusz will have been in England for a year – there would be no better time to finally gain first-team minutes.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville heaped praise onto Liverpool’s Brazilian forward Roberto Firmino despite having a quiet game during the Reds’ 1-1 draw against Manchester United.

What’s the word?

Firmino, 28, has proved to be a critical link between himself, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah over the past two seasons at Anfield.

However, the Brazilian forward had a poor afternoon on Sunday as his creativity in and around the forwards was unable to guide his side to victory against their hated neighbours.

Watch a Liverpool fan discover the internet and get a nasty surprise in the video below…

Nevertheless, former Manchester United right-back Gary Neville told Sky Sports, via The Liverpool Echo, that he admires Firmino. He said: “Liverpool play with three mobile strikers. Firmino doesn’t score 25 goals every year. He does an unbelievable job, I love him to bits, but he doesn’t score 25 goals.

“We had strikers at Manchester United who didn’t score 25, 30 goals but they did brilliant jobs. You can still win without a striker that scores 25, 30 goals.”

Unique player

Firmino is a unique player in his own way and would only fit into certain playing styles, particularly within Liverpool’s 4-3-3 formation.

After the crucial role he played during the Reds’ 3-1 win over Newcastle in September, his teammate Andrew Robertson described him as “frightening” as his introduction from the bench changed the outcome of the game. His lay-off to Salah during the victory illustrates he is the unselfish, deep-lying forward that creates the connections from the midfield to the attackers.

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The Reds have proved that it is possible to play in the Premier League without an old fashioned No. 9. Both Salah and Mane picked up the Premier League Golden Boot last season after scoring 22 goals apiece, sharing the gong with Arsenal’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

Having someone who drops deep to the tip of the midfield and plays in the ball to wing and in the channels has been the key to Liverpool’s success. Neville recognises this and appreciates what the 28-year-old can bring to a team.

Firmino’s importance can’t be proved by the use of statistics. The only way to enjoy the Brazilian is simply just to watch him.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino said three key words after being asked about his side’s improved pressing following their 5-0 win against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night – “I want more”.

What did he say then?

Well, Spurs’ energy and work-rate all across the pitch was evident in their Champions League fixture against the Serbian club, and it begged the question why similar hadn’t been seen in recent weeks in disappointing performances against the likes of Brighton and Hove Albion and Watford.

Asked about the change in intensity by Football London’s Alasdair Gold post-match, the Argentine responded:

These are certainly some words that should provide a lot of encouragement for Spurs supporters.

Change of fortunes?

While it’s clear to see that Red Star weren’t the highest level of opposition Tottenham could have been facing given their lack of confidence going into the encounter, they still absolutely blew them away in the capital on Tuesday.

The likes of Son Heung-min and Erik Lamela pressed from the front, and helped influence a whole team display that the visitors simply couldn’t cope with.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful would have been impressed with what they saw from their side, as there was certainly shades of the same tactics used back in the days when they finished second in the Premier League in 2017, for example.

The fact that Pochettino wants even more from this group of players is exciting too, as it suggests the former Southampton boss feels his squad has a lot more to give in that respect.

If they can beat Red Star 5-0, imagine how dominant they could be when they are at an even higher level when it comes to their fitness and pressing?

Ben White is still yet to miss a single minute of Championship football for Leeds United during the 2019/20 campaign.

The central defender joined Leeds on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion during the summer having impressed at Peterborough United in the second half of last season.

Not too much was made of the move at the time, but the 22-year-old has gone from strength to strength in the opening months of the season.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

White again played the full 90 minutes against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon as the two teams shared the points in a goalless draw.

And a whole host of Leeds fans took to social media during the Championship contest to lavish praise on the Englishman.

Some were keen to pay tribute to White’s qualities, whilst others urged their club to attempt to secure a permanent deal for the towering figure.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

Wolves stretched their unbeaten run to eight against Newcastle but Nuno Espirito Santo’s lack of adventure cost his team all three points.

Off the bench

Newcastle are on a poor run of form with two wins in ten league games, and despite the victory against Manchester United they have often struggled at home, yet Nuno didn’t take advantage of the lack of threat they offered going forward.

Instead, he set-up to contain the Magpies, and that resulted in a lacklustre first-half display which has left some fans frustrated. His alteration at half-time to put Matt Doherty in a more advanced position worked well, but his reluctance to change more backfired.

Doherty almost got the winner in the dying seconds, and perhaps should have, but Wolves lacked ambition even when the Magpies went down to ten men, and the decision to leave Patrick Cutrone on the bench was a mystifying one.

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Diogo Jota was given the chance to partner Raul Jiminez up-front and when he was withdrawn Nuno chose to replace him with Pedro Neto, and that had negative consequences for his side.

It meant Jiminez was heavily outnumbered by Newcastle’s three centre-backs, and too often he found himself having to run into the channels to get the ball, so wasn’t able to get on the end of opportunities in the box.

A lack of faith?

Cutrone was signed in the summer for £16m but has only started three league games, and the fact he has one goal in the Premier League may be the reason behind Nuno’s decision not to grant him more opportunities.

It was a game that was tailor-made for his introduction, too, with Wolves’ willingness to pepper the box with crosses – 25 in total – eventually leading to the chance for the goal and also Doherty’s last-minute header.

The 21-year-old was praised in Italy for his abilities in the area, with comparisons made to another poacher, Filippo Inzaghi, and his presence could have made the difference for Wolves.

Even when the home side went down to ten men his manager decided to keep him on the bench, and in fact he failed to make another substitute in the last ten minutes, which contributed to the failure to claim all three points.

It was a bewildering decision and one that could possibly dent Cutrone’s confidence, as it suggests his manager lacks belief in his ability – instead trusting an unproven 19-year-old in Neto ahead of him.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

The plaudits just keep coming in for Sheffield United.

Although we might be jumping the gun ever so slightly when it comes to this particular assessment of how well they are doing.

What’s he said?

Speaking on the 5 Live Football Daily Podcast, Luke Edwards of The Telegraph made the rather bold claim that he thought Chris Wilder should be in contention for Manager of the Year:

“He is innovative, he is revolutionary in his own way. He’s got Sheffield United promoted that way, and he’s carried it on in the Premier League. They are, Sheffield United, for me, in what I think has been a pretty predictable season so far in many ways, the story of the season. Chris Wilder, manager of the year, I’m going to call it now.”

Find out which Premier League newcomer is a future England boss in the making in the video below…

Let’s just wait and see

People really do need to stop being victims of the moment with things like this.

Do pundits and journalists not remember when Hull City were in their first Premier League season back in 2008/09, how they were on a similar trajectory as Sheffield United right now?

Rather coincidentally, they also beat Arsenal and received plaudits in their first couple of months in the league, only to end up staying in the division by the skin of their teeth on the final day of the season.

Phil Brown didn’t receive Manager of the Year that season did he?

So let’s all just wait and see what happens as the campaign goes on before we start proclaiming just how great things are and are going to be at the end of the season. Feet must be kept firmly planted before the hype overawes the club.

Suspensions haven’t started to take effect yet, neither have any major injuries to the Sheffield United squad. Let’s see what Wilder’s credentials are like when he is really up against it in that way.

As we discussed previously, there are some big tests coming up for the Blades in the form of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, so tunes may very well change if they don’t put in the best of performances in those games.

At the end of the day, what’s going to be better for the Yorkshire side? Having their expectations set too high and then be disappointed when they don’t end up meeting them, or keep them at a reasonable level and then end up beating them?

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…

Pressure, what pressure?

West Bromwich Albion returned to the top of the Championship table with a comfortable 2-0 victory over basement boys Stoke City on Monday night.

The Baggies had slipped down the table slightly over the weekend, but only because those around them competed 48 hours earlier.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A goal from Matty Phillips, who snagged his sixth of the season, and a penalty from super-sub Hal Robson-Kanu was enough to secure all three points up in Staffordshire.

Following the match, talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham made a bold claim surrounding another one of Albion’s key players.

He believes that despite being the best ‘passer of a ball’ in the division, Leeds United’s Kalvin Phillips is the best overall player in the division.

There’s no doubt that is enough to back up his viewpoint – Phillips is United’s top-rated player on WhoScored (7.45), while no other player has recorded more tackles (four).

But to discount Sawyers entirely from the argument on that basis is a little naive, he offers so much more than just his passing ability.

The 28-year-old is the key orchestrator to the entire squad – averaging 80.3 touches per game. He is the metronome, the engine.

Without him, there is an argument to be made that the Baggies wouldn’t be where they are.

Sawyers has played every minute of every game this season, which only three other players have managed, and they are all in defence, a position that probably requires less energy.

The midfield maestro is averaging a vast 92% passing accuracy and nearly 70 passes per game, which ranks him as the best overall in the division for the first category, and the best midfielder in the division for the latter.

But he also offers other aspects to his game as seen with his 1.3 tackles and 75% aerial duels won per game, via SofaScore.

Sawyers is even a player that Leeds fans were drooling over after his performance on Monday night as they clearly regret not trying to sign him in the summer – despite having Phillips.

In the same clip linked above, former Premier League striker Darren Bent claims he cannot believe that the Baggies man isn’t playing in the top-flight.

This only goes to show his importance to Slaven Bilic’s side, and given the lack of options he has at central midfield, taking him out of the team would be so much more disastrous than if Phillips was absent for Marcelo Bielsa.

If Sawyers gets injured or picks up suspension it will result in a rapid recall for either Gareth Barry, who hasn’t played since his ‘career-threatening’ injury, or Rekeem Harper, who has played just six league minutes all season while centre-back Semi Ajayi is also an option.

Whereas Leeds have multiple options to fill any void left behind by Phillips – for example, Adam Forshaw has a better passing success rate than the 23-year-old at 89.7%, which is the highest in their squad, per WhoScored.

It is this sort of ‘MVP’ status that makes Sawyers the best in the division as he’s just ever so crucial to Albion’s promotion hopes and given they are top of the table, and that he’s played every game, he should currently be the number one name on Durham’s lips.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Luka Modric has been a crucial part of Real Madrid’s squad for quite some time now. But it seems that Los Blancos are preparing for a potential goodbye in the not so distant future, if the reports coming from fichajes.net (via Calciomercato) are anything to go by.

The report claims that Modric could be on his way out of the club in June 2020, and the likes of Donny van de Beek, Christian Eriksen and Paul Pogba are detailed as potential replacements.

Even if that were to happen, Zinedine Zidane shouldn’t be too worried.

On the chalkboard

The 34-year-old Ballon d’Or winner is one of Real Madrid’s key players.

Even though this season he’s had a smaller role in the team’s ventures due to some injury issues, Modric is still a big presence in the squad.

Last season, the midfield maestro ended up playing 48 games across all competitions for the Galacticos, scoring four goals and assisting further eight under his belt in the process.

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And despite Zidane’s troops not having the best of years in terms of silverware, seeing how they only managed to secure the Club World Cup trophy, Modric was still the heartbeat of the team, as he usually is.

But since he is 34 years old now, time is slowly but surely catching up and these reports of his potential departure don’t really come as a surprise anymore.

The best thing, however, is the fact that even if he were to leave, Real Madrid have more than enough firepower to weather that storm.

Changing of the guard

Looking strictly at Real Madrid’s squad, they definitely seem set for the near future.

Modric is undoubtedly a big and central figure of Zidane’s team but seeing how there are many young, up and coming stars waiting to take over the mantle, the 34-year-old’s potential departure is not something Los Blancos should be dreading.

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

The recent resurgence of Federico Valverde, who made another statement to the club with his display in the Champions League last month, and the unbelievable strike-force they have on loan is reason enough to be quite optimistic.

Martin Odegaard, Dani Ceballos and Takefusa Kubo are just some of the names that are bound to light up the Santiago Bernabeu once they make their returns to the Spanish capital.

But even if we disregard that, Toni Kroos is also ready to assume the role of a leader in an event of Modric’s potential departure.

The German is still just 28 years old and his displays are proof enough he has what it takes.

We also shouldn’t forget James Rodriguez, another returning ace who’s looking to finally make it at the club, and players like Isco and Marco Asensio, who also might have a say in the matter.

All things considered, Real Madrid look well covered and prepared for the moment Modric calls it a day.

The changing of the guard is inevitable but the Galacticos are more than ready to embrace it.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Everton’s Mason Holgate has praised manager Marco Silva for the impact he has had on his development in the first-team.

What did he say?

Holgate has recently had a change in fortune with the Toffees and has found himself becoming a regular within Silva’s plans. The Englishman has started the last four games for the club and has even pushed England international Michael Keane out of the side.

As he has worked himself back into the starting XI, Holgate has praised the manager for the impact he has had on his newly found form.

The defender told evertonfc.com: “I went to talk to the gaffer because I’d gone from playing every game to coming back and not playing,” says Holgate.

“We had a really good conversation and he told me what I had to work on.

“Since that day my focus has been much more ‘on’.

“I’ve been working on different parts of my game and I think that is starting to show.

“It is down to me to prove I’ve made progress, then the manager has to make his decision over whether I play.

“When I do get my chances, I have to prove to him I can stay in the team.

“He is a great coach and has helped me a lot. Last year, my concentration and focus were not as good. He had to keep drilling things home.

“Now, you will have to ask him [if I am right], but I think I take things on a lot more. That helps massively with him.”

Like a new man

Holgate’s form right now for Everton is arguably the best it has been since he joined the Merseyside outfit from Barnsley. The centre-back has registered a goal, assist and a clean sheet in his four starts for the club this season.

The clean sheet and goal came against Watford and his Man of the Match display was the main reason for Everton’s progression into the EFL Cup quarter-final.

Now, as he keeps Keane out of the side, Holgate seems to have become an essential ingredient in Silva’s plans at Goodison Park.