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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…

As Patrick Bamford watched yet another chance fall wide of the target for Leeds against Nottingham Forest, it looked to be a new chapter of frustration in the 25-year-old’s Elland Road story.

He now finds himself under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa in West Yorkshire, rather than in the youth ranks of Chelsea, originally enduring a nightmare period last season when he missed 22 games through injury.

That was chapter one.

Another chapter came against Forest two weeks ago, he missed six opportunities, three of which were completely off target.

It was a sorry sight but he bounced back in fantastic style and in a way that we haven’t been used to seeing throughout his time at Leeds, scoring twice against Wigan.

Last term he was banned for deceiving the officials and did little to make up for it, diving against Derby in the playoffs.

However, it now looks as though he’s got his head straight and has three goals in three games.

The arrival of Eddie Nketiah on loan may have had him fearing for his place but his form can now prove incredibly beneficial for the Arsenal loan man.

He initially walked through the doors of Leeds’ Thorpe Arch training ground under pressure to succeed. Leeds had been crying out for a new striker after the departure of Kemar Roofe and it looked as though Nketiah may have to carry a burden.

Yet, Bamford’s brilliant form following last Saturday means he now has a chance to settle and most importantly has a period where he can adjust to Bielsa’s methods and way of playing football.

Find out which stadiums fans have nominated for the worst atmosphere in football in the video below…

This is the first time the 20-year-old has ventured away from London and feeling at home right away will be of huge importance.

Carrying that on his back, as well as the pressure of coming in for an out of form Bamford after their draw with Forest may have been concerning.

That, however, has just become easier.

Bamford’s two goals against Wigan weren’t just important for him, but in terms of helping Nketiah to settle in, it relieves the pressure significantly.

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

According to an exclusive report from The Telegraph, Everton are willing to pay £60m + Cenk Tosun in order to land Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha this summer, although Chelsea and Arsenal are also interested.

The Ivory Coast international enjoyed an impressive 2018/19 campaign with the Eagles, in which he netted 10 goals and grabbed five assists in 34 Premier League appearances.

Where does Zaha play best?

There is no denying the 5 foot 11 attacker’s talent, but if Marco Silva is preparing to use Zaha as a central striker should any potential deal get done, then the Toffees would be making an error.

Intriguingly, the 26-year-old forward played all across the front-line for Palace last term, appearing as a central striker 18 times, a left forward 12 times, and on the right twice.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

However, it was on the left where the Palace No.11 fared best, netting an eye-catching six goals in 12 games – averaging a goal every two games he plays in that role.

Contrastingly, Zaha didn’t have as much success in the middle.

Should not be viewed as a permanent centre-forward option 

He only managed to find the back of the net three times in his 18 games as a centre-forward, which works out at a quite poor average of a goal every six games.

Of course, the Ivorian is versatile, good enough to mix it up mid-game and would be able to cause chaos alongside Richarlison given the fact that the Brazilian can also play in a number of attacking roles.

However, if Silva is thinking of utilising Zaha as an out-and-out central striker to aid his current woes in that position, he should think again.

Everton only currently have Tosun and Dominic Calvert-Lewin as natural options for that specific role, and both of them didn’t enjoy the best of times in front of goal last term – the Turkey international netted just three times in the league, whilst Calvert-Lewin hit double that sum with six.

Those numbers just aren’t good enough for a side as ambitious as Everton currently are, but if Silva does think his £60m transfer target could potentially fare much better in the centre, he hasn’t quite done his homework.

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Tottenham Hotspur fans have been left excited by links with Juventus superstar Paulo Dybala.

Tuttosport, via journalist Tancredi Palmer, claims that Spurs have enquired about the possibility of acquiring the Argentina international.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It remains to be seen if such a deal could be done, with rival publication Calciomercato claiming that Spurs have opted against making a bid.

Nevertheless, fans are excited at the prospect of Dybala moving to north London.

Spurs have already signed Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon this summer for a club-record fee and have also been linked with Real Betis playmaker Giovani Lo Celso.

A deal for Dybala would be something of a surprise; he has made 182 appearances for Juve, scoring 78 goals and registering 30 assists. He has also won 23 caps for Argentina.

And fans are going gaga at the idea of the 25-year-old linking up with Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!

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Many Liverpool fans on Twitter have named Philippe Coutinho as the best sale the club have ever made.

Influential fan account @AnfieldHQ asked their followers to discuss which sale in the club’s history was the best, and the response was resounding as many fans pointed towards Coutinho.

It’s hard to argue that point either – Liverpool received £142m for the Brazillian in January 2018, and since then he has struggled, being booed by Barcelona fans at times.

The sale of the attacking midfielder is the highest fee the Reds have ever received for a player, but over the years they have made some other fantastic sales.

They managed to get £50m for a declining Fernando Torres, and they also rinsed Bournemouth for £15m for Jordon Ibe and £19m for Dominic Solanke.

Michael Edwards has indeed done some fantastic work when it comes to getting rid of players, but for many supporters, the sale of Coutinho to Barcelona stands above the rest.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Here’s what the Anfield faithful have been saying on Twitter…

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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…

Speaking to Football Insider, Danny Mills has delivered his verdict on Tyrone Mings’ move to Aston Villa, revealing just how good a signing he thinks he’ll be.

What’s the word?

Aston Villa have already confirmed two additions this week, welcoming Ezri Konsa to the club on Thursday morning after initially signing Mings permanently earlier in the week.

The Villans, of course, landed the Bournemouth man on loan in January but have now brought him back after becoming a shining light for the club in 2018/19.

Football Insider claims the centre-back has moved for a fee of £20m, potentially rising to £26.5m but Mills has hinted that will be completely forgotten about in a year, whilst also tipping him for a big season. He said:

“The amount is irrelevant because if he has a good season he could be worth £35m-£40m this time next year.

“He has all the attributes to do well in the Premier League. He has pace, power, height, decent on the ball, left-footed as well, which does help.”

Magnificent Mings

It’s unsurprising to see Mings attract such praise after his stellar loan spell with Villa earlier in the year.

The 26-year-old helped the club achieve promotion, playing a key part in their ten-match winning streak as he scored twice in 18 matches whilst winning three aerial duels in the process.

His height of 6 foot 5 will be imperious in the Premier League whilst his excellent ability with the ball at his feet, completing 78.6% of his passes in the Championship should also come in handy.

Being homegrown, it wouldn’t be a great surprise to see him valued at nearly double what Dean Smith’s men paid for him this summer next year.

After all, Burnley and Brighton both value James Tarkowski and Lewis Dunk at around the £40m mark.

Mings has struggled in the Premier League in the past because of a lack of game time. Yet, at Villa, he shouldn’t find that a problem at all.

If he can discover the form he found in the second tier, there is a reason to believe he could have a similar impact in the top-flight.

[ad_pod ]Manchester United could challenge Tottenham Hotspur for the signature of Giovani Lo Celso of Real Betis, according to Gazzetta dello Sport journalist Nicolo Schira.

What’s the word, then?

Lo Celso has impressed hugely since his loan move to Real Betis last summer, a deal which has since been made permanent.

The Argentine was on the books at PSG before making his big money switch to Seville, but it looks as though he could be on the move once more with Manchester United and Tottenham interested in the midfielder.

Lo Celso has registered 16 goals and six assists this season for the Spanish club, and BBC are reporting that SpursÂhave made a bid for the star worth £53m.

It would seem Man Utd are in the hunt for more creative options in midfield with the likes of Juan Mata expected to leave.

Creative responsibility shift

Paul Pogba has delivered mixed displays since his £89m arrival from Juventus three years ago.

The Frenchman arrived with a huge reputation and with incredible responsibility on his shoulders. At times he’s looked mesmerising, at others unconvincing and disinterested. There’s no doubt he possesses the talent, but perhaps signing another midfield creator will help bring the best out of the France star.

Pogba starred in Didier Deschamps’ World Cup winning side playing in a two-man base in midfield with a number 10 in front of him. While Antoine Griezmann is not a ‘number 10’ in the conventional sense, he was still filling that position in a 4-2-3-1 system but adapting it to make more direct runs beyond the striker.

Pogba is expected to do everything at United, simply because he has the attributes to do so. A great passing range, unrelenting stamina, skill and an eye for goal, the list goes on.

However, in no other team throughout his career has he been expected to be the main source of creativity like he is at United. Most would consider Pogba’s greatest asset to be his power – when he strides down the pitch there’s few who can stop him, but unfortunately this is very hard to get out of the midfielder if he’s always got the ball at his feet in tight spaces.

Looking back at his goals this season, the Frenchman has scored most of them (excluding the penalties) from making runs into the box and getting on the end of other players’ creative inspiration. Because he runs from deep and does so intelligently, he’s able to use his instinct and quality to deliver the final product without being easily tracked.

The arrival of Lo Celso would streamline all of Man Utd’s football through the Argentine and allow Pogba the freedom to roam around the pitch when attacking to instinctively find areas for him to exploit, rather than being expected to be the hub of inspiration. Instead of trying to continually make something out of nothing, the Frenchman can join the attack when it fits his skills set best.

Lo Ceslo could be the signing who finally allows Pogba to fully flourish at Old Trafford.

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The Liverpool squad’s fine-tuning has already begun this summer as the Anfield outfit look to ready their squad for the next campaign. So far, it has been a case of clearing out the deadwood, with Daniel Sturridge and Alberto Moreno amongst set to leave. Today’s Liverpool transfer roundup, however, includes updates on three potential new signings.

Pedro of interest

According to Sport, Watford’s Joao Pedro is of interest to the Reds. The 17-year-old only signed for the Hornets from Fluminense last year and is yet to play for the Vicarage Road outfit as he needs to be 18 to do so. He has impressed on loan at the Brazilian club in the past season.

Fekir again on radar

Le Progrès report that Liverpool are still interested in Lyon’s Nabil Fekir. Jurgen Klopp’s team were close to signing the French attacker last season but the deal fell apart in the final stages. Fekir has not impressed this season as much as he did the last, but has been given permission to leave the club this summer.

Marega targeted

Moussa Marega is a target for the Anfield side according to Foot Mercato’s Sebastien Denis. Porto forward Marega, who scored six goals in the Champions League last season, would be available for €30m (£26.7m). Marseille and West Ham are also interested, with the former already having made an enquiry for the player.

There’s nothing quite like poaching another team’s superstar to kickstart your day. I bet Daniel Levy has been thinking the same thing while going through his morning papers with a cup of black coffee on the side. And then it hit him: Marco Asensio. We all know good ol’ Levy rarely breaks the bank but when he wants something done – it gets done, and if the reports coming from El Chiringuito TV are true, Spurs are coming for Asensio. Hold onto your seatbelts ’cause this is a big one.

Asensio is one of those players that was destined to have it all. And surely it seemed like that at the very start of his career already: unimaginable talent, brilliant left foot, likened to Messi at 21 and making a name for himself at Real Madrid of all places. You cannot really dream of a better start than that one. But, as it so often does, things started stagnating and slowly falling off for the Spanish protegee. It’s still not certain whether it was the club, the system, the coach or something else, but it’s starting to look more apparent each and every day – Asensio is being wasted in the Spanish capital.

In come Spurs – a team on the rise with an outstanding coach at their helm and a season crowned with Europan success, regardless of the outcome of the Champions League final against Liverpool. In so many ways, Spurs need Asensio as much as Asensio needs Spurs. He would undoubtedly be a statement signing, a big-money prospect for the future with enough pedigree already on his back. But most importantly, he would soften the blow of potential departures, namely potentially Christian Eriksen’s, and could slot right into that vacant spot and the number 10 role.

Even if the Danish international stays at Tottenham, seeing how the club’s newfound ambition and project might tempt him to, Asensio would be the ideal player to give Spurs’ superstar a run for his money. You can never have enough of competition within your squad and this young gem would bring that and much more.

In so many ways, he is already a proven investment despite his age and current team status. We saw him shine numerous times before and all those superlatives were not thrown at him without reason. Mauricio Pochettino is well aware of that and he knows Asensio brings about that immediate improvement he seeks but also certain banking on the future. It’s a win-win scenario but the only thing potentially undermining it is Los Blancos, who might persist in pointing out that Asensio has a €700m release clause (roughly £616m) regardless of his £72.00m estimated value by Transfermarkt.

Still, we wouldn’t really bet against Daniel Levy in any transfer fight and I’m sure that Florentino Perez will be happy to listen to his offers, considering the fact Madrid have a big rebuild of their own to fund. After all, there are ways they can both help each other and come out as winners.

Spurs fans, on a scale to 1-10, how excited are you about the Asensio rumours? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Charlton boss Lee Bowyer is still waiting on a new deal to keep him at The Valley beyond the end of the season, with his current contract one of many key names’ set to expire in the summer, despite having guided the Addicks to the play-off places and arguably only missed out on automatic promotion due to the departure of Karlan Grant, whom he was not given a replacement for, in January.

The excellent job that the 42-year-old has done amid difficult circumstances has caught the attention of currently-managerless QPR and he will surely be a wanted man in the coming months if Roland Duchatelet and co don’t pull their finger out.

Weekly, the former midfielder is asked for an update on negotiations and, despite insisting otherwise, his exasperation was evident in the pre-Gillingham press conference. Here’s what Bowyer had to say:

“I’ve not heard back since the last time so there’s nothing to report.

“It is what it is. I can’t control it. I think everybody knows me now, if it’s something I can’t control then it doesn’t really affect me that much because there’s no point worrying about it. Like I said I’m sure that he will come back to me with something and then we’ll go from there.”

Check out what happened when two of Charlton’s best players faced-off in a game of ‘Splat’ in the video below…

The Addicks chief remains confident that he will put pen to paper on a new deal but is clearly powerless in the situation, like so many of his players, whose futures at SE7 are also uncertain. One assumes that others will follow once Bowyer’s contract is sorted, although how long until the likes of Joe Aribo and Patrick Bauer sit down for talks is unclear, while their boss is being strung along.

فاز ليستر سيتي الإنجليزي على نظيره سبورتينج براجا البرتغالي برباعية نظيفة، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما مساء الخميس على ملعب “كينج باور ستاديوم”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من دور المجموعات لمباريات الدوري الأوروبي.

شوط المباراة الأول انتهى بتقدم الثعالب بهدف نظيف سجّله النيجيري كيليتشي إيهيناتشو في الدقيقة 20.

وفي الشوط الثاني من المباراة عاد إيهيناتشو من جديد لهز شباك براجا بالهدف الثاني له والثاني لفريقه في الدقيقة 47.

وفي الدقيقة 67 أحرز دينيس برايت الهدف الثالث لـ ليستر سيتي، واختتم جيمس ماديسون مهرجان الأهداف للثعالب في الدقيقة 78.

هذا الانتصار رفع رصيد ليستر سيتي للنقطة التاسعة محققًا فوزه الثالث تواليًا، ليتصدر مجموعته، فيما توقف رصيد براجا عند ست نقاط بالمركز الثاني.