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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…

It seems as though Leeds United won’t be doing much in the January transfer window.

Victor Orta himself has predicted a quiet winter window for the Whites, and we know that United are heavily constrained by FFP rules.

However, Phil Hay has outlined one issue that could see United dip into the transfer market once the new year rolls around.

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What’s been said then?

Hay was answering fans in a Q&A session with The Athletic, and understandably, a question came up around Leeds’ potential activity in January.

“I’ve been saying for a while that I didn’t expect January to be busy and Victor Orta was saying much the same last week. He described January as difficult (which it can be) but it’s no secret either that financially, Leeds don’t have a huge amount of freedom to spend.

“The one issue here is Nketiah – will he stay or will Arsenal choose to recall him? He hasn’t played much and he’s missing a few weeks now through injury. If he was to leave, I’d absolutely expect Leeds to search for a replacement.”

Concerning and exciting

This update is as concerning as it is exciting.

Of course, the prospect of a new signing is refreshing for any supporter, but the fact that Hay isn’t ruling out the possibility of Nketiah being recalled is rather alarming.

The Arsenal loanee is Leeds’ joint-top goalscorer this season, and if they were to lose him they could live to regret it as he’s shown a great goalscoring pedigree in his limited appearances for the Whites.

If the 20-year-old is recalled United will have to be savvy in the transfer market to replace him effectively, something that they may struggle to do.

Nketiah is a natural goalscorer and simply plucking someone out of thin air will be a big challenge, especially in January when it’s notoriously tough to complete deals.

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…

Sheffield Wednesday’s latest situation has drawn comment from one of Sky Sports’ Championship pundits as Don Goodman feels sorry for manager Garry Monk as he believes they have, or at least had, genuine playoff ambitions.

What’s he said?

Late last week, the EFL charged the Owls for financial misconduct over the £60m sale of Hillsborough stadium to owner Dejphon Chansiri.

It is something that the club intends to contest at the earliest opportunity, although one football finance expert has claimed that Wednesday are in line to face a 12-point deduction at the very least.

No penalty has yet been confirmed.

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Speaking on Sky Sports’ EFL Podcast this week, Goodman said:

“How unlucky can you be if you’re Garry Monk?

“It seems to have been a blatant disregard of the rules and that’s why they may well be hit very hard.

“You’ve got to feel for Garry Monk, you’ve got to feel for the fans.

“With Sheffield Wednesday, this season represents a wonderful opportunity for so many clubs that haven’t been around that area for quite some time and they are one of them.

“They have genuine playoff ability within that squad and Garry Monk, so any kind of points deduction is really going to hit them, you feel.”

Trouble follows Monk

It is not the first time that Monk has had to face such a situation.

During his reign at Birmingham City last season, the Midlands club were slashed with a nine-point deduction in March, which had them teetering around the relegation zone after having a somewhat decent season beforehand.

If anything that comes as a positive to the Owls as their chief in command has been through it all before, but as Goodman says, how unlucky do you have to be to face such circumstances in back-to-back seasons.

This is going to effectively end their promotion ambitions if the repercussions come into effect soon as they will go from being three points outside the playoff zone to on the border of the relegation zone overnight.

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

Liverpool will play Crystal Palace this weekend as they look to consolidate their place at the top of the Premier League table. Fabinho’s midfield battle with Luka Milivojevic could set the tone for the match.

On the chalkboard

The Reds have started the season in fantastic fashion. They currently lead the way in England’s top tier, and are eight points clear of Leicester City and Chelsea. Manchester City, the current back-to-back champions, are a further point behind in fourth.

They will travel to Selhurst Park to face Palace this weekend. The Eagles started the season well, losing just two of their first eight league games, but they have since dropped down to 12th in the table. Still, the visit of Jurgen Klopp and co should galvanise them, and one midfield battle could play a big part in the final result.

Midfield metronome vs midfield enforcer

So far this season, Roy Hodgson has regularly used five midfielders in the middle of the park, whether that be in a flat 4-5-1 formation or as part of a 4-1-4-1 set-up. Milivojevic has played all but one match, and he has been one of the best players for his team. His 6.85 WhoScored rating places him at number four amongst his teammates.

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Liverpool’s Fabinho has also been in impressive form for the Reds this season. He scored a thunderbolt against City in his last match before the international break, and he has made the defensive midfield position his own, playing 17 matches there already. Although he has impressed defensively – he has 2.4 tackles per match in the league, which is more than any of his teammates – he has also had a role to play going forward.

His 59.5 passes per match is the most amongst his teammates in central midfield, while his 4.4 long balls per match has only been beaten by Adrian and Trent Alexander-Arnold. Once again, in terms of key passes, he leads the way amongst the midfielders, with 1.2 per match. In that position, he has become the team’s metronome.

It will be the Palace 28-year-old’s job to make sure the Brazil international does not exert too much influence on the game, whilst also trying to provide at the other end. He has impressed defensively so far, averaging 2.4 tackles per game, whilst he also has 2.2 interceptions. As part of that midfield five, he has helped contribute to a sturdy Palace defensive set-up that has conceded less than 12 other teams in the top division, including Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham.

If he is able to prevail over Fabinho in their duels, he will then look to move the ball on quickly to the likes of Wilfried Zaha. With a team-leading 1.4 key passes per match, the Serbia international has the ability to cause Liverpool problems.

Fabinho has been imposing this term, and there is no reason why he can’t continue that on Saturday. But he must be wary of £18m-valued Milivojevic and if he allows himself to be overpowered, that could work to Palace’s advantage.

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…

Wolverhampton Wanderers are the benchmark for any newly promoted teams, at least that’s what Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder believes ahead of the two meeting in the Premier League for the first time ever.

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What’s he said?

The west Midlanders only won the Championship title in 2018 but have since gone onto finish in a club-high seventh place, which resulted in European qualification for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Now they appear to be going one better this term as they have one foot in the Europa League knockout stages while also currently grasping a top-five berth in the league.

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Sheffield United finished runners-up to Norwich City last season and are hoping to emulate the success of the Molineux-based club.

Ahead of this weekend’s fixture, Wilder spoke to Sky Sports and said:

“It’s going to be as tough as they get against Wolves who are obviously a fantastic side. It’d be fantastic to follow in their footsteps of coming out the Championship and doing well in the Premier League.

“We’re in good nick but we know we’ve got all on to get a result against, as I said, an outstanding team and an outstanding manager.

“They’re a team that we know very, very well, obviously playing against them during our time in the Championship.

“They’ve evolved and moved forward, and it’s a great example for a club like Sheffield United if it’s done properly and where you can get to.”

Benchmark

The glowing praise handed to Wolves by the Blades manager only goes to show how far the club have come under the leadership of owners Fosun, and the stewardship of Nuno Santo and his management staff.

In the space of just a couple of years, Wolves have gone from midtable straddlers with players like Danny Batth and James Henry in their ranks to a side that are on the cusp of repeating European exploits for a second successive season with players such as Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves, who have international titles to their name.

Therefore, Wilder’s comments are quite right, any team promoted from the second-flight is going to look up to the west Midlands club and want to follow suit.

Wolves defeated United last time the two teams met in the Championship nearly two years ago before Nuno’s side sailed to the title.

Meanwhile, one Wolves man is failing to impress whilst out on loan this season, might his future at Molineux be wearing thin?

Southampton football club has been a conveyor belt for talent for as long as I can remember, whether it through their academy, or players that they simply have nurtured and then historically sold on to the bigger clubs in England.

It must be incredibly frustrating being a Saints fan seeing the likes of Bale, Walcott, Lallana and Oxlade-Chamberlain, to name a few, spend a few years being developed only to be sold off when the big money comes calling. On top of that, the likes of Mane and Van Dijk – arguably two of the best players in the Premier League right now – all had their grounding in English football at St Marys.

What a team they could have had but money talks, unfortunately.

We have compiled a quiz this Easter Weekend to see how much Saints fans know and remember about their famous academy graduates? Was Oxlade-Chamberlain considered a bigger talent than Bale coming through the ranks?

It’s fair to say Luis Suarez’s relationship with Liverpool has gone sour since his Anfield exit.

The Uruguay international enjoyed a stellar few years on Merseyside, scoring an impressive 82 goals in just 133 games, and providing a further 47 assists too.

But after a failed move to fellow Premier League side Arsenal back in the summer of 2013, Suarez ended up leaving Liverpool just a year later.

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And during a reunion with the Reds in the Champions League semi-finals last season whilst playing for Barcelona, it was clear that there was no love lost between the Liverpool fans and the striker.

One particular moment in the first-leg of the clash saw Suarez run past Andy Robertson, laughing in his face after Lionel Messi’s free-kick. And after the footage was posted on Twitter, Reds fans flooded the replies section to discuss their former star.

Some Liverpool fans just reveled in the fact that Suarez’s mocking came back to bite him.

The Anfield miracle in the second leg certainly taught Suarez a lesson about celebrating too soon.

The Uruguayan has always appeared to be a bit of a maverick, and he clearly felt he had the perfect opportunity to rub salt into the wound after Messi had made it 3-0.

But as fate would have it, the Reds would turn things around, and it’d be Jurgen Klopp’s side who would enjoy the last laugh.

Meanwhile, Jamie Carragher has given his verdict on this Liverpool starlet.

ChronicleLive reporter Lee Ryder has fired blame at outgoing Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley for the contract situation surrounding talented young midfielder Matty Longstaff.

The 20-year-old is out of contract this summer and it appears as if there has been no hint over a possible extension with the Sports Direct mogul firmly set on finally leaving the Magpies after a tumultuous 13 years at the helm.

Speaking to the ‘Everything is Black and White’ podcast earlier this week, Ryder said:

“He is weeks away from walking away from Newcastle United after scoring the winner against Manchester United on his debut.

“He could have gone on loan to League Two – he ended up playing Premier League football.

“For him to not even be around the table now seems really controversial. It’s the stubbornness of Mike Ashley not wanting to pay the going rate.

“Just because he is a local lad, it does not mean he should have to play for less.”

It’s clearly a precarious situation as the club could soon lose one of the most promising academy graduates for free, all because Ashley is staying on brand with his terrible control of the club.

Longstaff has only featured 13 times this campaign but has clearly been earmarked for the future by current manager Steve Bruce, who waxed lyrical about him following his debut match-winner against Manchester United back in October.

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The Magpies boss labelled him “refreshing” and a “great kid,” and has recently made a public plea to him to stick around and be patient.

Although any news on the contract front is yet to come to fruition.

AND in other news, Newcastle fans fume over Jim White takeover claim…

Kevin Phillips has made a claim about Newcastle United striker Andy Carroll after The Athletic revealed that the representatives of himself, Javier Manquillo and Matty Longstaff have been contacted by Lee Charnley with regards to the possibility of extending their current contracts.

The former Sunderland ace told Football Insider that he expects Carroll to take a big pay cut if he wants to remain in the northeast after it was revealed that the Tyneside club want to extend the centre-forward’s deal.

However, Phillips insisted that Carroll can still be an asset to the team and also claimed that he has shown that in glimpses in this season so far. The 31-year old has been limited to just 14 games in all competitions, providing four assists, but us yet to get on the scoresheet himself, as per Transfermarkt.

Discussions are apparently underway despite the prospective £300m takeover of the Magpies still awaiting the final approval from the Premier League. All three players, including Carroll, are out of contract on the 30 June, but Phillips admitted that it is a gamble to hand him a new contract given his injury record down the years.

“There is a player there that loves the football club,” the ex-England international told Football Insider.

“The contract will not be near what he was on and he is a useful tool when you can keep him fit.

“He has showed in glimpses this season that he is a handful but you always run the risk of losing him for a period through injury. It is a slight gamble but one that I would be willing to take because he loves the football club.

“He does not mean to get injured and off the bench he is a useful player.”

Indeed, this is not the first spell that Carroll has had at St. James’ Park. The English international had played in 91 games previous to this campaign, where he scored 33 goals and made 21 assists in all competitions across five consecutive seasons, as per Transfermarkt.

Perhaps it is a “slight gamble” to sign Carroll up once again as Phillips suggests but, due to his associations with the Toon, it might be one that Newcastle indeed decide to take.

Geordies, does Carroll deserve a new deal at St James’ Park? Comment below with your views!

Despite looking on course to win the Premier League title very soon, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool will no doubt be looking to strengthen the team ahead of next season.

And according to Italian publication Il Sussidario, AS Roma could allow Nicolo Zaniolo to make a move to Anfield, should they also get Dejan Lovren in return.

Can you spot your Xabi Alonso from your Bruno Cheyrou? This Liverpool quiz will have you questioning your knowledge…

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The report claims that a player-plus-cash deal could be on the cards this summer, and that whilst Roma value Zaniolo highly, they recognise that it is unlikely they will receive their asking price for him considering the current circumstances.

As such, a proposal that sees Lovren head in the opposite direction in order to reduce the money needed to sign the Italy international may be more viable.

And after hearing about the update on their potential swoop for the Roma sensation, Liverpool fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

One Reds fan urged Michael Edwards to do his thing and get a deal done for Zaniolo, with the sporting director becoming the unsung hero of the club’s rise to success over the past few years with his very impressive recruitment.

Another Liverpool supporter suggested that Roma is becoming the club’s new Southampton – the Reds of course have already signed the likes of Mohamed Salah and Alisson from the Italian side in the past couple of seasons.

With six goals and two assists in 24 games across all competitions for Roma, Zaniolo has all the hallmarks of developing into a real goal-scoring midfielder.

A cruciate ligament rupture back in January means he may not be fully fit for another couple of months at least, but at just 20-years-old, has plenty of time to recover and get back to his best.

However, with Timo Werner rumoured to still be a target this summer, it remains to be seen whether the Reds will sanction a move for both the striker and Zaniolo.

Tottenham star Jan Vertonghen will not be short of suitors ahead of the transfer window, as another team have thrown their name into the mix. 

According to Fotomac, Galatasaray are targeting Vertonghen in the summer as they are looking for replacements for Christian Luyindama and Marcao.

The Tottenham defender will become a free agent in a matter of weeks, amid interest from Serie A sides Inter Milan and Fiorentina.

The Turkish newspaper, as relayed by Sport Witness, claims the Lions are scouting for alternatives.

Galatasaray are ready to offer Vertonghen’s representatives a two-year-contract, reportedly worth €2m per year, which roughly equates to £1.78m.

Although the Belgian was a favourite of former boss Mauricio Pochettino, featuring in over 200 games for the Argentine, his deal is set to expire at the end of June.

The Premier League announced last month that clubs are able to offer extensions to out-of-contract players as a result of the economic uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus crisis.

However, Mourinho decided to call off talks with Vertonghen’s agent, and it seems the Belgium international is ready to explore his options as a free agent.

After arriving at White Hart Lane from Ajax in 2012, the 33-year-old has formed a solid partnership with Toby Alderweireld, playing in more than 300 games for the Lilywhites, scoring fourteen goals and creating seven assists in all competitions.

The Evening Standard recently revealed he plans to remain loyal to Spurs and will at least finish this season as he will be unable to play for another club until next term.

As it stands, the Turkish side’s offer falls short of Vertonghen’s wage demands. The Times reported that Fiorentina have hit a stumbling block over his £3.5m-a-year wages.

Nevertheless, the veteran is in hot demand as the transfer window approaches.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should let Jan Vertonghen leave? Let us know down below!