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For a long time, Arsenal had a reputation for being frankly rubbish at selling their star players, and in all fairness, it wasn’t entirely unwarranted.

For example, superstars like Mesut Özil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had to be forced out of the club after signing mega-money deals and the sensational Alexis Sanchez was moved on in a swap deal that saw Henrikh Mkhitaryan come to North London.

However, in recent years, Mikel Arteta and Edu Gaspar have slowly turned the Gunners into a club that can, and often does, get significant fees for their stars and unwanted players.

In fact, the pair have overseen some big sales in the last couple of years, including a frustrating player who netted the club a much larger fee than Granit Xhaka did.

Arsenal's recent notable sales

So, starting with the Swiss international’s sale to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2023, the Gunners earned a cool £21.4m.

Now, that might not seem like a massive sum of money for a player that was so important to Arteta’s side, but at the time, he had just a year left on his deal, was 30 years old, and by all accounts, the manager wanted to give him the chance to take on a new challenge after spending six incredibly intense seasons in North London.

However, while the tenacious midfielder’s exit was a big one that summer, it wasn’t the most profitable, as a month later, the club announced the sale of American academy graduate Folarin Balogun, who joined Ligue 1 outfit AS Monaco for a fee in the region of £35m, which for a player who had made just ten appearances for the club was seriously sizable.

The club continued to pick up hefty fees for fringe players this summer as well, with Aaron Ramsdale joining Southampton for a fee that could reach £25m, while Emile Smith Rowe joined Fulham in a deal that could see the North Londoners earn up to £34m, which is seriously impressive considering the minuscule amount of minutes he received last season.

However, while both these sales are impressive, Arteta and Edu oversaw another significant exit this summer that was arguably the most remarkable sale of them all.

Market Movers

Football FanCast's Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club's star player or biggest flop worth today?

Eddie Nketiah's Arsenal exit

Yes, the player in question is Eddie Nketiah, who finally left Arsenal this summer after joining the club as a 14-year-old.

The talented “beast”, as dubbed by Arteta, endured a mixed career in North London, as while he showed glimpses of real quality here and there, he was ultimately more frustrating than anything else, and despite earning a new £100k-per-week contract and the number 14 shirt in the summer of 2022, he couldn’t establish himself as a regular starter.

For example, despite stepping up in the latter half of the 21/22 campaign, scoring ten goals and providing one assist in 27 appearances, he could only muster an underwhelming tally of 38 goals and seven assists in 168 first-team appearances across his entire career in North London.

That means that the once-capped Englishman averaged a goal involvement every 3.73 games for the Gunners, and while that certainly isn’t abysmal, it is nowhere near good enough to lead the line for a club looking to win the Premier League title.

So it felt more like when and not if he would be sold, but given his lack of form and game time over the last couple of seasons, there was concern that he wouldn’t bring in much of a fee, a concern that proved wrong.

In the dying embers of the transfer window this summer, and following multiple failed moves to Marseille and Nottingham Forest, Edu and Co finally got the fee they were after when Crystal Palace agreed to pay up to £30m for the 25-year-old forward, which is a seriously impressive fee considering the far more important Xhaka was sold for just £21.4m just a year prior.

Ultimately, Nketiah’s sale this summer worked out for everyone, as Arsenal got a sizable sum for a player who wasn’t good enough to play for them, Palace got a striker with Premier League experience, and the player himself has the chance to establish himself as a starting striker for a first-tier club.

£32m star's Arsenal career looks done & dusted after Shakhtar

The talented international looks a long way from the Arsenal first team.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Oct 23, 2024

Looking to steal the headlines, Nottingham Forest could now swoop in ahead of Premier League rivals Arsenal to sign a Champions League player valued at a hefty £50m in 2025.

Nottingham Forest transfer news

Forest aren’t shy when it comes to welcoming reinforcements, especially since returning to the Premier League in 2022. They were of course busy once again in this year’s summer transfer window, welcoming the likes of Elliot Anderson and Jota Silva before reaping the rewards ever since. With Crystal Palace awaiting Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on their return to league action, Forest have the chance to extend an excellent start – which has seen them lose just once – to eight games.

On current form, those at the City Ground are on course to cause a fair few shocks in the current campaign and perhaps even mount a shock charge for the European places in what would be one of the stories of the season. If that does prove to be the case, then a summer switch to the Midlands club suddenly becomes all the more attractive.

Nottingham Forest battling to sign "physical" £8.5m ace compared to Awoniyi

He’s still just 18 years old.

By
Tom Cunningham

Oct 18, 2024

According to Caught Offside, Nottingham Forest could now swoop in to sign Jamie Bynoe-Gittens ahead of Arsenal in 2025 in what would instantly steal the spotlight. Forest have sent scouts in recent times, however, any move appears ambitious with Dortmund having no intention of selling Bynoe-Gittens.

The young winger reportedly has a price tag of €60m (£50m), which would see Forest break their transfer record set by the £35m arrival of Anderson in the summer.

Splashing the cash to sign a talent would certainly prove worthwhile, however. There’s a reason why Arsenal reportedly sent their scouts to watch the Dortmund winger, with Forest doing the same amid his excellent start to the season. A Manchester City academy graduate, Bynoe-Gittens may have some unfinished business in the Premier League.

"Dangerous" Bynoe-Gittens could take Forest up a level

A Champions League ace, there’s no doubt that Bynoe-Gittens could make quite the impact for Forest on the pitch, but his move would also leave its mark away from the action. It would represent significant progress at the City Ground. From promotion and the threat of relegation, Forest could seal a mid-table finish in the current campaign before signing one of the Bundesliga’s most promising stars to send quite the statement.

On paper, the combination of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga and Bynoe-Gittens is a mouth-watering prospect that Espirito Santo would be tasked with making work on the pitch.

Rising to stardom at Dortmund, the winger earned the praise of former teammate Niclas Fullkrug, who said via the Bundesliga’s official website: “He still has room for improvement in his decision-making, but he is always dangerous for the opponent. We know that we don’t have to support him in one-on-one situations. It’s worth its weight in gold to have a player like that in the team and we’ll be happy if he continues like this.”

With four goals and three assists to his name in just 10 appearances so far this season, Bynoe-Gittens is only just getting started.

James Maddison appeared to fire back at Roy Keane's criticism as he celebrated scoring Tottenham's winning goal against Manchester United.

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• Maddison hit back at Keane
• United legend criticised the Spurs star
• Postecoglou came to Maddison's defence

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The England international scored the first and the only goal of the match in the 13th minute following a mistake from Andre Onana. After breaking the deadlock, Maddison performed a new version of his famous 'Darts Celebration' as he looked down on a TV camera, made a gesture with his hand in a position to throw a dart and then made a shushing gesture with his finger on his lips. It was seen as a response to criticism from Roy Keane, who had said on , brought to you by : "We saw Maddison at Tamworth, he was taken off. Tamworth are non-league. People say Maddison’s the man. When is he going to step up to the plate? He got relegated with Leicester and he’ll get relegated with Spurs. Maddison isn’t bad when he’s not at the darts, but let me tell you, if you think he’s going to come back and get Spurs into the top six, you’re in cuckoo land.

  "He’s good, he’s a talented player. But if you’re a player in the Spurs dressing room and Maddison’s back in the squad, you wouldn’t be looking and going 'oh Jesus – he’s back today. We’re going to be fine'. England have a squad of 300 and he can’t even get in that. You kid yourselves everybody."

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• WHAT JAMES MADDISON SAID

  Speaking to after the match, the Spurs hero said when asked about the meaning behind his celebration: "I've always been a goalscoring midfielder. That's why Spurs brought me to the club. I'm there to be that creative outlet and score goals. There was a little bit of outside noise this week. People will have their opinions. Nobody is more critical of me than myself. The gaffer prefers when we are in our own bubble but it's difficult with social media, you see this stuff."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou also shared his opinion on Keane's criticism as he added: "Everyone has mentioned his celebration. It doesn't surprise me that Madders didn't accept what was said about him and shot back. He's a quality player and if you look at his goal return this season it is quality."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR TOTTENHAM?

  The Lilywhites will be back in action next Saturday in the Premier League as they take on Ipswich Town away from home.

Oh, how sweet victory is. Liverpool turned it around against Brighton & Hove Albion to reclaim the top spot in the Premier League, with Manchester City defeated against Bournemouth on the South Coast at the same time.

An abysmal first half was forgotten about beyond the hour mark, with Liverpool rallying through Cody Gakpo’s somewhat fortuitous opener, cancelling out Ferdi Kadioglu’s fine strike from the opening phase.

Who else but Mohamed Salah? The Reds had tasted blood and, moments after restoring parity, broke the Brighton barrier to send Arne Slot to the top of the division.

Mohamed Salah's done it again

It was a sumptuous strike. Trademark Mo’. The contractual uncertainties engulfing Anfield at the moment have failed to knock Slot’s newly-crafted Liverpool system off-kilter, with Salah performing at a frankly incredible level this season.

The 32-year-old has now scored nine goals and provided seven assists across 15 matches in all competitions this season, proving once again that he is one of the best players in the world and that his absence from the Ballon d’Or top 30 was nothing short of farcical.

He was invariably dangerous from the right, admittedly sluggish early on but growing with his squad after the break, missing a glorious opportunity to make it 1-1 before indeed making amends with his special, special strike.

He came up with the goods yet again, and if Liverpool do find themselves in title contention at the business end of the campaign, Slot and the supporters will owe much to the Egyptian and will need to call upon his potency to get over the line ahead of the likes of City and Arsenal.

Liverpool won’t always be able to turn things around, however – faltering from this quality was the crux of the demise under Jurgen Klopp last term.

The likes of Alexis Mac Allister need to step up their game, and in the Argentine’s case, must be dropped for the next match.

Alexis Mac Allister must now be dropped

Against the Seagulls, he flattered to deceive. Mac Allister was hooked after 66 minutes, having failed to take control of the midfield battle. He lost six duels and ceded possession 15 times, as per Sofascore, finishing with only a 74% pass success rate despite failing to create a single key pass.

The Liverpool Echo’s Ian Doyle handed the South American a 5/10 match rating, though did note that an early knock might have hampered his performance.

The reporter said: ‘Clobbered early on and appeared hampered for much of first half in which he could barely do anything right. Improved a bit second half and forced Verbruggen into save. Booked and subbed.’

He’s regressed across every department, from a statistical standpoint at least, and though Mac Allister brings a mix of control, combativeness and culture to Liverpool’s midfield that’s not so easily defined through metrics, it’s rather patent that he’s struggling to reach the same heights at the moment.

Ryan Gravenberch has been a revelation this season but he’s simply not a defensive midfielder in the typical sense of the word. Instead, the press-resistant, fluid-passing Dutchman operates in a dynamic deep-sat role.

As such, Mac Allister will need to be more consistent in his defensive work while channelling play forward with greater regularity too. The 25-year-old looked exhausted against his former club and questions need to be raised about the amount of football he’s been playing for club and country over the past few years.

Luckily, Liverpool have the likes of Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo who can step in when needed. Both stars made a positive impression off the bench today, and both operate in wildly different midfield parameters.

Mac Allister needs to be dropped, allowed to recuperate. He’s not quite fallen by the wayside, but he’s certainly hanging on after a tiring start to his season.

Liverpool want "electric" £33m star who could become Firmino 2.0

Liverpool have never replaced the Brazilian since his exit from Anfield.

By
Joe Nuttall

Nov 1, 2024

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has been asked about the possibility of Neymar coming back to the club ahead of their Champions League tie with Benfica.

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• Flick opened up on Neymar transfer links
• Brazilian tipped to reunite with Catalan club
• Barca face Benfica in UCL on Wednesday

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Neymar mutually terminated his contract with Al-Hilal, six months before it was to expire, to return to his homeland and sign for boyhood club Santos. He has joined the Brazilian giants on a short-term deal but has also been linked with a move back to Europe in the summer. The forward is said to be keen on a 'Last Dance' with the Catalans ahead of World Cup 2026.

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• WHAT HANSI FLICK SAID

  Speaking to reporters, the Blaugrana boss said: "The possibility of Neymar joining Barça does not concern me. I am focused on the team and we have a lot of work to do until the end of the season. This is the work of other people at the club."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Neymar is off to a dream start in Brazil as he has already scored three goals and provided as many assists in seven matches across all competitions. Santos have already expressed their desire to retain the star attacker's services beyond this season as their president wants to keep the player at the club at least until the 2026 World Cup in North America.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

  The Catalan giants will be back in action on Wednesday when they take on Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 fixture.

Nottingham Forest dropped out of the top four in the Premier League on Sunday after they were beaten 3-1 by Newcastle United at the City Ground.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side did take the lead in the match, though, as Murillo powered a header in from Anthony Elanga’s set-piece on the right flank in the 22nd minute.

However, goals from Alexander Isak, Joelinton, and Harvey Barnes in the second half secured all three points for Eddie Howe’s side ahead of the last international break of the year.

There were a number of underwhelming performers on the pitch for the Tricky Trees and Matz Sels ended the match with a save success rate of just 50%.

Matz Sels' performance against Newcastle

The Belgian titan, who had 34 touches of the ball, may have only saved three of the six shots against him in the match, but it was not a dreadful showing from the shot-stopper by any means.

There was nothing he could have done to stop the equaliser from Isak at the start of the second half, as the Swedish marksman lashed a shot in off the post from close range.

Similarly, Sels could do little to stop Joelinton from putting the Magpies 2-1 up. The Brazil international fired in a left-footed shot off the post and in from the edge of the box.

You could, however, question his reactions for the third goal. Barnes reverses his shot into the near post and Sels is too slow to stick a leg out to the shot and it squirms past his boot, putting the game to bed.

There was a player whose performance was disappointing, though, and that was winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, who let Santo down with his showing.

Callum Hudson-Odoi's performance in numbers

The former Chelsea forward came into this match off the back of two impressive performances against West Ham United and Leicester City, providing five key passes, completing six dribbles, and scoring one goal.

Hudson-Odoi, who won ten of his 12 duels against the Foxes, started on the left flank against Newcastle on Sunday and failed to continue his fine run of form.

Unfortunately, the 24-year-old whiz was unable to provide any spark or creativity on the wing, whilst he had fewer touches than his goalkeeper Sels – with just 26.

As you can see in the table above, Hudson-Odoi was a lightweight out of possession for Nottingham Forest, losing 100% of his physical contests.

The English attacker also ended his time on the pitch with zero shots and zero chances created for his team. In fact, his error that directly led to a shot for Newcastle meant that he, essentially, created more chances for the Magpies than he did for Forest.

Therefore, the left winger let Nuno down with his poor showing in and out of possession and the manager will be hoping that his electric whiz can return to his best after the international break, as his previous two performances were mightily impressive in comparison.

Transfer expert drops Nottingham Forest update on links to Bayern Munich gem

Graeme Bailey has been speaking about the Tricky Trees’ transfer business.

By
Dominic Lund

Nov 10, 2024

The popular social media star scored the winning penalty in thrilling shootout at Wembley Stadium after 18-goal spectacle.

• IShowSpeed converts crucial penalty to win the match
• YouTube AllStars triumph 5-4 on penalties after 9-9 draw
• Over $6.1 million raised for charity in star-studded event

• AFP
  

  WHAT HAPPENED

  In a thrilling conclusion to the Sidemen Charity Match 2025, IShowSpeed stepped up to take the decisive penalty, securing a 5-4 shootout victory for the YouTube AllStars against Sidemen FC. The 2025 edition of the Sideman Charity game was played in London with over 90,000 fans watching on. The match, which ended 9-9 after 90 minutes of play, saw Speed convert the winning spot-kick in front of the packed Wembley.

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The 2025 Sidemen Charity Match was the biggest yet, selling out the 90,000-capacity Wembley Stadium and raising over $6.1 million for charity. The event showcased the immense popularity of content creators and their ability to draw massive crowds for a good cause. The match featured a star-studded lineup of YouTubers and streamers in arguably the biggest crossover football event of the year.

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  WHAT’S NEXT?

  Following the success of the 2025 event, anticipation will be high for the next Sidemen Charity Match. The organizers will likely look to build on this year's achievements, potentially exploring new venues or expanding the format to involve even more popular content creators. The 2023 edition was played at the London Stadium and given the success of the 2025 event, Wembley might become a staple for the charity match in the future.

Rasmus Hojlund shared his reaction on social media after finally ending 21-game goal drought with a strike against Leicester City.

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• Hojlund ended 21-game goal drought
• Scored the opener in Man Utd's win over Leicester
• Posted his reaction on Instagram

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Danish forward opened the scoring in the 28th minute before Alejandro Garnaco and Bruno Fernandes scored a goal each as Manchester United thrashed Leicester City 3-0 at King Power Stadium on Sunday. It was only Hojlund's third goal in the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, with his last strike coming against Nottingham Forest on December 7. After ending his 21-game goal drought, the United star shared an honest reaction on social media.

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• WHAT RASMUS HOJLUND SAID

  Taking to Instagram, the 22-year-old posted a photograph of him celebrating his strike and wrote in the caption: "Yeah okay, might say I enjoyed that one."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Hojlund will now aim to build on his performance against the Foxes and continue scoring in the international break as Denmark take on Portugal in a two-legged Nations League quarter-final fixture. Despite the striker's poor form in the current season, he was named in Brian Riemer's squad for the upcoming national team games.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Ruben Amorim's side will be back in action next month as they take on Nottingham Forest in a difficult Premier League away fixture on April 1.

Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers was able to splash the cash in the recent summer transfer window to bolster his options across the pitch.

The board spent a club-record fee of £11m to sign Augsburg central midfielder Arne Engels in what was the biggest incoming deal of the window in Scotland.

Ireland international Adam Idah was also brought in for a fee that could rise to £9.5m, with an initial fee of £8.5m, from Norwich City, to bolster the club’s attacking options.

The 6 foot 3 marksman scored eight goals in 15 Scottish Premiership matches last term, during a loan spell at Parkhead, and has scored four goals in nine league outings in the current campaign.

Celtic also swooped to sign the likes of Luke McCowan, Auston Trusty, and Kasper Schmeichel, among others, to give the manager the best possible chance of success this season.

However, the Northern Irish boss’ side was dealt a huge blow when central midfielder Matt O’Riley, who starred for the Hoops last term, was sold to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

Matt O'Riley's form for Celtic last season

The Denmark international ran the show in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants in the 2023/24 campaign and his move down south left a hole in the midfield.

O’Riley, who was signed by Ange Postecoglou in the 2022 January transfer window, caught the eye with his ability to make a big impact in the final third as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the Bhoys.

He ended the season with a phenomenal return of 18 goals and 13 assists in the Premiership, as well as three assists in six outings in the group stage of the Champions League.

As you can see in the table above, no player in the Celtic squad made a bigger impact at the top end of the pitch for Rodgers than the former Fulham prospect, who excelled as the main man in Glasgow.

This illustrates why his exit was a blow and shows that the Hoops needed to find goals and assists from elsewhere to make up for the contributions he provided.

Callum McGregor has stepped up with five goals in ten league appearances but it remains to be seen whether or not he can keep up that level of goalscoring, whilst Arne Engels is yet to score from open play in the league and Reo Hatate has scored three times without providing an assist.

Rodgers could, however, sign his next O’Riley by swooping for one of the club’s reported transfer targets when the January transfer window opens for business.

Celtic's interest in Championship star

The Boot Room recently reported that Celtic are one of a number of teams interested in a possible swoop for Burnley central midfielder Josh Brownhill.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

His contract with the English Championship side is due to expire at the end of the season and this has put a host of sides on alert to his potential availability in the January transfer window.

The report claimed that the Hoops and Rangers are keen on a deal to snap up the midfielder, who could be a bargain signing with his contract running down, but added that they may not be able to compete with the wages on offer from some of the other clubs in the running.

Premier League sides West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Fulham are all said to be eyeing him up ahead of the second half of the season, whilst teams from abroad have also registered an interest.

The Boot Room reported that Lazio, Fiorentina, and Torino are all prepared to put contracts on the table for him when the January window opens, as he will be available to sign a pre-contract before joining on a free next summer.

Teams in England are not able to do that, given he currently plays in the country, until the end of the season, though, and that provides Celtic, Rangers, and the three Italian sides, with a boost in that respect.

Why Celtic should sign Josh Brownhill

Rodgers must, now, push for the board to strike a bargain deal to sign the 28-year-old midfielder as he could come in as the manager’s next version of O’Riley in the middle of the park.

Brownhill, who was once hailed as “fabulous” by pundit Lee Hendrie, is a technically-gifted midfielder who likes to push forward into the final third to make things happen for his side on a regular basis.

A return of four goals and two assists in 33 Premier League games last season shows that the Englishman is not quite up to the task of producing consistent quality at the top level, but his form in the Championship suggests that the potential is there for him to be a Premiership star.

O’Riley was playing in League One, with MK Dons, before his move to Parkhead and Brownhill has already proven himself as a quality player in the division above that.

As you can see in the table above, the Burnley star has made an impact as both a scorer and a creator for the Clarets at Championship level in his last two seasons in the league.

His return of 12 goals with only four ‘big chances’ missed shows that he is incredibly efficient in front of goal and could, therefore, thrive in a Celtic team that dominates games and creates plenty of chances in the Premiership.

This means that Brownhill could arrive at Parkhead and increase his output of goals and assists by being part of a dominant and impressive attack, that has scored 35 goals from 35.7 xG in the league this season already.

86% duels lost: Rodgers must drop Celtic player who was worse than Hatate

The Celtic player who must now be in danger of losing his place in the starting XI.

4

By
Dan Emery

Nov 24, 2024

Therefore, the 28-year-old star could be Rodgers’ next O’Riley by coming in as a midfielder who can contribute with goals and assists on a regular basis from open play.

England boss Thomas Tuchel has sent a warning Jude Bellingham and revealed he wants 'even more impact' from the Real Madrid midfielder.

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• Tuchel's warning to Bellingham
• Demands more impact from Madrid star
• England face Latvia on Monday

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bellingham contributed with an assist for Myles Lewis-Skelly's opening goal during England's 2-0 win over Albania earlier this week. The Real Madrid star also came close to scoring a goal in the game in an impressive showing but Tuchel still had some advice for Bellingham and a warning about his style of play.

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• WHAT THOMAS TUCHEL SAID

  Speaking to reporters, the German coach said: "He is always ready to give everything but we need to help him so that within a structure he can play more economically and still have the same impact, or maybe even more impact. We need to make sure that the leaders, and he is one of the leaders, and the main players, walk in the same direction and play in the same rhythm and help each other out. And play a little more disciplined maybe, to save some energy for the decisive moments."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The former Chelsea boss also heaped praise on the 21-year-old, as he added: "He loves to talk to the referee and the linesmen. He’s a very emotional player once he’s on the pitch and you just see that he hates to lose and does everything that it takes. He expresses himself.

  "You see the hunger and the desire to win. I think he will keep this hunger and learn to channel the emotions a little bit. That’s never a problem. It’s good to have him as he is. We will try to make the most out of it because he is a key player."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND?

  England will play their second World Cup qualifying game on Monday as they host Latvia at Wembley Stadium.