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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 after his side’s 2-1 victory over rivals Manchester City, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has hailed the impact of Manchester United’s summer signings.

What did he say?

The Red Devils have enjoyed one of their finest weeks in recent memory, with a mid-week win over Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham, followed up by their derby-day triumph on Saturday.

In an impressive first-half performance, United raced to a 2-0 lead, and were perhaps unlucky not to have been out of sight in terms of the score-line. But having sealed the victory, Solskjaer took a moment to pay tribute to the club’s three summer arrivals: Daniel James, Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

He said (as quoted by the club’s official website): “Today is why we have signed these three players. They fit perfectly into the way I want to play football and how the club wants to play. They’re humble lads, hard working, great values. Aaron, he’s playing against Sterling out there, Mahrez out there, De Bruyne out there and they just couldn’t get past him.

“It’s a Man United performance in my mould. I love boys going forward. Of course there were times today where we didn’t keep the ball as well as we could have. But we’re improving all the time and the boys are getting experiences to remember. They’re young boys. Aaron today was again fantastic.”

Encouraging sign

Whilst United came under a lot of criticism for their transfer business in the summer – Paul Scholes infamously branded their decision to sell Romelu Lukaku to Inter a “mistake” – there can be no question that the three players who did arrive at Old Trafford have shown that they can have a long and promising future. James has scored three times and provided five assists, Wan-Bissaka is in the top five for most tackles made in the Premier League, and Maguire produced one of his best performances in a Red Devils shirt on Saturday with a mammoth ten clearances to his name.

A real test for any fan: Can you name all of these obscure Man Utd signings?

It means that perhaps the club can be trusted to buy very well in the transfer market, and with the January window coming up, it could well be very exciting times for United. A few more players who “fit perfectly” into what Solskjaer wants could be the key to them securing Champions League football for next season. They got their signings right in the summer, now it’s their chance to get it spot on again in the winter.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have lauded this ace for his immense display against Manchester City.

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…

West Ham United’s 4-0 loss at the hands of Oxford United was a complete humiliation that will likely live long in the memory.

Drawing Gillingham in the FA Cup will probably have brought up memories of that evening for many a Hammers fan, due to just how embarrassing a performance and result it was.

Lessons must be learned from that match if West Ham are to go on a cup run, but there is also no need to panic ahead of the club’s first match in England’s most prestigious domestic cup this season.

It would be easy to claim that Manuel Pellegrini should play the first-team to make sure his team progresses, but he can change things up by looking to the academy.

During that loss against Oxford, Nathan Holland was actually the only player from the U23s to step foot on the pitch – even he lasted less than an hour before being taken off.

The team facing Oxford was full of players who had been deemed not good enough to be starting in the league, with regressing players such as Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Sanchez on show.

This is not to say that the Hammers should play a team full of kids, but using some of those who are on an upward trajectory, alongside a select number of regulars, would be a much better way to go than a whole team of reserve players.

Many of the club’s youngsters, including Anthony Scully and Joe Powell have shown that they can perform against Football League opposition in the EFL Trophy.

The former scored twice in the win against Newport County, while Powell also scored in that game, as well as the loss against Exeter City.

Pellegrini should definitely take the FA Cup seriously, but this is also an opportunity to help talented players, from a team that hasn’t lost a league game all season, to step up to first-team football.

Meanwhile, West Ham fans have been reacting to being drawn against Gillingham.

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to drool over Vicente Guaita, after the Eagles uploaded a highlights reel of his best saves to their official Twitter account.The Spaniard – who joined the south Londoners on a free transfer in a deal completed by Sporting Director Dougie Freedman in 2018 – has been in exceptional form so far this season, keeping the second-most clean sheets in the division with six, one behind Leicester’s Kasper Schmeichel.Guaita has won points almost single-handedly for the Eagles this term, with one flying save from Matt Doherty’s header in the 1-1 draw against Wolves arguably the best of the bunch – the 32-year-old’s reflexes in that particular moment were outstanding.The glovesman’s efforts have helped Roy Hodgson’s side currently sit just seven points off the Champions League positions, while their backline is amongst the most sturdy in the division as the aforementioned clean sheet statistic reinforces.Having endured numerous seasons of watching Wayne Hennessey flap and flounder, seeing Guaita deliver such consistently brilliant performances has brought a real aura of confidence to Palace’s backline.

These three supporters wanted to shower the Spaniard with praise, but also pinpoint one major aspect of Guaita’s game as well – his excellent positioning.

One fan said that the No.31 always seems to work out where the opponent’s foot will connect with the ball and move to reduce the angle, while another said that Guaita reminds them of the legendary Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

These two supporters continued the Guaita love-in with some more complimentary tweets.

One said that a chant is needed for the shot-stopper following his heroics in between the sticks, whereas another said that Guaita is “world class in the making and can only get better”.

Lastly, this fan echoed our aforementioned point about the phenomenal reflex save against Wolves, mentioning that the save is right up there with Guaita’s fingertip stop to deny Jamie Vardy against Leicester last season which can be seen in the video posted by Palace.

In other news, these Crystal Palace fans have been discussing a report revealing that a player is being lined up for when Wilfried Zaha eventually leaves…

Having started the campaign in fine fettle with two goals and an assist in Manchester United’s first three Premier League games of the season, Anthony Martial endured some wretched luck by suffering a hamstring injury.

It kept him out for the best part of a couple of months, and having returned in the 1-1 draw against Liverpool, he has been given the number nine role by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But whilst he has shown flashes of what he can do since his injury comeback – his goal against Partizan Belgrade at Old Trafford was something special – he has struggled to find consistency in front of goal.

Watch Manchester United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

He has found the back of the net just once in his last six games in the top-flight, and he drew yet another blank against Everton on Sunday afternoon. And as per Sofascore, he produced a virtually anonymous display, not having a single shot on target, and winning just three of his eight total duels. After watching his performance, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their frustrations with the France international.

A few fans were very critical of his laziness, claiming that his work-rate isn’t up to scratch, with one supporter in particular also taking aim at his poor attitude.

Consistency appears to be the big question mark surrounding Martial, and on the evidence of his performance against Everton, it’s something that is still significantly plaguing him. With the emergence of Mason Greenwood – scorer of the equaliser against the Toffees from off the bench – the Frenchman has more competition for his place up front now.

Meanwhile, Manchester United fans have slammed this star after his performance against Everton.

It seems Philippe Coutinho is after a move back to Merseyside as he continues to be linked with Premier League clubs amid his inevitable Barcelona departure. 

According to Sunday World’s Kevin Palmer (relayed via @LFCTransferRoom), the Brazilian has personally spoken with Jurgen Klopp about facilitating a move back to Liverpool. The playmaker is also reportedly willing to take a pay cut in order to make the transfer happen.

A number of teams are chasing Coutinho’s signature, including heavily linked Newcastle and Chelsea. It seems the former Red star has options in abundance, but his heart looks set on a return to Anfield to pick up where he left off.

Coutinho left the club in 2018 and has hit a slump ever since. A move to the Premier League winners-elect could turn his career completely on its head. As it stands, he boasts 95 career goals and 71 assists, but that could climb much higher in a winning side like Liverpool (via Transfermarkt).

Liverpools fans are just as in favour of bringing the Brazilian home as he reportedly is. One supporter has commented ‘I’m on my knees’ whilst another has said ‘Klopp please, I want to see him back home’.

Their feelings are understandable, given he scored 54 goals and provided 45 assists in his original spell at Anfield…

Would you like to see Philippe Coutinho rejoin the Liverpool ranks, Reds fans? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Key information about Roots Hall

The current, new Roots Hall was built in 1952 and opened in 1955 and is now the home of Southend United. The ground is located in Southend-on-Sea and is the largest stadium in Essex.

Its current capacity stands at 12,392 and has a pitch size of 100m x 68m with no running track nor undersoil heating installed.

The record attendance was set in 1979 when 31,033 supporters gathered to watch the visiting Liverpool in action in the FA Cup.

A history of Roots Hall

Southend United have been truly nomadic since their inception and have called multiple grounds their home over the years. They were settled in the original Roots Hall from 1906 until 1919 and would then move to the Kursaal, the Southend Stadium, New Writtle Street, Chelmsford and then finally, to Roots Hall again from 1955 to the present day.

When the club was founded, they played at the site of Roots Hall but had to move away in 1919, as we mentioned, because of World War I. The area was used for storage so they were forced to vacant the ground and move to the Kursaal.

As we now know, they would spend around three decades moving around until they finally returned home in 1955, three years after the development of Roots Hall was started and once again opened for business. Interestingly enough, it would be the last new stadium in England to open until as late as 1988.

The first game to be played there was between the hosts and their visitors, Norwich, on 20 August 1955 and in the first season after the ground’s grand opening, the stadium was still incomplete with the drainage on the pitch a big problem during the 1955/1956 campaign. So much so that it had to be completely replaced in the off-season.

Some of the first changes were done in the 1960s with the added roof, the extension of the stands and the club installing floodlighting. Soon afterwards, in 1979, they recorded their highest attendance to date when Liverpool came to visit in the FA Cup in front of 31,033 supporters.

New upgrades were recorded in the 1980s and 1990s, even though the club was somewhat struggling financially at that time. In 1994, Roots Hall was converted into an all-seater and part of the south stand got sold off to real estate developers to give Southend United a financial boost.

Some of the final improvements were made in 1995 when the west stand roof was extended with seating also being installed in the north-west corner of the ground. Lately, the club has been looking into the possibility of moving to a brand new stadium, Fossetts Farm, and they received planning permission in January 2007.

Even though it was initially planned to be opened in December 2018, we are still waiting on the final verdict as to when the club can move to their new home.

Tickets to watch Southend United at Roots Hall

All tickets to watch Southend United at Roots Hall can be found on the club’s official website. The price varies depending on multiple factors such as category and age but the adult ticket bought in advance costs £22.

Southend United also offer season and half-season tickets as well as group and student discounts. More information can be found on their official website.

Related links

https://www.southendunited.co.uk/ – Official website of Southend United

Brighton manager Graham Potter believes that midfielder Yves Bissouma can add more goals to his repertoire going forward at the Amex Stadium.

The 23-year-old hasn’t found the net in his 22 appearances this term and, while Potter praised other aspects of his game, he believes that the Mali international is capable of more in terms of contributing to goals.

As per The Argus, the Seagulls boss said of Bissouma: “It would be nice for him to add a couple of goals to his game. It all depends on the position on the pitch that he plays.

“I think he is developing as a midfield player who can defend as well. He wins a lot of balls and regains possession for us. He has the ability, the quality, to score as well.

“As a team, we need to try and get more goals from other areas of the pitch. It is something that is quite obvious. He has the capability to do that.”

Since coming to Brighton two years ago, Bissouma has made 56 appearances but only found the net once, against Bournemouth in an FA Cup clash in January 2019 (as per TransferMarkt). He has now played one more match for the Seagulls than he did for previous club Lille, for whom he netted four goals.

In defence of the 23-year-old, he plays primarily in central midfield rather than in a more advanced role, where he would naturally have more opportunities to score. However, a match average of just 0.7 shots shows that he rarely even puts himself in positions to threaten opposition goalkeepers, never mind finding the net – centre-back Lewis Dunk has a greater shots-per-game average of 0.9.

It is also worth noting that Bissouma certainly isn’t the only goal-shy presence at the Amex Stadium – Brighton have failed to score in six of their last 10 Premier League games, with only three teams scoring fewer than their 37 goals in the division this term.

Even though Bissouma’s biggest strengths are in breaking up play (his tackling average of 2.3 per game is the highest in Brighton’s squad), his lower goal return with the Seagulls compared to Lille shows that he can offer a greater threat in the final third of the pitch.

Hopefully this is an area that he can address next term in what will be his third season at the Amex, and judging by Brighton’s low goal return overall, Potter will hope that a few of the Malian’s team-mates can also increase their strike rate.

Brighton fans, what have you made of Bissouma’s performances for the club so far? Have your say by commenting below!

Tottenham Hotspur have plenty of areas to bolster during the summer transfer window and although the wing position isn’t one of those, Jose Mourinho should absolutely look to upgrade it if latest reports are to be believed.

What’s the word?

According to Fussball Transfers, Inter Milan attacker Ivan Perisic is a wanted man in England with the likes of Everton and Manchester United joining Spurs in their interest.

The Croatian veteran has been on loan at Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich this campaign, but they are unlikely to trigger his permanent option whilst his future back at the Serie A outfit isn’t certain either.

Perisic has two years to run on his current deal and could cost Spurs around €15m (£13.5m) if they wish to clinch him this summer.

Lamela upgrade?

The 31-year-old played a bit-part role for the German giants yet still managed to provide six goals and ten assists in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

It is true that Mourinho has a wealth of options out wide, but they are largely on the right-hand side rather than the left which is often Heung-min Son’s spot to lose.

And surely he can’t refuse a player that’s been on his radar for quite some time. Back in 2018, whilst still at United, the Portuguese boss lauded Perisic as “different” because he’s “very physical” and is “fantastic in the air” (Russia Today via TEAMtalk).

This is something that he doesn’t really possess in any of his wingers. There’s also a good chance that Erik Lamela is sold to garner some funds. Football Insider suggested earlier in the year that Spurs would be willing to listen to offers for the Argentine.

The 28-year-old wins a measly 0.2 aerial duels per game and is dispossessed an average of 1.6 times per appearance too, via WhoScored, which suggests he’s lacking something that Perisic could bring to Mourinho’s squad.

Even though he’s getting on a bit, he’d be an interesting outlet and one that could even provide back-up to Harry Kane in the attack. If Spurs’ reported chase of Willian is true, then they would be foolish not to try and sign Perisic instead.

AND in other news, Daniel Levy is setting Mourinho up for instant failure at Spurs…

Name: Kylian Mbappe

Club: Paris Saint-Germain

Date of Birth: 20 December 1998

Position: Centre-forward, winger

KYLIAN MBAPPE – HIS CAREER SO FAR

It’s sometimes extremely easy to forget that Kylian Mbappe is only 21 years old. And despite that, he is undoubtedly one of the biggest footballing stars on the entire planet. Of course, it goes without saying that the Frenchman – a World Cup winner – is also the most expensive young player in the world. But looking at his career so far and the feats he has managed, it has to be said he very much warranted all the tags he’s been given.

For Mbappe, the journey through the professional footballing stage began at Monaco’s youth setups. Before that, however, there were reportedly numerous big clubs all lined up for a chance to sign him up immediately. The likes of Real Madrid, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all wanted a piece of the pie but the youngster ultimately, and perhaps surprisingly, settled for Monaco instead.

But that was a chance for him to feature regularly and immediately become the star of the club. Needless to say, that’s exactly what ended up happening as Mbappe warranted all the previous hype and then some. The youngster would score 27 goals and assist further 16 across 60 games, leading Monaco to the Champions League semi-finals in his second season and clinching the Ligue 1 title as well. It was becoming painfully obvious that it was just a matter of time before he swapped clubs and once again, he was quite spoiled for choice.

Still, in August 2017, Paris Saint-Germain confirmed they had won the battle for his signature and would take the youngster on loan with an obligation to buy the following season. His arrival to the French capital was made possible through a deal worth €145m (£131.1m) with extra €35m (£31.6m) in add-ons, making him the most expensive teenager in the history of the sport and also the most expensive transfer ever within a domestic league.

But once again, it was all worth it as Mbappe proceeded to score 90 goals and assist further 50 across 121 games for Paris Saint-Germain, cementing himself as the most talented young player in the world bar none. And as such, he is touted to become an eventual Ballon d’Or winner and even put a dent in Lionel Messi’s and Cristiano Ronaldo’s legacies along the way.

Even though he is still waiting for his European glory, domestically, PSG have been tearing the opposition apart with their newly formed duo of Mbappe and Neymar. It’s difficult to imagine him staying in France forever, though, and he is only 21.

For him, the sky’s the limit.

TRANSFER LATEST

When you’re one of the best and you’re still so young, there isn’t going to be a single club out there who’d want to miss out on the chance to sign you. Needless to say, the same is true for Mbappe as he is constantly connected with various transfer rumours and transfer news. Lately, however, it’s been all about Real Madrid.

The Frenchman is Los Blancos’ distant dream and that deal seems like one of those that are simply destined to happen at one point in the future. But of course, there were some transfer rumours connecting him to Liverpool and maybe the Reds take a swing at PSG too.

At the moment, however, he is set to remain in the French capital for a while longer.

PLAYER PROFILE

Mbappe is a deadly finisher who uses his pace and physicality to brush off his markers and blaze through the pitch and towards the goal. And that explosiveness along with sheer speed and incredible strength are definitely one of his main weapons. But it’s also his movement and intelligent positioning that make him stand out from the crowd.

The Frenchman is also a strong dribbler, meaning that it’s extremely difficult to take the ball away from him. Needless to say, he provides PSG with a dose of creativity, energy and just lethality in the final third. But Mbappe can also assist as well and his combinations and link-up play are on an admirable level despite his young age.

And that’s the best part about him – there is still so much room for growth and it’s scary to even think about what kind of a player he could become once he enters his prime.

Even though their season wasn’t crowned with any silverware in the end, Inter Milan were still quite successful overall. Alongside the surging Atalanta, they pushed Juventus to the final days of Serie A and were a genuine threat to their domestic dominance.

But Antonio Conte might still have to revamp the squad if they are to move forward and according to Sport Mediaset (via Sempre Inter), the Nerazzurri are willing to sell their prized asset, Milan Skriniar, and Tottenham Hotspur are among the teams who have taken a liking to the defender.

The Slovakian star has seemingly slipped down the pecking order over in Italy and that could make him available in the ongoing summer transfer window. Alongside Spurs, teams like Real Madrid, Manchester City and Manchester United were mentioned, meaning Jose Mourinho could face stern competition for the centre-back’s signature.

For that reason, he’s willing to sweeten the deal by potentially including Tanguy Ndombele in the negotiations, as the same source claims, in an attempt to maybe lower the Italian’s asking price of €50m (£45.2m).

Still, the papers don’t exactly say whether this is a deal that Inter would indeed accept but it is a way for Mourinho to make it a bit more attractive if nothing else.

It would be quite difficult for Spurs to compete with the likes of Real, City and United financially so this could be the way to go for the Special One and his crew.

Only time will tell how successful they’ll be in that.

Verdict

He may have fallen down the pecking order just a bit but Skriniar is still very much a top-quality defender who would undoubtedly boost Spurs’ backline. After all, they are in need of reinforcements and this signing could be a big statement for the Premier League side.

But first, however, they will have to fend off other European giants and convince Inter they are the club to do business with.