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Manchester United’s summer-long pursuit of Harry Maguire rattles along apace with a recent twist, as per The Sun, suggesting that Manchester City have now withdrawn from the reckoning.

This naturally would leave the path clear for the Reds to finally get their man.

Last week, however, a significant spanner was thrown into the works from left-field and it arrived in the form of Samuel Umtiti, the France international centre-back who – according to The Daily Mirror– is valued at €60m (£54m) by Barcelona.

Given the 25-year-old’s unquestionable pedigree and achievements on the continent – and let’s not forget too that he is a World Cup winner – his availability should not be discounted.

Especially when he is so highly rated by his peers…

Luis Enrique, former Barcelona coach

After excelling for Lyon, where the Cameroon-born centre-back made a name for himself with muscular displays and an inherent reading of danger, a £24.6m switch to the Nou Camp followed. There he hit the ground running, proving himself to be a valuable defensive foil to Gerard Pique.

It was an immediate success story that was expected by the man who signed him. As per Spanish media outlet AS (via Sports Mole).

“Samuel Umtiti? He hasn’t surprised me at all. I know him and I’ve followed him and I saw the same when he was 22 and was captain. He has a lot of credibility, uses the ball well, he’s aggressive.”

Lionel Messi, Barcelona team-mate

In La Liga the standard of opposition went up a notch both on match-days against the likes of Ronaldo and even in training, snuffing out the threat of Suarez and company. Yet whoever he was tasked to nullify Umtiti more often than not proved himself capable of doing so.

Indeed, when you impress the best of the best you must be doing something very right indeed. As per The Independent, Lionel Messi gave an insight into his professionalism on the training ground:

“Umtiti trains how he plays, nothing is saved. Never, neither in games nor training.

“Outside the field he is an excellent person and a great guy. I honestly did not know him much when he arrived. Watching him train, it does not surprise me what he does in games. I see the qualities that he has and that’s why it does not surprise me later in the field.”

Who is Man Utd’s worst ever player? Bebe? Eric Djemba-Djemba? The fan in the video below actually think it’s one of the Red Devils’ current crop…

Didier Descamps, France coach

An international career was inevitable, following on from being a key member of France’s U-20 World Cup winning wide of 2013.

Three years later a national legend gave him his first full cap, and came out fighting for him when the press had their doubts. As per ESPN:

“He knows I have confidence in him. Some players aren’t mature at 30, some are mature at 20 – and he’s in the latter category. He deserves all the praise. He has the force of character and the force of personality that you need.”

Verdict

A series of knee problems are a legitimate concern – Umtiti made only 13 starts last term as a consequence – but should he manage to overcome fitness issues, the defender who impressed Messi in training is undoubtedly an appealing alternative to Maguire.

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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…

It could’ve been argued that Liverpool needed to sign a few full-backs anyway.

Alberto Moreno departed after his contract was not renewed, leaving just Andy Robertson as Jurgen Klopp’s only recognised senior left-back.

Additionally, the quality of Nathaniel Clyne as Trent Alexander-Arnold’s back-up was also up for debate given the Reds’ decision to sanction his loan departure to Bournemouth midway through last season.

Now, however, there is no argument to be had.

Liverpool have to enter the transfer market after Clyne suffered knee ligament damage, sidelining him for an estimated six months.

It has been reported that Klopp would be happy to start the season with Joe Gomez and James Milner if no opportunity to find a replacement for Moreno arose, but there are now complications with that.

The former Borussia Dortmund boss used that same pair at right-back at times last season when Trent Alexander-Arnold was either injured, or tactically dropped as he was for the visit to the Camp Nou when Gomez stood in.

Milner played at right-back six times amidst Alexander-Arnold’s injury at the end of January, but missed a game through suspension – staggeringly, Jordan Henderson had to play on the right of defence as a result, because there simply weren’t any other alternatives and Gomez was also injured at the time.

If that was the case then, how will things pan out in 2019/20 when Liverpool will be even weaker without Clyne and Moreno?

It should also be noted that the upcoming season will be even more challenging in terms of the amount of fixtures on the schedule. As a result of winning the Champions League, Liverpool have a UEFA Super Cup game to play against Chelsea, as well as a potential Club World Cup campaign to embark on mid-season.

There is also a Community Shield game to contend with against Manchester City as a resulting of finishing second in the league.

With all of those things taken into account, Klopp simply has no other option but to enter the market before the deadline or he risks putting Liverpool in a very sticky situation next term.

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Loads of Crystal Palace fans on Twitter have one major concern after the club was linked with a move for CSKA Moscow striker Fedor Chalov.

The first link came via Russia-based website Championat, with Sky Sports later reporting that the south London outfit had submitted an offer in the region of £14m for the 21-year-old.

The two-time Russia international certainly enjoyed an impressive 2018/19 campaign, scoring 17 goals and providing a further seven assists in 37 appearances in all competitions, while he has one goal and one assist in three outings already this term.

Watch Crystal Palace Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Should he end up arriving at Selhurst Park the attacker could easily end up being a replacement for Alexander Sorloth, who Palace are reportedly looking to use as a makeweight in a bid to sign Brentford forward Ollie Watkins.

Sorloth’s time at SE25 has been extremely disappointing, and he is yet to find the net in 16 Premier League appearances having arrived in a £9m deal in January 2018.

Given Chalov has also never played in England before and would be coming from an inferior league, Eagles supporters on the popular social media platform are clearly worried that he could follow in the Norwegian’s footsteps given some of their comments.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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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…

Liverpool have a perfect opportunity to show off their ruthless side by binning Simon Mignolet this summer.

Jurgen Klopp said on Sunday that he expected the goalkeeper to stay at the club for the 2019/20 season and provide support to No.1 Alisson Becker.

Yet one has to ask what the point of that is.

The Belgium international has shown repeatedly that he is nowhere near the class of the Brazil international.

Of course, it is rare that back-up goalkeepers live up to the talents of the first-choice stoppers but, even so, there is better depth across the league.

Manchester City have Claudio Bravo, an experienced, reliable option who is also a penalty specialist; Manchester United have Sergio Romero, an Argentina international who would be a first-choice at a number of Premier League clubs; Tottenham Hotspur’s Paolo Gazzaniga enjoyed an excellent season as Hugo Lloris’ back-up; Frank Lampard’s Chelsea have Willy Caballero behind Kepa.

Mignolet is worse than every deputy mentioned.

His statistics prove that he is, quite simply, a pretty poor stopper.

In 204 games for the Reds, he has conceded 239 goals at an average of 1.17-goals-per-game. Bravo’s average at City is a goal-per-game, Romero’s average at United is 0.5-goals-per-game, Gazzaniga has an average of 0.8, while Caballero’s is also 0.8.

Compare Mignolet, also, to Alisson, who conceded, on average, 0.6-goals-per-game.

Liverpool, quite simply, need a more reliable back-up than the Belgian.

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He played twice last season and they lost both games, to Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Wolves in the FA Cup.

Bringing in a goalkeeper who can actually keep goal properly while Alisson is out of the team is a must.

As it is, Mignolet is a liability and keeping him around is merely paying lip service to a solid “professional” who hasn’t complained about his spot.

The reason for that, though, is very simple: He shouldn’t be anywhere near the teamsheet.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

According to French outlet L’Equipe, Everton made an offer of €30m (£27.6m) to Watford for Abdoulaye Doucoure, with the same report adding that the midfielder could be tempted by a new challenge.

A more recent report has stated that a £32m bid for the former Stade Rennais man has been rejected by the Hornets, who unsurprisingly. don’t appear to be particularly keen on losing one of their best players.

Doucoure starred under Javi Gracia last term, scoring five goals and recording six assists in the Premier League, and he really does seem to be the complete package in midfield nowadays at the age of 26.

The Frenchman can score goals, make them, and also do his defensive duties judging by his average of two tackles and 1.5 clearances per game from last term.

However, it would be an extremely puzzling move from the Toffees if they signed the 6 foot powerhouse.

Despite his impressive stats, the Merseysiders have already signed three midfielders this summer and it is becoming increasingly difficult to see where Doucoure would fit in under Marco Silva.

The Toffees have recruited Andre Gomes on a permanent basis this summer, and have also added Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Fabian Delph from Mainz and Manchester City respectively.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

Silva knows Doucoure well from their time together at Watford, but the former Hull boss tends to deploy a two-man midfield in his preferred 4-2-3-1 system – with that in mind, where does the Watford No.16 get into Everton’s side?

Additionally, you can’t ignore the presence of another midfielder at the club in Tom Davies, who Silva clearly rates having handed him the armband last season – a move that allegedly made the academy graduate the youngest captain in the club’s history at just 20 years and 60 days old.

With all of those things taken into account, signing Doucoure in a big-money move would be a bizarre decision from Everton.

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

Celtic are weighing up a £6m bid for Lech Poznan’s Robert Gumny to solve their problem at right-back, according to The Scottish Daily Mail (13/08, page 80).

What’s the story?

The Polish right-back is expected to leave Lech Poznan before the end of the window, and the Bhoys could be about to pounce.

The right-hand side of defence has been an area of the park that Neil Lennon has tried to strengthen all summer, and Gumny looks to be the latest target, per the report.

Having seen Mikael Lustig, Jeremy Toljan and Cristian Gamboa depart the club this summer, Lennon has brought in Hatem Abd Elhamed to ease his worries in the role.

Despite his arrival, centre-back Kristoffer Ajer has filled in at right-back, and the Celts boss has made no secret of his desire to sign another before the window closes on September 2nd, presumably shifting Ajer back into his natural role in the middle.

An astute signing

At a reported £6m, Gumny wouldn’t come cheap, but that shouldn’t be as pertinent an issue as it has been in the past.

With Kieran Tierney leaving for £25m, the club have the money and the fans will surely expect a good chunk of it to be spent before the beginning of September, especially in defence.

Right-back is an area of the squad that clearly needs money spent on improvements too. Elhamed and Ajer’s encouraging displays so far are a good sign but sticking with the Norwegian as the back-up long-term would be a waste of his talents and spread the already beleaguered defence thin.

Gumny also fits the model of many of Celtic’s recent recruits. At 21, there’s time for him to develop into a player worth a lot more than £6m and be sold on for a good profit. If he were to sign, then he can look to Tierney as the benchmark, as someone who succeeded at Parkhead and earned a lucrative move to the Premier League as a result.

For all the scrambling about trying to find the correct player to slot in on the right side of defence, the Bhoys may just have landed on the perfect candidate with Gumny.

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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…

In the aftermath of the whole Manchester United penalty fiasco against Wolves on Monday night, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s attempt to clear up the situation arguably raised more questions than it answered. The Norwegian insisted both Paul Pogba and Marcus Rashford were designated spot-kick takers and it would be up to the players to sort it out amongst themselves on the pitch.

Understandably, many were left unconvinced the Red Devils boss had the right approach, with Gary Neville declaring: “This is a Manchester United penalty – this isn’t a tombola. This is not under-fives football on the playground.”

The whole debacle seemed to expose a lack of leadership and control at the club, and Solskjaer’s post-match assessment in front of the cameras did little to dispute that.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But according to The Sun, the Norwegian “tore into” Pogba and Rashford in the dressing room and “blasted” the pair for failing to agree on who was the penalty-taker before the game. The report adds Solskjaer then made it clear to the squad Rashford would now be the man to take on spot-kick duties for the club.

If the claim that the United manager had looked to keep things in-house and away from the prying eyes of the media is true, then Solskjaer must be applauded. The Norwegian was put in an incredibly difficult situation by the duo, but rather than blaming them publicly, as a certain Jose Mourinho may have done, he backed them. Then, when he had the chance to make his feelings clear back in the confines of the dressing room, he reportedly took decisive action.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

What could he have gained by simply throwing his players under the bus? Indeed, in Pogba’s situation, it could have been the final straw in helping the Frenchman decide that his career was better off elsewhere.

At a time when United are beginning their rebuild following last season’s disappointment, Solskjaer’s willingness to protect his players in public, but deal with them in private, is a welcome sign of leadership.

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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…

Liverpool could set a club record for consecutive wins if they beat Burnley on Saturday, but they will have to keep a certain Ashley Barnes quiet if they are to achieve that.

On the chalkboard

Jurgen Klopp’s side have, for the most part, continued where they left off last season and proven too much for their opponents in the Premier League, winning all of their games thus far.

The Clarets, though, promise to be stern competition for Liverpool and have got off to decent start themselves – only a 98th minute penalty against Wolves denying them two wins from three games.

Victory on Saturday would be Liverpool’s 13th in a row in the Premier League, stretching back to last season, but there will be concerns for Klopp despite the ease in which his side dispatched of Arsenal last weekend.

Liverpool have allowed key chances in each league game so far. They have conceded once per match and according to their expected goals against, they are fortunate to not have conceded one more during that time – a far cry from last term when they chalked up just 22 goals against.

One reason for Liverpool to be optimistic is Burnley’s home form. Since their promotion from the Championship in 2016 the Clarets’ home record has got progressively worse with six, seven and ten league defeats at home in the three seasons since.

Not all plain sailing for Liverpool

Whilst Liverpool have been typically dominant in possession so far this season and lethal going forward at times, underlined by their nine goals in three Premier League games, there is an area for concern for Klopp.

Due to the nature of his attacking style and the propensity for his full-backs to take up offensive positions, there is often space out wide.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Barnes has four goals in three games this season and his strikes have shown why he is such a threat. From a long-range effort at Wolves to a lethal volley against Southampton, he has proved he can put away a variety of chances, and with Erik Pieters and Dwight McNeil already providing three assists from the left-hand side, they’re in the form to pounce if too much space is surrendered on the flanks.

Considering the scoring run Barnes is on, just one well-delivered ball from the flank could be enough for him to find the net and once Burnley are on the scoresheet, the prospect of beating Sean Dyche’s infamously resilient team inevitably becomes that bit harder.

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Dele Alli could return for Tottenham Hotspur against Arsenal this weekend, per The Daily Telegraph.

What’s the word?

The England international has missed the first three games of the season, a win over Aston Villa, a draw with Manchester City and a defeat to Newcastle United, due to a hamstring injury.

The report states that Mauricio Pochettino has been cautious over Alli’s return to action, especially given that he missed the entirety of February last season with the same issue.

Alli made a total of 38 appearances in all competitions last season, with 25 coming in the Premier League, and he scored seven goals in all competitions, along with eight assists.

Spurs, of course, lost to the Magpies on Sunday, while Arsenal were thumped 3-1 by Liverpool at Anfield; both sides will be looking to collect three vital points in the north London derby.

A necessary boost

With questions still circling about Christian Eriksen’s future – he has been on the bench for the first three games of the season and his contract expires at the end of the season – Spurs need a spark.

Versus Newcastle, they had almost 80% possession, per WhoScored, but simply could not find a way through.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Introducing Alli into the team once again – he is a No.10 and a shadow striker who can both supplement Harry Kane’s threat and provide him with chances – would go a long way to ensuring that Spurs have the ammunition required to fire their way past Unai Emery’s men.

Neither side are in particularly fine form – they each head into the game on the back of disheartening defeats – and marginal gains are important.

Having Alli back is a major gain.

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

Tottenham Hotspur could be given a second chance to sign Paulo Dybala from Juventus in the January transfer window, per The Daily Star.

What’s the word?

Spurs attempted to sign the Argentina international in the summer, only to see the deal collapse on transfer deadline day.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino is said to remain a big fan of the 25-year-old, with Juventus still needing to raise funds after splashing out on a number of new acquisitions in the summer.

The Mirror claims that intermediaries believe Dybala will again be available for transfer at the turn of the year and Spurs may be tempted to make another bid.

Spend on a defence

Spurs have bigger problems than in attack.

They have signed Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis and also have the likes of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane to call upon.

The deficiencies are in defence; Spurs sold Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid and did not replace him, while Danny Rose was, per sources, available for transfer in the summer.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That is not to mention that Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld both have contracts that expire at the end of the season.

Reports claimed that a deal for Dybala would have cost over £60m and it makes more sense for Pochettino’s side to invest in the backline.

Bringing in another centre-back and at least one full-back should be the priority.

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