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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…

Crystal Palace manager Roy Hodgson suggested after the 6-2 pre-season defeat against Barnet on Tuesday that the Eagles have something of a defensive crisis right now, but they may already have one solution to the issue in the form of Cheikhou Kouyate.

The former England boss seem wholly concerned with his comments following the loss against the National League club, saying via Sky Sports: “We’ve got enormous problems at the back at the moment.

“We really don’t have any defenders, to speak of. Aaron’s gone and we’ve got three others injured.”

That isn’t exactly what you want to hear with just over three weeks until the new Premier League season gets underway – especially as the south London outfit have been perennial poor starters having taken just 13 points in total from their opening 12 top flight fixtures in both 2017/18 and 2018/19.

A signing to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka looks like a must, but it is the issues at the heart of the backline that are perhaps most worrying for the Selhurst Park faithful.

Watch Crystal Palace Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins have formed a strong partnership there previously, and it looked as though positive news could be on the horizon when the duo were named in the travelling party for the pre-season trip to Switzerland having both been injured at the end of the previous campaign.

However, neither made the matchday squad for the matches against FC Luzern or Young Boys, which suggests they are the injured defenders Hodgson mentioned.

Meanwhile, Kouyate has been representing Senegal at the 2019 African Cup of Nations, helping them reach the final where they will face Algeria on Friday night.

The 29-year-old didn’t actually start the opening group match against Tanzania, but an early injury to Salif Sane means that he has played every minute since – all at centre-back.

And while it may not be a completely alien position to him, he has impressed with the Lions of Teranga only conceding one goal – ironically against Algeria in the group stage – on their way to the final.

As you can see from the graphic above, the former West Ham United man has recorded some impressive defensive stats along the way, including making 1.5 tackles per game as well as winning an average of 2.5 aerial duels, as per WhoScored.

Those numbers show that he could do a job at centre-half in the Premier League for Crystal Palace if Sakho and Tomkins aren’t fit anytime soon, and one other number in particular sticks out.

In the video below, find out which Chelsea academy prospect is reportedly being lined up to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Crystal Palace…

Sakho has become well known for his ability to bring the ball out of defence and play long balls – 2.2 per game in the top flight in 2018/19 – which is crucial when you have the pace that the Eagles do in attack with the likes of Wilfried Zaha and Andros Townsend.

The fact that Kouyate has averaged 3 per game at the AFCON suggests he has the same ability in his locker, and is just another reason why he could help solve the club’s defensive crisis effectively when he returns from his extended break.

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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…

When the announcement was made that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had replaced Jose Mourinho as caretaker manager, few could have predicted the start the Norwegian made.

Manchester United had dramatically transformed themselves virtually overnight, and were rattling off wins left, right and centre with eight in a row. But then the victory train stopped, and United were brought back to reality as they finished outside the Champions League places.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

The Norwegian’s track record in his previous job as manager of a Premier League club was hardly one that heralded him as the ‘next Pep Guardiola’. The Red Devils took a punt on a former player with legendary status, and the glorious honeymoon period that followed his appointment fizzled out rather tamely by the end. Indeed, two embarrassing results against Huddersfield and Cardiff to round off the season certainly didn’t paint Solskjaer in the greatest of lights.

The poor end to the campaign is why Solskjaer will be under even more pressure to get back to producing results as soon as possible. He may have some credit amongst the United hierarchy and fan base for being one of the treble-winning heroes in 1999, but as previous managers have found at Old Trafford, reputation doesn’t always count for everything. Jose Mourinho and Louis van Gaal were both hugely experienced managers, but found themselves ousted despite delivering silverware.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The Red Devils’ first Premier League game of the season sees them take on fellow ‘big six’ rival Chelsea, and whilst it will only be the opening fixture, a lot will be riding on it. Win, and Solskjaer will have have something to build on. Lose, and the naysayers could be out in force early questioning why a manager who failed at Cardiff could conceivably be deemed good enough to be the leading man for one of the best sides in the world, who will take the club back towards its former glories.

For all of his success as a player at United, the Norwegian remains an inexperienced quantity in the world of management. Better and far wiser managers than him have taken on the hot-seat at Old Trafford and found themselves burned. Football is an unforgiving place, and if Solskjaer’s start to the new season begins like how the last one ended, then he could be the latest in line to get their United P45s.

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Rangers recorded a 2-0 win over Progres Niederkorn on Thursday night to take control of the Europa League second-round qualifying tie.

Joe Aribo and Sheyi Ojo scored the goals for the Scottish champions, who will fancy their chances of finishing the job in Luxembourg.

It will not come as a surprise to learn that the Rangers fans were in high spirits after the match following a decent performance and strong result.

And a number were keen to pay tribute to Aribo, who made the breakthrough in the 20th minute with a super goal.

The 23-year-old left Charlton Athletic at the end of last season before ultimately signing a four-year deal with Steven Gerrard’s team.

Check out what happened when Thogden mixed with some of Montenegro’s craziest ultras in the video below…

Aribo already looks to be making a big impression at Ibrox.

And plenty of Rangers fans took to social media on Thursday night to reveal their overwhelmingly positive views on the midfielder.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Lots of Leicester fans have expressed their love for full-back Ben Chilwell, 22, after he posted a tweet saying how he is always proud to wear the Leicester City shirt.

The former Leicester City youth player posted to Twitter: “Always proud to put on the shirt” alongside a blue heart emoji and a picture of him wearing the new Leicester kit while holding the club’s crest.

Ben Chilwell has had a great couple of seasons at the King Power, playing 36 times in the Premier League last season. The England international registered five assists in the last campaign and consequently caught the eye of some of England’s biggest clubs, including Manchester City, as per Manchester Evening News.

The left-back has played at the club since 2010 and has since gone on to make 72 league appearances for the Foxes and earn a further seven caps for the Three Lions (Soccerbase).

He has also caught the eye of many pundits, including Jamie Redknapp, who wrote in his Daily Mail column that he thinks Man City should invest in the full-back, describing him as a “perfect fit” for Guardiola’s side.

However, it’s the Leicester City fans he has appeared to please most, if this tweet is anything to go by. Plenty of fans sent messages of love to the full-back for his tweet, describing him as “one of our own”. Other fans were a bit more pessimistic, commenting on how they wish another one of his teammates would be as proud to wear the shirt, clearly hinting at Harry Maguire and his alleged desire to join Manchester United.

Here are some of the responses below…

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

As confirmed on the club’s official website, Manchester City winger Leroy Sane has damaged the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and is set for an extended period on the side-lines.

What’s the word?

Reports in recent weeks had claimed the Germany international could be set for a move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, but a potential deal failed to materialise before the end of the English transfer window.

Sane’s future was rather overshadowed after going down with a knee problem during City’s Community Shield clash against Liverpool, and now the Etihad side have confirmed the worst.

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Whilst Pep Guardiola may have hung on to Sane in the end, failing to get some cover in for the winger could have some major repercussions over the course of the season.

A game-changer

For all the talk surrounding a potential exit, it was not simply a case of City potentially getting rid of a player who hadn’t performed for the club. Despite being just 23, Sane has taken to Premier League football like a duck to water and has added a real end product to his game since a big-money move from Schalke.

Last season, the winger racked up 16 goals and 18 assists in 47 games across all competitions, and provided City with something unique. The modern wide-man often gets used as an inside-forward, looking to cut in onto their stronger foot, but Guardiola’s use of Sane has been intriguing.

The left-footed German played the majority of his games last year on the left-flank and used his pace and direct dribbling skills to get to the by-line and maintain the width.

Sane’s long-term injury means City have been robbed of a player who offers something different to the likes of Raheem Sterling and Riyad Mahrez, who are more of those typical inside-forwards. The German is electric and a game-changer with his explosive speed, and City’s failure to act by bringing in a potential replacement may come back to haunt them.

It no doubt would have been difficult to secure someone of significant quality in the closing stages of the window, but Guardiola could really have done with another option to ease the burden on his current wide options.

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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 on NBA player’s Josh Hart’s LightHarted Podcast, Romelu Lukaku has opened up on his departure from Manchester United this summer.

What did he say?

The Belgium international was involved in a drawn-out saga and eventually completed his move to Serie A giants Inter on deadline day.

Now, in an episode recorded before he made his exit, Lukaku slammed United for the role they played in moving him on from Old Trafford.

He said: “A lot of stuff has been said where I didn’t feel protected. I felt like a lot of rumours, ‘Rom going there’, ‘they don’t want Rom’, and nobody came out to shut it down.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

“It was for a good three, four weeks. I’m waiting for someone to come out and shut it down. It didn’t happen. I had my conversation, told them it was better to go our separate ways. If you don’t want to protect somebody, all these rumours come out. I just wanted you to say ‘Rom is going to fight for his place’, but it never happened for four, five months.

“It was all, ‘he’s got to go, he doesn’t deserve to be there’. Well OK, then I want to go now. There is fighting for your position, but also being somewhere that people want you to be. I told them it’s not good for me to be at a place where I’m not wanted. We’re not stupid. They consider us dumb, but we are not dumb, we know who is doing leaks and stuff. I told them, you can’t be working like this, it’s better for me to go now.”

Fireworks

Talk about an acrimonious exit. In an explosive interview, Lukaku’s revelation about his side of the story this summer paints a picture of United that is seriously questionable. If the Red Devils did indeed want to offload the Belgian this summer, then that should have been communicated at least with the player himself.

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

Trying to drive a hard bargain by not confirming the rumours is entirely understandable from a financial point of view. But allowing Lukaku to simply sit on the side-lines and listen to reports and rumours about his future without really knowing the entire situation smacks of poor management.

In the end, it appears all parties got what they wanted. But the nature of how that conclusion came about is certainly bound to create great controversy and debate over the coming weeks and months.

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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…

Danny Mills has given his verdict on Spurs’ dramatic draw at Man City, and it makes an awful lot more sense than some of the ridiculous views tossed out this week.

What’s the word?

Spurs fans have been understandably irked by some of the commentary on their 2-2 draw at the Etihad, as Paul Merson blasted Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s performance, saying they took an “absolute battering”.

Mills has taken a more measured approach than the former Gunner however, telling Football Insider: “I think it was without a doubt nine outfield players plus the goalkeeper (behind the ball) at times. Manchester City are very, very strong at home, the dominate possession, pass the ball around.

“I think at one stage the stats were 75% possession (for City), which is incredible for a team that is trying to challenge for third, possibly even higher, in the Premier League.

“They got absolutely battered, chance after chance, couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net. You have to say Tottenham came good.”

About time

Until the last three words, you probably thought Mills was delivering an identical verdict to Merson, but his final comment seems to have been missed by so many in the aftermath of the match.

For all the talk of City’s dominance, Pochettino’s bus parking and of course the VAR controversy, everyone seems to have forgotten the 11 players that went out there and wore their hearts on their sleeves for 90 minutes.

Davinson Sanchez for example recorded a whopping eight clearances, while Tanguy Ndombele made five tackles and Toby Alderweireld blocked three shots, all per Whoscored.

Spurs deserve to be praised for their defensive effort, not chastised. Taking a point from a rival’s ground where you had your backs against the wall for the entire 90 minutes isn’t a weakness, it’s a strength.

Both City and Liverpool won several games by very small margins towards the end of last season, and ‘winning ugly’ is often considered one of the hallmarks of a title contender. So much so in fact, the Reds were actually praised several times last season for exactly that.

It’s hypocrisy at its finest, and as Mills correctly said, Tottenham came good on Saturday evening – it’s about time someone had the guts to say it.

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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…

Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Kieran Trippier… Seriously? Gareth Southgate’s eyebrow-raising decision to select the duo ahead of Kyle Walker genuinely boggles the mind.

Wan-Bissaka had such a nightmare U21 Euros that after scoring an own-goal against France to hand Les Bleus all three points, he was dropped for the final two games of the Young Lions’ tournament. Trippier, on the other hand, had such a disastrous campaign last season that the usually reserved and genial Mauricio Pochettino publicly called out the full-back for his defensive frailties.

All while Walker has been bossing it up and down the right-flank for the champions of England. Yeah, makes total sense. The 5 foot 10 ace has enjoyed a blistering start to the campaign – quite literally – making a sensational goal-line clearance in the Community Shield win over Liverpool, and a superb assist for Gabriel Jesus against West Ham.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

For Southgate to leave him out after such performances really raises questions over the England manager’s decision-making. The upcoming games aren’t friendlies. They’re qualifiers for next year’s European Championships. Whilst experimentation can be understandable, does the Three Lions boss genuinely consider Wan-Bissaka and Trippier to be ahead of Walker in the pecking order for next summer?

According to The Athletic, the England boss privately reassured the 29-year-old he is still the side’s number one right-back and that he can expect to be “involved in future squads”. But what kind of underlying message does that send to Walker? Less than a year remains before the competition proper starts next summer, and it is surely time to be picking the best team available to see how they gel.

The time for trying to see how others get on has long gone. Southgate needed to be more ruthless and stick to picking players on merit, not just handing out chances at such a late stage. Indeed, his comments on his decision behind opting for Trippier raised more questions than it answered.

He said, as quoted by The Manchester Evening News: “We also want to reintegrate Kieran Trippier to know he is still on our radar. It’s an area of the pitch where we have a lot of quality. Kyle started the season really well so I explained the situation to him.”

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Selecting Trippier to simply let him know they’re still thinking of him is nearly laughable. Could he not have called the ex-Spurs ace and told him he is still on the “radar”? Or maybe just sent him a text? ‘Hey buddy, still thinking of you’.

Instead, a Premier League winner, who has been a mainstay of Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering side, has been overlooked for an unproven 21-year-old and a man who wasn’t deemed good enough to play for Tottenham. Walker should quite rightly feel disrespected.

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Arsenal will have no doubt have been disappointed by failing to qualify for the Champions League last season.

Instead of finishing in the top four, they just missed out to end up in fifth place and as such, they will be competing in the Europa League once again this term.

The draw for the group stage took place last week, and the Gunners were placed with last season’s semi-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt, as well as Standard Liege and Vitoria Guimaraes.

“They have the bigger mentality” – Spurs fans come to blows after the North London Derby in the video below…

Mmanager Unai Emery has now decided his squad for the competition, and some unfamiliar names have been included amongst the usual suspects.

One of those is 17-year-old Joel Lopez, who signed for the north Londoners from Barcelona in July of last year. Clearly one for the future, he may get a taste of European football this term.

The Arsenal supporters are clearly intrigued by the announcement, and they have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts. You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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Marcelo Bielsa hasn’t had many problems handing minutes to the younger members of Leeds’ squad.

This season has already seen Leif Davis feature at centre-back whilst there’s also been a spot in the team for Jamie Shackleton and Alfie McCalmont.

The latter was handed a senior debut against Salford in the League Cup before also starting against Stoke in the next round.

Although taken off at the break, Bielsa’s faith in starting him in the first place was admirable.

However, it’s rather baffling that he’s played more often than Mateusz Bogusz.

The 18-year-old arrived in January and it took until the clash against Stoke for him to earn his competitive bow.

Given his impressive showings for the U23s, coming close to scoring last weekend, it was a surprise that he wasn’t the first member of the academy to be called upon.

Bogusz is an intriguing talent, turning down Brighton to sign for the Whites in January.

Despite being so young, he’d already gained exposure of senior football in Poland for Ruch Chorzow. A lack of regular action was understandable last term because the Whites were engulfed in a promotion fight but this season it makes far less sense.

As of January last term, Bielsa had handed ten debuts to players 21 and under. Therefore, it’s hard to suggest he doesn’t give you a chance when you’re good enough.

Bogusz appeared regularly in pre-season, scoring against Western Sydney Wanderers with a sweeping finish from just inside the area.

It was a piece of play that typified what he brings, a threat from the edge of the box.

Against Bristol City U23s last Sunday, the teenager hit the woodwork twice and was desperately unlucky not to score.

The threat to the opposition goal he poses, contributing to four strikes in four games at one point for the academy last term, should be what makes him a valuable option to Bielsa.

Against Swansea, Leeds had over 60% of the possession but couldn’t score. Their midfield looked flatter than usual and judging by the fact Adam Forshaw and Mateusz Klich were operating in the same space, it’s hardly surprising. Perhaps a more dynamic Bogusz was required?

This is a player who Klich himself has said will probably be better than him, suggesting he couldn’t offer his understudy much advice.

Earlier this term, Bielsa admitted that he was ready for first-team football, hinting that he would feature when Leeds travelled to Salford.

However, he didn’t play. He didn’t even come off the bench despite the game being wrapped up.

And indeed he is yet to appear in the league either, something that’s particularly puzzling.

Of course there is still a long way in the season to go but he was one of the few young players who stood out against Stoke in the League Cup.

Against senior opposition, he had four shots according to Wyscout, as he regularly managed to work the opening for himself. This is something that may have proved valuable in Leeds’ clash with Swansea when, try as they might, they simply couldn’t find the net.

He didn’t manage any key passes on that occasion but his mere presence in attack was on display.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Bogusz was assured in possession, completing 88% of his passes whilst winning 54% of his duels too, per Wyscout.

Considering the lack of threat Forshaw brings going forward, perhaps utilising the youngster would have found a solution.

It’s not a stretch to suggest that the Pole is one of the brightest players currently rising through the ranks at Thorp Arch, so Bielsa’s stance must change.

Losing Jack Clarke to Tottenham was a blow, even if he has only played twice this season, but a young player like Bogusz can help them forget about a former prodigy parting ways.

Tyler Roberts’ return means he could be restricted to senior action even more but he should be someone that can provide competition and a plan B.

Simply put, Bielsa must start using him more.

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