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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…

Bruno Fernandes is once again on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar, per A Bola via Sport Witness.

On the chalkboard

Spurs were heavily linked with a move for the Portugal international in the summer, with reports claiming that a bid was made and rejected before they signed Giovani Lo Celso on an initial loan deal from Real Betis.

Nevertheless, Spurs are said to be paying close attention to Fernandes’ performances this season as they mull over the possibility of returning with another offer. He is deemed as a possible replacement for Christian Eriksen, whose contract expires in the summer, per the report.

And one has to say that Fernandes has started the 2019/20 season in electric form.

In nine Liga NOS appearances, he has scored five goals and registered five assists, while averaging three key passes per game, 3.4 shots and 1.7 dribbles, per WhoScored.

He has added a further two goals in the Europa League in three outings, along with one assist, while averaging 1.7 key passes per game, 5.3 shots and three dribbles.

He is not only having an impact at the top of the pitch, though; Fernandes also averages 2.2 tackles per game in the league, as well as 0.9 clearances.

Last season, of course, Fernandes scored 20 league goals and registered 13 assists; his form has merely continued in 2019/20.

A sizeable upgrade

Eriksen has been in woeful form this season and is perhaps enduring one of the worst spells of his Spurs career.

Per Whoscored, he’s scored just one goal in the Premier League, registered just one assist and all of his attacking stats are worse than Fernandes’. His shots per game number is just 1.5, he averages just 1.4 key passes and zero dribbles. He also makes fewer tackles and clearances than the Sporting man and one has to believe that Fernandes would be a major upgrade on the Denmark international.

Admittedly, he is playing in a worse league but the stats of the Portugal international stand out to such a degree that it would be negligence not to at least try to sign him.

Indeed, it makes sense to compare Lo Celso’s stats last season with Fernandes, too; the Argentine scored nine goals in La Liga last season, registering four assists, and averaged two shots per game, just 0.8 key passes and two dribbles.

Defensively, Lo Celso averaged 1.6 tackles per game and 0.3 clearances.

Fernandes is better than him too; perhaps they could well play together but one thing is for certain: Spurs need to be pulling out all the stops to extricate the playmaker from Portugal and secure a big upgrade in midfield.

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…

The scoreline may have only been 2-1, but don’t be fooled – Liverpool dominated their match against Genk in the Champions League and fully deserved their victory.

Once the game had finished, they had 71% of the ball compared to their opponents’ 29%, whilst they had 28 shots to six. It was as straightforward a victory as one can expect in this most elite of club competitions, and the Belgian side can be thankful that the Reds were not in more clinical form.

Jurgen Klopp rang the changes to his side for this clash – six to be exact, whilst he also used some players in different positions. One of those was James Milner, who appeared here at left-back as Andrew Robertson started on the bench.

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It is a position he has played in just 44 times – as per Transfermarkt – but he looked comfortable there against the Belgian champions.

Going forward, he proved to be a constant threat to De Smurfen, creating a game-high five chances for his teammates. Only four crosses were landed throughout the match, but the 33-year-old landed one of them. He also made 86% of the passes he attempted.

Defensively, he also proved to be solid, winning two tackles and making one clearance. Also, he was not beaten even once by the visitors’ players, whilst he also prevailed in six of the seven duels he contested.

Considering he is seen as Mr. Reliable, we perhaps shouldn’t be surprised that he excelled in an unfamiliar position, or at least less familiar than elsewhere.

However, with Robertson needing to be fresh before the huge Premier League match against Manchester City, Klopp used the only real alternative he has in that position.

That is why, even at his age, £13.5m-valued Milner – as per Transfermarkt – is worth his weight in gold.

It is hard to think of a more versatile player in England, and there is surely nobody who will play in a different role with minimum fuss and such competence. As the likes of Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah grab headlines, the former England international goes about his game calmly and professionally. Although he is not a guaranteed starter, he is amongst the most indispensable players in the whole squad.

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…

Talk about the perfect time to turn the tide.

Having gone through a bit of a tough stretch in the past couple of weeks in terms of results, the Blues are heading into the international break very much on a high note.

Having come under a lot of criticism from the St Andrew’s faithful, perhaps there was that little voice in the back of Pep Clotet’s mind that was thinking ‘told you so’, after their dramatic victory on Friday night.

Clotet was given a bit of a difficult task when he took over from Garry Monk in the summer, not only being thrust into the position in the aftermath. but also with the dagger of last year’s Financial Fair Play punishment hanging over him. Given the circumstances, he’s been doing a relatively steady job.

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He even managed to get them as high as eighth in the table and managed to grab a scalp in high flying Charlton away from home a few weeks ago before they went through their slump.

However, everything that was going disastrously for them on the pitch, were all things that could easily have been prevented.

For instance, the winner that Wigan Athletic scored last week was the definition of a howler from goalkeeper Lee Camp. Going back even further to the game against Derby County, the second goal that day came about because of a slip by Marc Roberts.

So it’s not as if they were being blown apart in the same way that they were earlier in the season against Nottingham Forest and Swansea City.

Thogden ranks all 24 Championship home kits in the video below…

After a pretty much mistake-free game against Middlesbrough and with the international break coming up to sure up any holes in the team, this could be the perfect opportunity for Clotet to finally put his foot down on the team and get them back on track the way they were before their recent troubles.

After all, it’s been the mistakes of his players, rather than his own that has led to some recent troubles.

Birmingham fans aren’t expecting much this season, so Clotet shouldn’t really have been under much pressure to begin with, but perhaps this result will be enough to get them off his back for the next couple of weeks as fortunes begin to change.

حقق الأهلي فوزًا صعبًا بهدف نظيف على حساب منافسه سيمبا في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما اليوم ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

والتقى الأهلي أمام سيمبا على ملعب الأهلي وي السلام، في إطار منافسات الجولة السادسة والأخيرة من دور المجموعات للمسابقة القارية.

وسجل محمد شريف هدف فوز الأهلي في الدقيقة 32 من عمر المباراة. هدف فوز الأهلي أمام سيمبا في دوري أبطال إفريقيا 

وبهذه النتيجة واصل الأهلي احتلال المركز الثاني في ترتيب المجموعة برصيد 11 نقاط، خلف سيمبا المتصدر بـ13 نقطة، وحسم الثنائي تأهلهما إلى دور ربع النهائي بعد نهاية الجولة الماضية.  تفاصيل المباراة

الحكم يطلق صافرة بداية اللقاء بين الأهلي وسيمبا التنزاني. بداية المباراة 

أول فرصة خطيرة للأهلي علي مرمي سيمبا

هدوء حذر في أحداث المباراة واستمرار التعادل السلبي بعد مرور ربع ساعة. محمد شريف يهدر فرصة الهدف الأول للأهلي

جووووووووووووووووووول محمد شريف يسجل هدف الاهلي الأول في الدقيقة 32 في مرمي سيمبا. هدف محمد شريف في مرمي سيمبا التنزاني

إصابة جونيور أجاي وخروجه من مباراة الأهلي وسيمبا 

انتهاء الشوط الأول من المباراة بتقدم الأهلي بهدف وحيد.

تبديل أول اضطراري في صفوف الأهلي بخروج أجاي ومشاركة طاهر محمد طاهر بين شوطي اللقاء.

انطلاق الشوط الثاني من مباراة الأهلي وسيمبا بتقدم الأحمر بهدف وحيد.

تبديلان في صفوف الأهلي بخروج حسين الشحات ومحمد شريف ومشاركة صلاح محسن أكرم توفيق في الدقيقة 74.

تبديل جديد في صفوف الأهلي بخروج أفشة ونزول وليد سليمان بدلا منه في الدقيقة 82. العارضة تنقذ مرمي من هدف التعادل أمام سيمبا التنزاني 

انتهاء الشوط الثاني من المباراة بفوز الأهلي بهدف وحيد على حساب سيمبا ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

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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…

Following a dreadful display against Olympiacos in the Champions League, Tottenham Hotspur contract rebel Christian Eriksen was, probably deservedly, dropped to the substitutes’ bench for the Premier League trip to Leicester City at the weekend.

Marca reported earlier this month that the Denmark international has rejected every Daniel Levy contract offer on the table as he waits for Real Madrid to make their move, and it’s hard to argue that he has been 100% committed to Spurs when it has come to his performances this term.

Nothing went right for the 27-year-old in Athens as he picked up a 3/10 rating from Football London for his display, yet he still managed to stay on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.

If Mauricio Pochettino showed some faith in the Dane then, it was a different story when it came to naming his starting XI at the King Power Stadium as he was left among the substitutes.

The Argentine manager is lucky in that sense that he has great competition for places – in theory anyway – with Son Heung-min, Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso – when he returns from injury – all able to fill in for Eriksen.

If Pochettino is going to be ruthless when it comes to one of the main playmakers in his team, he must do the same to two key players in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld when they don’t perform, too.

The Belgian duo are in a similar boat to their teammate because their own deals are due to expire next summer, and therefore they shouldn’t be treated any differently even if perhaps there is a little less competition for the centre-back berths.

As things stand the north London outfit will lose them either in January for a fee or next summer for nothing, and therefore their manager should be looking to the future rather than sticking with them when theyare below-par.

He does have Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth to call upon when needed, and he shouldn’t be afraid to blood both of those for the good of the future of the club if Alderweireld and Vertonghen aren’t up to scratch.

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There has been signs of that as well with the latter not great and giving away an uncharacteristically cheap penalty in the draw with Olympiacos as Spurs crumbled having taken a 2-0 lead, while the former struggled to deal with the pace of Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes in the opening 45 minutes at the weekend.

If Pochettino wants the respect of his players and the fans, he shouldn’t be treating those two players any differently to Eriksen if their below-par displays continue.

[ad_pod ]Ah, Michael Owen.Who’d have thought that a man with as much charisma as a milk-less bowl of Weetabix could ruffle so many feathers?For those who haven’t yet caught up with Owen’s recent biography release ‘Reboot,’ and why it’s recently captured a fair bit of publicity, the ex-Premier League forward had some very harsh words for his former employers.Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Here’s a short taster (courtesy of The Mirror): “My move to Newcastle was one I really regret – I should have followed my gut instincts from the start. I didn’t want to go there – my heart was still set on a return toÂLiverpool.

“NewcastleÂmanager Graeme Souness called me roughly every two weeks for almost the entire year I was in Spain and I can’t deny I liked the attention.

“As the year wore on, he’d call me and say things like: ‘Michael, I see you didn’t start last weekend. Would you think about coming to Newcastle?’

“While I don’t think I led Graeme on, with hindsight, I might have handled his first phone call differently.â€

Bear in mind, these are the words of a Ballon d’Or winning 39-year-old, not a high school student wading through the trials and tribulations of puberty and relationships.

Needless to say, Newcastle legend Alan Shearer wasn’t particularly pleased with his former teammate’s attempts to besmirch his beloved club. So championing the Magpies, he took to Twitter for the latest episode of Shearer and Owen’s 10-year feud…

Advantage Owen?

Gary Lineker couldn’t help himself…

And another big nibble from Michael to finish it off…

So there we have it – two of England’s greatest ever strikers taking digs at each other on social media. Cheap entertainment at its finest.

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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… 

It’s always a bit odd watching your side match up against a team from whom you literally cannot name a single player, but Red Devils fans need to keep their eyes peeled for FC Astana’s Marin Tomasov.

Ah, the Europa League. You’d be hard pushed to find a fan of an elite club who enjoys traipsing across Europe to play teams that sound like a men’s cigar club – looking at you Dudelange – or a newly discovered disease – sorry FC Oleksandriya.

That said, there are some hidden gems in the continent’s second-tier competition, and while FC Astana’s place in the Kazakhstan Premier Liga may leave some United fans wondering if they’re even worth playing, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have to shape his game-plan around stopping star man Tomasov.

The 32 year-old winger has scored goals wherever he has played, grabbing 23 for Rijeka and 17 for Hajduk Split, but his record with Astana is the best of the lot.

39 goals and 43 assists in 98 games gives the versatile forward a ratio of 0.84 direct goal contributions per game. To put that into perspective, Marcus Rashford’s ratio since breaking into the first team at Old Trafford is just 0.43.

Now, it goes without saying that the level of competition Rashford faces on a weekly basis is far superior, but Tomasov has done the business against some good teams in Europe before too.

In the 2017/18 season, he bagged two goals and one assist across a two-legged tie with Portugal’s Sporting CP in the round of 32, and last year he scored once and assisted once in a 2-0 victory over Rennes, who let’s not forget gave Arsenal a scare, beating the Gunners 3-1 at home.

He averaged an impressive 2.2 shots, 1.8 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per game in Europe last term, and whenever his side are playing up to a difficult opposition, he is the man who steps up and shows what he is made of.

Tomasov is as versatile as they come – Transfermarkt list seven different positions – and his ability to pop up anywhere on the pitch with a goal or assist makes him a threat no matter who he is playing.

Make no mistake about it, the Red Devils could live to regret it if they overlook Astana’s Croatian born star.

أعلن نادي برشلونة المنافس في بطولة الدوري الإسباني التشخيص النهائي لإصابة لاعب وسط الفريق الأول لكرة القدم، بيدري، والتي تعرض لها خلال مباراة إشبيلية أمس، السبت.

ويعد بيدري من أفضل اللاعبين في فريق برشلونة بالموسم الحالي تحت قيادة المدرب، رونالد كومان، لكن تم استبداله لإصابته أمام إشبيلية في الدقيقة 71 من زمن المباراة.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ميسي ودي يونج قد يورطان كومان وبرشلونة في الدوري الإسباني

ÚLTIMA HORA ‼

La valoració mèdica i les proves realitzades aquest matí han mostrat que el jugador del primer equip Pedri té un estirament muscular al soli de la cama esquerra. És baixa i la seva evolució en marcarà la disponibilitat pic.twitter.com/K3OnVBSZsx — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_cat) February 28, 2021

وأفاد البيان الرسمي لنادي برشلونة على موقع التواصل الاجتماعي “تويتر” أن اللاعب قد خضع لكشف طبي شامل صباح اليوم، الأحد، وأظهرت النتائج إصابة الإسباني بشد عضلي في باطن الساق اليسرى.

وأكد برشلونة أن بيدري سيخضع لفترة تقييم لحالته خلال الأيام القليلة المقبلة لتحديد مدة الإصابة والغياب عن المباريات الرسمية.

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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.

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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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Aston Villa’s pursuit of Adam Webster seems to be quite a big saga at the moment. The Sun initially reported Villa’s interest in the player at the start of June before they went onto actually submit a bid for the centre back.

That bid, however, was rejected according to Sky Sports. Their first ploy to get him in a deal worth £12m didn’t go to plan but now they’re considering returning for the player, per The Mirror (June 27, page 65).

It looks like they may have to pay a considerable fee in order to land him though as Bristol Live have reported that his club, Bristol City, are aiming to receive £30m for his services.

Webster was crucial for the Robins last term, featuring 44 times in the Championship, scoring three goals and winning a monumental 6.4 aerial duels per game.

He was a rock at the back but it appears as though Villa could be in danger of overpaying for the 24-year-old. But what do other writers at Football FanCast make of the situation? Check out their thoughts below…

James Beavis

“Aston Villa may be a Premier League club now, but enough is enough when it comes to transfer demands like this one from Bristol City. Yes, Webster did well for Lee Johnson’s men last season, but it was the first time he has even come close to playing a full campaign at Championship level. The 24-year-old has never played in the Premier League, so for the Robins to ask for £30m for his services is quite frankly ludicrous, even in this day and age of player valuations.

“£12m was a more than fair offer for the former Portsmouth man, and with City clearly wanting more, it is time for Villa to walk away before they overpay.”

Charles Jones

“£30m should be able to land you an experienced top-level defender, not a Bristol City man who didn’t even make the Championship Team of the Season.

“Don’t get me wrong, Webster is a decent player and I’m sure he would do a job, but at that price, Villa must asses some other options. There are bargains to be found throughout Europe, and that’s where the Midlands club should probably be looking. Newcastle paid ten times less for Fabian Schar than what Villa have been quoted for Webster and he has now caught the eye of some of England’s biggest teams. Value for money deals are out there, but Webster certainly isn’t one of them.”

Jack Saville

“£30m is an obscene figure for a player with no Premier League experience and Smith would be foolish to go near that valuation. Villa clearly need to conduct major surgery on their defensive unit but they need to be shrewd in their negotiations.

“If they’re going to splash out £30m on a new defensive enforcer, they must ensure that the player is experienced and proven in one of Europe’s top five leagues. This is a massive no-go for Villa.”