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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’s right-back spot has been a bit of a difficult one for Mauricio Pochettino.

Before the season started it was reported that Juan Foyth would be the Argentine’s first choice at full-back, but injuries to the youngster have meant that the Spurs boss hasn’t been able to follow through with that plan.

Instead, Kyle Walker-Peters and Serge Aurier have both been given chances in that role, but neither man has been able to make it their own.

Recent reports indicate that Spurs’ right-back crisis could be over sooner rather than later.

What’s the story?

According to reports in The Telegraph, Tottenham are interested in signing Max Aarons from Norwich and his manager Daniel Farke has left the door open for him to leave the club.

“Sometimes a player develops quicker than a club and you have to accept it if a player wants to have a bigger move and that there are bigger clubs in world football than we are.”

The same report claims that talks to sign Aarons have already begun.

The full-back hasn’t had the best of times this term as the Canaries occupy one of the relegation places, but his form during his time in the second-tier pointed towards an incredibly bright future.

Attacking intent from full back

If Tottenham get this one over the line it would be one of the most intriguing signings that the London club have made in recent years.

Aarons is an exceptional attacking full-back as only two defenders attempted more dribbles than the youngster in the Championship last term, while the six assists he provided is a figure that some wingers would be content with.

The prospect of Aarons playing down the right for Spurs is made even more exciting when you realise who his left-sided counterpart may be.

Indeed, Ryan Sessegnon is another player who created six assists last term, and the thought of those two driving forward and delivering balls for Harry Kane is a mouth-watering prospect.

Whether or not this one gets over the line remains to be seen, but a full-back partnership of Sessegnon and Aarons would undoubtedly be incredibly entertaining to watch.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

QPR lost their second game on the spin after suffering defeat to Cardiff on Wednesday night, following a 2-0 loss to West Brom on Saturday.

Goals from Sean Morrison, Marlon Pack and Callum Paterson gave Neil Warnock’s side a 3-0 win over the Cardiff boss’ former side, but one early moment saw Mark Warburton’s game plan unravel – a moment that witnessed two players’ best traits utilised to perfection.

The danger men

As previously detailed by us, Sean Morrison and Aden Flint are dominant players in the air, and we suggested that the former Brentford boss avoids long balls against the Bluebirds as the Cardiff duo would simply win the majority of the battles.

While Warburton seemingly followed our advice with a free-flowing performance that saw his side complete 483 passes to Cardiff’s 184 – with 458 of them being short passes as per WhoScored – his sensible gameplan began to come apart after one early moment in which the pair’s aerial dominance stood out in a more offensive capacity.

What happened?

After just 11 minutes they combined for the opening goal. Flint leapt highest to win the first ball, before Morrison threw himself at the second ball to head home into the net.

And that was a bit of a theme – Flint grabbed the assist for Morrison’s goal and in total won three aerial duels in QPR’s half, highlighting Cardiff’s propensity to use his best quality. Morrison was clearly a huge beneficiary, having scored the opener.

Flint, formerly of Bristol City, has won 5.6 aerial duels per game in the Championship this season, whereas Morrison has averaged 5.4 – the latter won the WhoScored Man of the Match award for his performance against QPR.

Warburton did well to ensure that his side kept the ball on the ground for the majority of the game, but that 11th minute moment saw Cardiff’s aerial might come to the fore in a different manner, and QPR weren’t able to deal with it.

It gave the R’s an uphill battle for the remaining 79 minutes of the game, allowed Cardiff a foothold to eventually secure a 3-0 win.

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…

Ben Woodburn’s future at Liverpool may have been called into question following a tough week.

The club confirmed on Monday that the winger fractured his metatarsal last weekend having been on the receiving end of a heavy challenge against Accrington Stanley, a tackle the club is believed to be unhappy with.

It is a big blow for the 19-year-old who was experiencing his first run of regular games at senior level, and he will likely be very frustrated by being unable to develop further, particularly as he likely harbours ambitions of making the Reds’ first-team.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Since this is the latest in a line of injuries there is some doubt over whether he will break into Jurgen Klopp’s plans, particularly as there are several players head of him and other youngster coming through, whilst Woodburn is still yet to convince after bursting onto the scene with his record-breaking goal against Leeds in 2016.

The academy graduate still has more than two years remaining on his current contract, but his progression has stagnated in recent times and after a failed loan move to Sheffield United last term, which was cut short through injury, he seems to have gone backwards.

He failed to make an impression at the Blades with only two starts and didn’t win the trust of Chris Wilder, and though he has featured regularly for the U’s this campaign, he has only one goal from 12 games to boast of.

Woodburn’s injury record and frail stature could mean that he isn’t cut out for the Premier League, particularly with the Reds where there is a plethora of world-class talent in the side, with other top-quality internationals like Xherdan Shaqiri and Divock Origi also struggling for game time.

Re-live the moment Sadio Mane robbed Leicester City of a point at Anfield through the eyes of the Foxes fans in the video below…

Added to that, there are positive signs from youngsters currently playing in the U23s team, with Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott recently impressing for the first-team against MK Dons, and therefore the Wales international faces an uphill battle to get into the first-team squad.

The Reds are now in a place where they are competing for the title and hoping for success in Europe, too, so there are limited opportunities for Klopp to blood youngsters, particularly players who are unable to show consistent performances like Woodburn.

As a result, it looks unlikely he will feature for the first-team in the foreseeable future and he may be better off moving on in order to find game time, stability, and hopefully for his sake, somewhere he can stay injury-free.

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Despite the Premier League campaign only being a month old, we’ve already had our first international break, must to the dismay of some.

Managers in the top-flight would have understandably been biting their nails while their players were away with their respective countries.

Having already seen Leroy Sane and Aymeric Laporte fall victim to serious-looking injuries, Pep Guardiola may have been more worried than most about the implications the international schedule could have had.

However, the Spaniard will head into training with a spring in his step after seeing his City players enjoy an incredibly productive two weeks, without any further injury damage.

Members of the squad scored eight goals and provided a further twelve assists, whilst Guardiola will be delighted with the fact there are no major injuries to report.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After seeing their players perform remarkably, City fans took to Twitter to voice their satisfaction about the situation.

Many supporters of the Manchester side expressed a sense of relief that things went so smoothly, with one fan in particular hailing it as “just the news we needed”.

Some fans took the opportunity to hail Guardiola for weaving his magic once more, and helping his players perform to their best whilst on international duty too.

Check out some of the reaction of City fans below:

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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…

Jamie O’Hara has told talkSPORT (via The Daily Express) that Tottenham’s decision to sell Kieran Trippier was “strange”.

What did he say?

Despite making 26 Premier League starts for Spurs last season, the Lilywhites decided to let the right-back leave north London. In the end, the 29-year-old joined the Liga giants Atletico Madrid.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side lost 2-1 against Leicester City on Saturday, and O’Hara bemoaned the departure of the former Burnley man. He said: “I think the problem you’ve got is that if [Christian] Eriksen goes, people will start questioning where the ambition is with the football club and they’re going to be like ‘are we going to kick on here? Are we going to get players in?”

“The biggest one for me is the Trippier one [which] I found strange.”

“That’s where they’re struggling, Tottenham can’t hold onto a lead at the minute.”

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Sold too soon

Last season was not Trippier’s best in a Tottenham shirt. After a fantastic World Cup, he failed to re-adapt to life with his club and struggled to reproduce the form he displayed for his country.

Despite that, he still played eight European matches as Spurs reached the Champions League final, and also managed to provide three assists in all competitions. He was a victim of his own success, and therefore any drop in the quality of his showings was exaggerated.

In Madrid, he is proving that he still has plenty more to give. In six games for his new side, he has already registered two assists, and he continues to provide the offensive threat that earned him a place in Gareth Southgate’s starting XI in Russia.

He has created 1.8 chances per game in the Liga, whilst he made a huge seven key passes against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday. In defence, too, he has been solid, with Los Rojiblancos keeping four league clean sheets with him in the side.

So far this term, Pochettino is still unsure of who to play in his place. Serge Aurier and Kyle Walker-Peters have started two and three games respectively, whilst the former Argentina international even decided to use Davinson Sanchez there instead against Olympiacos.

Trippier’s form in Spain, as well as the lack of a quality replacement, clearly shows that Tottenham were too hasty in moving him on. It is a decision that could continue to haunt them as they struggle this term.

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West Ham received a huge reality check at Molineux on Tuesday evening, and fans are absolutely furious with the performance of Angelo Ogbonna.

West Ham were quite simply swept aside by Wolves on Tuesday night, as the Premier League newcomers ran out 3-0 winners courtesy of a Romain Saiss opener and a brace from Raul Jimenez.

The opener didn’t come until Saiss met Joao Moutinho’s corner 66 minutes into the match, but if truth be told it could have come long before that.

Look away Arsenal fans! American Soccer Fan is back to troll more fans at the London Stadium in the video below…

Wolves racked up 20 shots in the match while West Ham managed just four, and the home side also got nine of those 20 shots on target.

Manuel Pellegrini will be livid with his side’s reaction, or lack thereof, to the FA Cup defeat against Wimbledon, and it has now become crystal clear that he has a massive problem in the heart of defence.

With Fabian Balbuena still out with a knee injury, the boss has been forced to deploy the erratic and inconsistent Ogbonna alongside a young and inexperienced Issa Diop.

The 13-cap Italian was at fault for at least one of the goals at Wimbledon, and he was horrific at Molineux on Tuesday, mustering a measly 5.91 rating on Whoscored.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions to the 30 year-old’s display down below…

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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… 

One of Nottingham Forest’s outcasts could still have a role to play this season after failing to secure a move from the club on deadline day last week.

Reds boss Sabri Lamouchi let four players depart the City Ground, including Arvin Appiah who joined UD Almeria for £8m while the three others dropped down into League One.

Zach Clough was tipped to follow suit, but nothing substantial came to fruition, meaning he remains a Forest player until January at the very least.

He was recently seen playing for the club’s Under-23 side, and he even got on the scoresheet as they beat Ipswich Under-23s 3-1.

On the Chalkboard

Of those three players that left for League One, two were strikers – Daryl Murphy and Jason Cummings – which leaves the Forest boss rather light up top.

Lewis Grabban is the first choice, having featured in every minute of their six Championship matches and scored four goals, per WhoScored – while Wolves loanee Rafa Mir appears to be his back up, though fans aren’t too impressed with him.

So there is still a chance for Clough to step up and fight for his place.

The club reportedly paid £3m for him back in 2017 and they must’ve seen something based on his Bolton exploits, where he bagged 23 goals in 77 senior appearances, per Transfermarkt.

Clough’s breakthrough year at Bolton came in the Championship in 2014/15, where he scored six goals in just 10 games before injury ruined his season.

He’s just in need of a little bit of faith to boost his confidence; the fact he’s scored in an Under-23 game is nothing special, but it is a sign that he could be capable if called upon in the near future.

He will have to grab his chance with both hands, but there is still the potential for Clough to play a significant role as part of the squad this season.

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Leeds United continue to be interested in Brenden Aaronson ahead of January 31st…

What’s the word?

That’s according to the Daily Mail, who claim that the Yorkshire giants are preparing another bid for the RB Salzburg midfielder after having a £15m bid knocked back by the Austrian champions.

The 21-year-old has only been at the club for a year but his impressive performances have caught the eye of many across Europe, though it is the Premier League that he dreams of playing in one day.

Aaronson’s running stats are amongst the highest around the continent, so it’s no wonder Marcelo Bielsa is hugely keen on securing him.

Shades of Gallagher

Leeds have long been looking for a central midfielder capable of driving the team forward in the final third, especially as it has now been four years since they signed someone in the role, that being Adam Forshaw from Middlesbrough in January 2018.

The Whites failed with their attempts to sign promising Chelsea starlet Conor Gallagher during the summer after his impressive loan stint at West Brom, with the England U21 dynamo opting for top-flight rivals Crystal Palace instead.

However, there are shades of the 21-year-old Eagles loanee in the 15-cap American sensation.

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“Typically an attacking midfielder, Aaronson is best described as a half-winger, capable of playing out wide or centrally in the third line of Salzburg’s 4-2-2-2 formation. During games, Aaronson is expected to cover ground in central spaces, as well as supporting attacks via the channels,” claimed journalist Joe Donnohue to LeedsLive recently.

Indeed, the bustling Salzburg gem ranks amongst the top 1% of midfielders in Europe for pressures, having averaged 27.84 pressures per 90 and he also forces the opposition into losing the ball 8.55 times per 90, with those figures coming in the Champions League, via FBRef.

This is right up Bielsa’s street as he loves a player who can press high up the pitch, just as Gallagher has proven to do during his time at the Hawthorns and Selhurst Park.

Nicknamed the ‘Medford Messi’, Aaronson has been dubbed “highly talented” by talent scout Jacek Kulig and “silky” by ex-USMNT international DeMarcus Beasley.

His returns of ten goals and 12 assists from only 51 appearances in Austria make him a very exciting young talent indeed. As such, Victor Orta and co must push ahead with plans to sign him as soon as possible.

Bielsa could finally be getting his Gallagher-like midfield presence.

AND in other news, Journalist drops huge Leeds United transfer claim ahead of deadline day…

It is not difficult to understand why Leeds United were heavily linked with a move for 19-year-old sensation Fabio Carvalho in the January transfer window.

Indeed, the £3.15m-rated attacking midfielder has been in breathtaking form over his 27 Championship appearances for Fulham this season, scoring seven goals, registering six assists and creating ten big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of two shots and making 1.9 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the teenager who Sky Sports analyst Nick Wright dubbed an “extraordinary talent” average an incredibly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.01, ranking him as Marco Silva’s ninth-best performer in the second tier of English football – playing a key role in the Cottagers’ all but confirmed return to the Premier League.

And, although Victor Orta did spend £26m on support striker Rodrigo back in August 2020, in truth, between Tyler Roberts and the Spain international, Leeds have lacked a truly creative attacking midfielder ever since the departure of Pablo Hernandez.

While it is true that the 36-year-old was probably past his best in 2020/21, being used sparingly by Marcelo Bielsa, the playmaker was influential for the Whites over his 36 appearances in the club’s Championship-winning campaign back in 2019/20.

Indeed, this season, the £270k-rated Spaniard scored nine goals, provided nine assists and created 13 big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.1 shots and making 2.3 passes per fixture.

These metrics saw the £19k-per-week midfielder who Phil Hay dubbed both a “demon” and “unreal” earn a quite remarkable seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.35, not only ranking him as Leeds’ best performer in the second tier but also as the third-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, while a deal for Carvalho – who looks set to become available on a free transfer this summer – may be a difficult move for Orta to pull off, with Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund all being linked with the 19-year-old, it would nevertheless appear essential for the sporting director to do all he can to land the Fulham sensation at the end of the season – as the Portugal U21 international could well prove to become the next Hernandez at Elland Road.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Phil Hay drops 7-word behind the scenes Leeds update, Marsch will be gutted

Everton have already signed two players in the first week of the January transfer window, and could be set to make their third signing, but not on manager Rafa Benitez’s terms, if rumours are to believed.

What’s the story?

According to ESPN, Everton are in talks to sign Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona with Premier League clubs interested in the Brazilian attacking midfielder.

However, the report suggests that there is an internal debate at the club as whilst Farhad Moshiri is keen to do a deal for the player, Rafa Benitez is not on board with the signing.

Coutinho has failed to impress at Barcelona and has been heavily linked to many clubs across the Premier League and Europe, however according to Sky Sports, just two clubs remain in the race to secure the signature of the £380k-per-week player.

Disasterclass

If Moshiri wasn’t able to convince Benitez about a move for Coutinho but signed him anyway, the owner could fracture his relationship with the Spanish manager, and it never ends well when Rafa is involved.

Mike Ashley allegedly felt the wrath of the former Newcastle United head coach when the ex-Magpies owner refused to back him in the January transfer window of 2017, with The Express reporting that the Spaniard demanded answers from Ashley.

The relationship between the pair never repaired, and the problems only escalated behind the scenes until Benitez’s contract expired in 2019.

Sadly, Moshiri could be set for a similar situation if he was to blow the budget on the £16.2m-rated star hailed a “magician” by former Liverpool team mate and Aston Villa manager, Steven Gerrard.

There are many key areas of concern that Everton need to focus on, as well as finding a solution for the ongoing issues with Lucas Digne during the four-week window, and Benitez will want to avoid adding to the reckless spending habits of the past that the club has become famous for since Moshiri landed at Goodison Park.

The owner has signed 43 players and spent over £500 million over the last five years, not including the two additions this week, with little return of investment considering the club have not won a single trophy in that time and sit 15th in the Premier League currently.

Benitez has clearly attempted to adopt a different direction when it comes to signing transfer targets, just judging by his signings of Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend in the summer, with Gray costing just £1.7m and Townsend joining on a free transfer.

It will be interesting to see if Everton continue their pursuit of Coutinho if the owner and manager cannot agree on the signing, and if he does go to Everton, it will only add to speculation that Benitez’s time at the club is slowly but surely coming to an end.

In other news: Benitez can axe Holgate with Araujo signing