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

According to Italian media outlet Tuttosport, an agreement that sees Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Christian Eriksen join Juventus and Paulo Dybala come the other way could be a possibility, and if it happened it would eclipse the brilliant summer deal that saw Tanguy Ndombele arrive at Spurs.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Tuttosport have reported that the Serie A holders are interested in the Denmark international, who is keen for a new challenge away from north London with his contract due to expire next summer.

Meanwhile, Tottenham came close to bringing Dybala to the Premier League on deadline day of the summer transfer window, before a deal eventually collapsed.

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Tuttosport report that Spurs are still keen on the Argentina international however, and given the Turin giants are also interested in Eriksen it makes sense on paper for some sort of sensible agreement to be reached in the New Year.

Better deal than Ndombele

There is no doubt that Tottenham pulled off a bit of a coup with their move to bring the highly-rated midfielder in during the summer for a club-record fee that could rise to £62.8m, having beaten off competition from Manchester City and Manchester United for his signature, as per The Express.

The 22-year-old was previously described as the complete midfielder – as long as he is focused – by The Guardian, which highlights the potential he has and the big future the Frenchman may have ahead of him. That said, he is still young and isn’t the finished article yet, and is yet to really prove himself consistently at the very highest level for Lyon.

Meanwhile, Dybala is three years older and should be approaching the peak years of his career, and with 78 goals in 30 assists in 183 appearances for Juventus, according to Transfermarkt, he has been there and done it and would be an exciting addition to the north London outfit’s frontline.

Eriksen may have 67 goals and 86 assists in 281 outings in all competitions for Spurs, but the fact of the matter is that he no longer wants to be at the club and as things stand looks unlikely to sign a new deal.

So if Tottenham can lose a player that doesn’t want to be there and bring in a top-class replacement – all while potentially have the opportunity to use the 27-year-old to lower Dybala’s asking price if Juve take the Dane in January rather than for free next summer – what’s not to love?

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Leeds made one surprise change on Sunday as they started Jamie Shackleton in midfield. Adam Forshaw wasn’t included in the squad as he missed out for the first time in the Championship this term.

The loss didn’t look as though it was felt too hard, however, as the Whites prevailed 2-0 thanks to two late goals.

Eddie Nketiah came off the bench to prod home the opener before Mateusz Klich was on hand from the penalty spot.

But despite winning, a host of Leeds fans still think they missed Forshaw during the performance.

One suggested that it was a mess for 70 minutes, claiming he controls the tempo in midfield. A further fan said they struggled to break up the possession without him.

Another supporter noted that they missed his metronomic tick of the play.

Forshaw has been steady in the Leeds midfield this term, achieving a pass success rate of over 90% but failing to find the back of the net.

Playing alongside Klich, he’s begun to play in a more advanced role, something that’s proven by the two shots per game he has. Last term that figure stood at 0.8.

Here’s the best of the debate.

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Yes, Troy Deeney posted an update that indicates he may be back in action sooner rather than later.

The striker shared a snap of him back on an exercise bike working on his recovery.

The attacker has certainly been missed by the Vicarage Road outfit so far this season, as they currently sit bottom of the league with just four goals scored, the joint-lowest in the division.

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Therefore, you can see why the return of a man who netted nine league goals last term would be welcomed, especially when it’s the skipper.

Deeney’s first-team comeback may still be a while away, but this post is certainly encouraging.

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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… 

Sheffield Wednesday needed late heroics to ensure that Garry Monk’s start to life at the club continued in unbeaten style.

After defeating Huddersfield for his first game in charge, the Owls faced a much sterner test in the form of Fulham, who weren’t sitting in the relegation zone like the Terriers.

The visitors actually took the lead right before half time when Keiren Westwood spilled a cross straight into the path of Tom Cairney, who couldn’t miss from close range.

With less than 15 minutes to go, Monk threw on the big man Atdhe Nuhiu, and he was rewarded in the last seconds of the game as the 6 foot 6 striker headed home a Kadeem Harris cross to salvage a point.

Wednesday were quite sloppy in spells and the failure to convert their chances ultimately put them at risk from losing this game.

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On the Chalkboard

Fulham played the Owls off the park, statistically speaking, as the visitors recorded a vast 70.8% possession which is quite extraordinary for an away team – but that’s just how Scott Parker sets up his team.

They rank first in the league for possession percentage at 63.8%.

Wednesday had more shots at goal with 12, though, just five of those were on target with the only goal coming in injury-time – that’s quite clearly an issue, but it has an easy solution.

Monk’s favoured formation at Birmingham City was 4-4-2 which saw the strike pairing of Che Adams and Lukas Jutkiewicz rack up 36 goals between them, in a side that finished 17th in the Championship.

Find out how a world-record-holding freestyler got on with the worst football in the world in the video below…

A simple switch to a similar style at Hillsborough could pay dividends – there are certainly more than enough forwards at the club to do so and it would surely help the team garner more end product.

Steven Fletcher, who wins 6.5 aerial duels per game, and Nuhiu offer a target man-type player while Sam Winnall and Fernando Forestieri can be the sort to feed off that.

And then there is Jordan Rhodes if we’re getting desperate.

The Owls also have talented wing players in Harris, Adam Reach and Newcastle United loanee Jacob Murphy, which would allow the number of crosses into the box that makes this system tick.

Harris showed signs of that in his assist, so the formation could well work if given a go. It certainly did so under Monk at Birmingham.

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

Garry Monk suffered his first defeat as Sheffield Wednesday boss on Tuesday night as Hull City managed to claim a 1-0 victory at the KCOM Stadium.

Previous to that, the 40-year-old had steered his side to seven points from a possible nine, so his start to life at Hillsborough has been rather solid.

One thing against Monk is that he’s having to operate with a squad of players that were signed by his predecessors. Therefore he can’t put his own stamp on the side until at least January and even then maybe not until the summer.

In midweek, Sam Hutchinson picked up his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will be a guaranteed absence this weekend when they host Wigan Athletic – the 30-year-old was particularly weak in midfield, which undoubtedly contributed to their downfall.

Therefore, it could be a blessing in disguise for Wednesday as one player is set to gain from his suspension.

On the Chalkboard

Against Hull, Hutchinson recorded a poor passing success rate of 71%, which is his worst effort of the season alongside picking up a dire rating of 6.05, per WhoScored.

The defensive midfielder has just been too inconsistent in the passing game meaning several turnovers of possession surely lie in his hands as he has struggled to find a man in the blue and white stripes regularly.

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Massimo Luongo replaced Hutchinson at Middlesbrough when he had to come off through injury and did a decent enough job as they won, but he’s only managed to make five substitute appearances thus far, so he could do with a run in the team.

The other midfielder in line to feature would be Kieran Lee, who has started just one game under Monk since his appointment last month.

Monk should probably side with the Australian for this fixture as in his sparse 118 minutes, he’s managed to register a passing success rate of 87.7%, which is above that of Hutchinson’s recent showing.

The 27-year-old showed his quality for Queens Park Rangers before clinching a move to south Yorkshire this summer – he has managed at least three assists per season from defensive midfield since 2015.

Their suspension, therefore, could be a blessing in disguise.

Some Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have been left unimpressed by a report from CalcioMercato saying they are interested in Ajax winger David Neres.

The Italian media outlet says Spurs are monitoring the Brazilian attacker, rated at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, and there is no doubting his ability given he has scored 31 goals and provided a further 33 assists in 113 matches for the Eredivisie giants.

However, the north London outfit appear to have more pressing concerns at the moment from a defensive point of view, as shown by the seven goals they shipped at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week.

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That is one of the major bugbears of the Tottenham supporters commenting on the reported interest in the South American, who would likely be fighting with the likes of Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela for a spot in Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI if he arrived at the club in the near future.

While one individual asked “are we turning into Arsenal?”, in relation to the Gunners buying attacking players rather than sorting out their backline, another said “we need defensive players more”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Other than Declan Rice there have not been too many graduates from the West Ham academy to make it in the first team in recent years, but Josh Cullen is proving his worth once again in his latest loan spell at Charlton.

It is only the second time the 23-year-old has experienced playing in the Championship but he has adjusted well so far, and has already shown his importance to the team.

That is reflected by the fact Lee Bowyer has picked him to start in all ten league fixtures so far, with the Addicks starting very well and performing above expectations.

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Many anticipated that the south London side would struggle following promotion, and having lost key players over the summer such as Joe Aribo, only making their first signing in mid-June when Macauley Bonne arrived.

Although Cullen hasn’t set the world alight in terms of goals and assists, recording none so far, he has kept the midfield ticking over for Bowyer and his absence would be very noticeable should he become unavailable.

His pass accuracy of 83% shows he is a tidy user of possession in a similar fashion to Rice and Mark Noble, and he shares their battling nature too, with 1.7 tackles per game this term.

That is vital to the way Charlton play and to how Bowyer sets up, often employing a narrow formation so far which requires Cullen to do a lot of running, tracking back to cover the opposition winger and help out his right-back.

It is such drive which should appeal to West Ham, and it is a role he could perform for the Hammers if he gets an opportunity upon his return.

Training with experienced pros like Noble and Jack Wilshere would likely teach him a great deal about the game, and his positional awareness and understanding could improve as a result.

At the moment he is playing well but it is vital he continues to progress. His lack of productivity in the final third is a concern as it means he is unlikely to put pressure on Manuel Pellegrini to push for a starting place, but an average of 1.4 key passes per game shows it is not for a lack of effort, and he is moving in the right direction.

Cullen looks likely to continue as a regular at Charlton and if he continues his current level of performance he should help his team to continue picking up points, and game by game could edge himself onto the Chilean’s radar.

Many Arsenal fans have shared their excitement after youngster Matteo Guendouzi was given a nomination for the Golden Boy award.

20 of the finest youngsters playing across Europe have been selected for the award – and the winner goes to the player perceived to have played the best over the calendar year.

The prestigious award – previously won by England’s Wayne Rooney and Raheem Sterling – is dished out by Italian paper Tuttosport for the best player under 21 playing in the top tier of European football.

The winner of the 2018 award went to Matthijs de Ligt for his performances for Ajax and the Netherlands, who of course now plays for Juventus.

Since Guendouzi joined the club in the summer of 2018, few could have predicted he would go onto being such an influential player. Despite still being just 20, he has been a regular for Arsenal and has already amounted 57 games for the Gunners, scoring once and assisting four.

Unsurprisingly, Arsenal fans loved to see the nomination. Here are the responses below…

For some reason, the rumours of Philippe Coutinho returning to Liverpool just won’t go away.

A move back to Anfield for the Brazilian was speculated this summer, but nothing ever came of it as he ended up moving to Bayern Munich on loan.

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Coutinho has been in red hot form since joining the Bavarians, as he’s contributed to four goals and won two Man of the Match awards in six Bundesliga appearances.

ESPN once again brought up the prospect of Coutinho moving back to Merseyside on their most recent Transfer Rater, but that suggestion was quickly shot down by Shaka Hislop.

The former Newcastle goalkeeper said that he believes Bayern Munich will make the move permanent and that Liverpool don’t actually need to change anything in their attack.

It’s hard to disagree with Hislop on this one. The Reds are the current champions of Europe, and they’re on the verge of breaking the consecutive wins record in the Premier League – they look a lot more solid without the playmaker in midfield.

The 27-year-old isn’t needed at Liverpool and Hislop is absolutely right to shoot down this suggestion.

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

Tottenham are reportedly interested in signing Barcelona’s Carlos Alena according to Mundo Deportivo, via HITC.

What’s the latest?

It appears Spurs are still in the market for an attacking midfielder despite adding Giovani Lo Celso joining over the summer, possibly in preparation for life without Christian Eriksen.

Alena was highly rated as a youngster coming through at the Catalan club, with suggestions that he could be the “next Iniesta”, but he is now 21 and has only made 15 starts for the senior side, so time is running out for him to impress in Spain.

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As a result, he may have to move to kickstart his career, and Tottenham – as a Champions League side – could be an attractive option.

However, Barcelona may want to hang onto the youngster for a bit longer, and his release clause of £64m could be enough to deter a bid unless Mauricio Pochettino is determined to add him soon, which he could be considering Spurs’ current form.

Right strategy?

It is rather puzzling that Spurs seem to be concentrating on attacking midfielder right now, with Isco and Bruno Fernandes also linked to the club.

They have added Lo Celso and have other options to choose from such as Dele Alli and Erik Lamela, so it may be best for Pochettino to concentrate on getting the best out of them before he targets more players.

Furthermore, Alena is unproven and therefore could take a while to adjust to a new country and the level of standard set by the Argentine – so he is not what the team needs right now.

Instead, Spurs would be better suited bringing in a player who can provide protection for a defence which has kept only two clean sheets in 12 games this term with the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Harry Winks and Tanguy Ndombele largely failing inthat particular role. Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama have struggled for game time and form, too.

To make things even more confusing, the Spurs boss is reportedly looking to sell Dier and Wanyama, which underlines the fact it is an area of concern, and since Alena won’t solve that issue it makes little sense for the club to pursue him.

Both players have lacked fitness recently but when they have played they have unimpressed, with Dier making his first Premier League start of the season in the 3-0 loss at Brighton before the international break, and the Kenya international having an absolute shocker against Leicester.

Pochettino should therefore be focusing on additions who can improve his side defensively as well as a player who can inspire some faith and confidence in the rest of the players. That is what is required to get the best out of the other players in the squad, not a youngster just starting out in his career.