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Leeds United were one of the most exciting teams to follow throughout the summer transfer window.

Indeed, the Whites ended up spending almost £100m on a plethora of new additions, and so far everything seems to be going to plan as Leeds have picked up seven points in their first four games, despite having to face tough opposition in the shape of Liverpool and Man City.

Due to the strange circumstances we find ourselves in, we can already start thinking about the January transfer window as it’s only three months away, and Victor Orta may be set for a January first at Leeds.

Indeed, the Director of Football may be able to put his feet up and relax throughout January for the first time ever due to the fact he has done his job so well this summer.

Leeds have bolstered all the areas they need to strengthen, and while they did miss out on a midfielder when Michael Cusiance’s deal fell through, they have enough depth in that area to see them through with Mateusz Klich and Adam Forshaw.

Leeds have depth in pretty much every area now and barring an injury crisis, they don’t have to do much in January.

This is a rarity for Leeds, especially under Orta’s guidance, as they’ve usually had some of the most dramatic January windows in the country during the Spaniard’s tenure.

In 2018 they signed no fewer than eight players in January, and while a lot of these were U23s, there were plenty of first-team arrivals as well with the likes of Laurens De Bock and Forshaw coming in.

2019 famously saw Kiko Casilla arrive, while a hectic deadline day saw Orta left in literal tears as the Daniel James deal collapsed. One year on, Eddie Nketiah’s untimely recall saw the 2020 window dominated by United’s hunt for a striker, which ended in the dramatic loan signing of Jean-Kevin Augustin.

With almost £100m spent in the summer window and everything going swimmingly on the pitch, Orta may be able to finally have a relaxed January window where not much needs doing.

Despite Jose Mourinho’s purported reluctance to place his trust in youth, it seems like Tottenham are very much interested in bringing in one of European football’s brightest talents to north London this summer.

Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold recently revealed that Spurs “certainly like” Ajax starlet Sergino Dest, and that he “wouldn’t be surprised if they look at whether he’s viable financially this summer”, further adding that Spanish giants Barcelona are also interested in him.

And even at just 19-years-old, it’s clear to see why Mourinho’s side would be so interested in luring Dest away from the Netherlands. The teenager was an ever-present for Ajax in the Eredivisie, and registered an impressive record of five assists in just 20 league games.

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Right-back is a major area of concern for Spurs given that Serge Aurier continues to be a liability with his defensive howlers and giving away of penalties, and also the very fact that they let Kyle Walker-Peters go on loan to Southampton in January.

But in Dest, Mourinho could transform Spurs’ future by landing a starlet that could go on to dominate the position for most of the next decade.

And when you look at the kind of praise and accolades he has already got in his fledgling career, then it just makes the case for Spurs to sign him this summer even stronger.

According to his Ajax teammate Quincy Promes, Dest is a “big talent”, and those thoughts were echoed by his manager, Erik ten Hag. Speaking after the American won the club’s young player of the year award, he said to the full-back: “You came like a comet. You played a lot of games in Ajax 1, including in the Champions League. You showed your potential. This is well deserved.”

With Spurs already boasting one talented attacking full-back in Ryan Sessegnon, the north London side stand to boast an impressive future if they can bring in Dest.

Sessegnon can maraud up and down the left-flank, whilst Dest does the same from the right-hand side. The Lilywhites could quite reasonably argue that they have the best up-and-coming full-back combination in the Premier League, and Mourinho could help develop the duo and put to bed any notion that he doesn’t develop young players.

Even though their squad is filled with centre-backs, it seems that Manchester United are once again on the market for a new defender, one that could potentially partner Harry Maguire in the backline.

And according to a new report from The Times, Villarreal’s Pau Torres seems to fit the bill perfectly and the Red Devils are monitoring his situation closely.

The Yellow Submarine have just appointed the former Arsenal man Unai Emery and have previously also secured a European spot by finishing the 2019/20 campaign strong. For that reason, and seeing how Torres is apparently being courted by many other big teams, this could be a difficult deal to pull off for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Still, the upside is that all teams in Spain are required by law to insert a release clause in their players’ contracts and the young centre-back can therefore be acquired for £45.5m, should Man United decide to go down that path.

And with the 23-year-old still having four years left on his deal and Villarreal being reluctant to sell in the first place, Ole might indeed be forced to activate the release clause if he’s to bring the youngster to Old Trafford.

But he has to be wary since other teams can also do the same and then it’s all about who can impose themselves as the better option. Can Man United stand against the likes of Barcelona and Real Madrid?

Only time will tell.

Verdict

All the interest Pau Torres is attracting is not exactly a big surprise. The 23-year-old centre-back has been a mainstay in Villarreal’s squad that kept surprising La Liga’s best. And now, he could soon be ripe for a big transfer, potentially abroad.

Man United already have a defender with an incredible pedigree in Maguire and partnering him up with someone of Torres’ potential is definitely not a bad idea. The problem, however, is not the centre-backs’ ability but rather his availability.

If the Red Devils can somehow lure him to Old Trafford and activate that release clause, then they should not be hesitant to pull the trigger. But seeing how they are bound to splash the cash in other areas this summer, this might be easier said than done.

Many Manchester United fans have been reflecting on a memorable goal from Javier Hernandez, after the club’s official Twitter account shared footage of ‘Chicharito’ opening the scoring against Petr Cech in the Premier League. 

Hernandez has scored plenty of impressive goals throughout his long career so far, and although he is best known as a deadly poacher inside the box, it is his sensational finish at the end of a well-worked team move that has fans drooling on Twitter this week.

United posted footage of his strike at home to the Blues, a goal that helped Sir Alex Ferguson’s men stave off a spirited Chelsea side managed by Carlo Ancelotti. He remarkably broke the deadlock against the London club in just 36 seconds, latching onto a sublime pass from Park-Ji Sung, and slotting the ball into the back of the net past the helpless goalkeeper (Goal).

After a header from Nemanja Vidic put the game beyond Chelsea, Fergie’s Red Devils moved within one point of the coveted Premier League trophy. They went on to win the 19th English title in the club’s history at the end of the season.

Unsurprisingly, a whole number of the Old Trafford faithful are still raving about the goal machine’s “brilliant” effort, with one fan cheekily dubbing the Mexican “Chelsea’s worst nightmare.”

Take a look at some of the best reactions down below…

United fans, do you believe Chicharito is the best poacher in Premier League history? Let us know in the comments!

Name: Michael Obafemi

Club: Southampton

Date of Birth: 6 July 2000

Position: Centre-forward/Winger (Right)/Second-striker

Michael Obafemi – his career so far

Michael Obafemi is now already a fully-fledged senior team member at Southampton and given his pedigree and success at youth level, that statement doesn’t really come as a big surprise at this point. But the Irish centre-forward is not exactly a product of the Saints’ academy but has had quite a colourful path towards it.

Before joining Southampton’s own development squads, Obafemi spent some time in revered academies at Chelsea, Arsenal and even Watford as he progressed through the ranks, impressing the right people and turning some heads along the way as well. Still, he would have one more stop after all those spells before he could join his current team.

The now 19-year-old talent played for Leyton Orient for a while before he was scouted and scooped up by the Saints in the summer of 2016, first joining up their U18 squad in the U18 Premier League and FA Youth Cup during the 2016/17 campaign.

But he was quick to impress his new club as well and the following season brought more success his way with Obafemi splitting his time between the U18 and U23 squads and even getting his first senior team exposure as well.

As a whole, however, the now 19-year-old centre-forward would tally a total of 32 appearances for Southampton’s U18s, scoring 15 goals and assisting further two and then recording 21 appearances for the U23s with eight goals and five assists under his belt in the process as well.

Needless to say, his stay in the academy and the development squads was quite successful and was rewarded with his professional debut as a substitute in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in January 2018, aged just 17 years and 199 days.

Since then, he’s made a total of 27 senior team appearances, scoring four goals and assisting two on the side as well. Interestingly enough, his first goal meant he would become the club’s youngest scorer in the Premier League to date, at 18 years and 169 days old.

Even though he’s already reached the heights of the first-team squad, there is more to come from this talented young centre-forward.

Transfer latest

At the moment, there don’t seem to be any transfer rumours or transfer news surrounding Obafemi and the young player is likely to stay at Southampton at least for the time being. Seeing how his contract is still valid until 2022, the 19-year-old could be looking to impress even further once football finally resumes.

Of course, with the summer transfer window rapidly approaching, no one is really exempt from transfer rumours but so far, it’s been quiet on that front in regards to Southampton news on possible exits from the club.

But that should be a blessing for the Saints since Obafemi certainly has a lot more to offer in the near future and they should do what they can to ensure he stays at St. Mary’s Stadium.

Player profile

Obafemi is clearly far from a finished product but he’s been showing glimpses of his brilliance throughout the stay at Southampton. The youngster’s natural fitness is certainly what immediately catches the eye and his raw pace, agility and strength are definitely one of the highlights of his player profile.

Despite not having a very big frame, the Irish striker has the power to engage and win duels but will mostly use his acceleration to blaze past defenders and get into favourable positions. While he also has a great mentality, the technical side of his player profile could still be improved.

He is decent on the ball but is still far away from a modern striker who regularly links up with his teammates and supports the build-up phase of their attack. But seeing how he’s only 19, there is still time for him to polish some of the traits and keep progressing even further.

Plenty of Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to respond to a comment made by the manager of one of their main Premier League title rivals.

Journalist Jamie Jackson tweeted a quote from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola saying how his team’s European history is incomparable to Liverpool’s. [via @JamieJackson_]

In an interview with BT Sport [via Liverpool Echo], he said: “Liverpool have six [European Cup wins] and this club have one semi-final. We are far away from the ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ team and that is the reality.”

While Jurgen Klopp has led Liverpool to the last two Champions League finals, winning the most recent edition of the tournament, Guardiola has been unable to get Manchester City past the quarter-finals in his three full seasons at the club.

The Reds put pay to the Premier League champions’ European hopes two seasons ago and have won Europe’s premier club competition six times in their history, whereas Manchester City’s best finish in the tournament was the semi-finals in 2016, the season before Guardiola assumed the reins.

The Spaniard had also commented on Liverpool’s habit for scoring decisive late goals earlier this month (via Sky Sports), as well as accusing Sadio Mane of diving after the Reds’ win over Aston Villa a few weeks ago (as per Sky Sports).

These Liverpool fans on Twitter mocked Guardiola after his latest public comments about the Anfield club:

Do you think Guardiola talks excessively about Liverpool? What did you make of his latest remarks? Have your say by commenting below!

Bobby Duncan’s acrimonious ending to his Liverpool career underlined the fragility and uncertainty underpinning the development of young footballing prodigies.

Dubbed “the next Robbie Fowler”, Duncan could have added fuel to a perpetually rising fire which represents the rivalry between Manchester City and Liverpool.

Snatched away from Pep Guardiola’s grasp in 2018, Duncan’s goal scoring prowess rapidly revealed the reason behind Liverpool’s swoop. A return of 25 goals and eight assists in 36 appearances for the U18s pointed towards the emergence of a player who was indeed capable of emulating Fowler.

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Until, of course, everything came crashing down in the summer of 2019. Following a fiasco involving his agent, one rather inappropriately played out in the public eye, the exciting wonderkid moved to Fiorentina.

That chapter has finished now but the closing of one page leads to the opening of another, and Duncan’s exit does not necessarily imply that Liverpool will not be bringing a talented striker into the senior squad in the coming years.

Indeed, Paul Glatzel was almost as impressive as Duncan in the 2018/19 season, scoring 21 goals and providing four assists in 30 appearances. Their respective records are remarkably similar but neither have kicked on this season for contrasting reasons.

Glatzel, 19, has been ruled out with a knee injury and has missed the opportunity to make his senior bow in the midst of a campaign in which Klopp has been willing and able to promote youngsters into the first team squad.

But, despite his absence, the club still appear to hold high hopes for his future.

An academy source recently spoke of his potential to elevate into the senior setup while speaking to The Athletic.

“Glatzel knows where the ball is.

“There is cold blood running through his veins. Nothing really phases him. If he gets over his injury, he’s got a great chance.”

The key here lies in the final point. If he can conquer this setback then he will be in with a chance of breaking through, but lengthy injuries are historically problematic and carry the potential to disrupt a player’s development.

However, fans can take solace from the fact that he reportedly smashed the lactate test on the first day of pre-season training in 2019, beating Yasser Larouci in the process in a feat that attests to his physical prowess.

Perhaps he will not be capable of triumphing in the lactate test immediately after he returns from the lengthy lay off but evidently he is a natural athlete, and that can only be conducive to a positive career in the game whether that be at Liverpool or elsewhere.

The decision to offer Glatzel a long-term contract in September 2019 could well be an indication of the club’s desire to ensure that Duncan remains an anomaly to the rule, a dark stain in an otherwise harmonious and focused academy system where everyone shares the same common goal: do everything in your power to play your way into Klopp’s first-team.

It remains to be seen how Glatzel will perform following his comeback from injury but murmurs emerging from the club, combined with his clinical record in 2018/19, suggest he could be the next academy goal machine to complete the transition into the senior squad.

Manchester United’s 3-1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion was a special one for Andreas Pereira, not just because he got a goal and victory.

While there could be a bit of debate about whether the strike was his, due to the big deflection it took on its way into the net, it is set in stone that this was his 50th appearance for the Red Devils:

However, Man United supporters were not so enthusiastic about this landmark ahead of kick-off, feeling that this is a sign of how far their club has fallen down the years, deeming him as not good enough.

The 23-year-old has become a regular feature this season though, starting 10 Premier League games and coming off the bench once.

His performance in the game perhaps backs up the point the fans made, as he was dispossessed 4 times and only managed a pass success rate of 72%.

A selection of Twitter reaction to the landmark, including posts from critical Man United fans, can be seen below:

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 showed exactly what Tottenham would be adding to their squad with a fine display for Portugal at the weekend.

On the chalkboard

The midfielder was the target of much transfer interest over the summer with Spurs and Manchester United thought to be leading the way, and it is possible that Mauricio Pochettino will look to add him to the squad in January.

Fernandes has stated previously that he was close to joining the North London outfit over the summer, and recently revealed that he dreams of a move to a big club in Europe – so could Levy and Co make another move?

Man United chiefs had some doubt over a certain aspect of his play, but his performance against Luxembourg suggests that he would have a lot to offer Pochettino, and on current form would be an upgrade on Dele Alli or Christian Eriksen.

Spurs haven’t had much luck in the attacking midfield area of late with Giovani Lo Celso also failing to get up and running due to injury, and since they have struggled somewhat on the goal front with 18 scored in 12 league matches, a move for Fernandes could be an effective buy.

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Missing link?

The Portuguese has built a reputation as a player who possesses “great technical quality” and that is underlined by his record in the final third, his nine goals and six assists in 17 games this season supporting the idea he has a “killer quality”.

However, he can provide a lot more than that, and his work rate and energy would be of great use to Spurs right now, as their players have often looked dejected and without fight this term – as highlighted in embarrassing displays against Bayern Munich and Brighton.

On Sunday Fernandes was impressive and heavily involved in play on and off the ball, with seven tackles and a total of 97 touches, which suggests he’d be an influential figure in the Spurs set-up.

By comparison, Eriksen once had similar importance for Pochettino, but this year has managed two goals and one assist, with Alli recording the same record in his 10 outings. With the former’s mind seemingly set matters elsewhere, Spurs would be wise to let him go in January and replace him with the Sporting Lisbon playmaker.

The way he ran in behind the defence for his goal on Sunday also shows he offers something different, and with Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura the only two players who do that regularly for Spurs, he would be a great option to have in the squad.

Despite grabbing a goal and putting in one of his finest performances to date, Marcus Rashford found himself on the wrong end of a Graeme Souness tirade after Manchester United’s 1-1 draw against rivals Liverpool.

Souness’ main point of contention is that the 21-year-old, who made his way through United’s academy system, simply doesn’t cut it as a world-class no.9, which is probably a fair assessment given he’s recorded just two goals in open play so far this term.

Two of the four he’s scored in 2019/20 have come from the penalty spot.

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“He’s not the finished article right now,” the former Liverpool manager said. “He’s not scored enough goals in the Premier League to say Man United can hang their hat on him being the man who’s going to take them back. He needs help.”

Neville, on the other hand, is quick to point out the development of Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane as examples of what can happen if a club show some faith in their talent.

United made the decision to not recruit replacements for Inter Milan-bound Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku in the summer transfer window, opting instead to stick with Daniel James, Anthony Martial and our man in question, Rashford.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have netted an average 0.72 goals per game in all competitions since they battered Chelsea on the opening day of the season.

Following Sunday’s game, Gary Neville and Souness got into a heated debate over Rashford’s future at Old Trafford…

Poor Solskjaer has to deal with this nightmare debate every time he goes to make a team selection.