Man Utd facing prospect of Paul Pogba deja vu if Tahith Chong joins Juventus

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…

It could be time to start rubbing your eyes again if you’re a Manchester United fan. A highly-promising prospect, with very little game-time in the first-team, could be set to join Juventus on a free transfer. Sound familiar? Well, that was pretty much the story of Paul Pogba’s initial departure from Old Trafford, and now it could be a case of deja vu with Tahith Chong.

According to The Daily Mail, the Italian giants have been keeping a close eye on the 19-year-old in view of a potential move. The report claims the Bianconeri had representatives in attendance when Chong scored for United’s U23s in a 3-1 victory over Stoke last month, and that with his contract running out at the end of the current season, are considering swooping for him on a free.

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

The Dutchman has barely featured for the Red Devils’ first-team this season, making just two appearances in the Premier League, with his game-time in the competition totalling a measly 24 minutes. This despite him being given his senior debut by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in one of the Norwegian’s first games in charge of the club in January. Since then, things have not looked promising at all in terms of making a breakthrough.

Having seen Pogba go on to dominate in Italy with 34 goals and 42 assists in 178 games, surely you would think United would have learned their lessons by now? Indeed, re-signing the France World Cup winner for a then world-record transfer fee of £89m seemed to be an acknowledgement that they had made a mistake in letting him go too soon. So how has this exact situation come to transpire again?

Chong has been tipped to enjoy a bright future in the game by a host of coaches and managers, with Jose Mourinho even remarking “when he makes the ball move and attacks people one against one, he has quality”. That kind of edge-of-your-seat style of play is exactly what fans love to see. And instead, it appears the Red Devils are going to let another starlet slip through the net in frustrating fashion.

Arsenal legend David Seaman expresses disappointment over Wenger tribute

This weekend marked 23 years since Arsene Wenger was appointed as Arsenal manager.We really don’t need to run down all of the Frenchman’s achievements at the London club, as any football fan knows he’s a truly legendary figure – there’s a whole generation of kids out there who grew up thinking the club was named after him!Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Of course, this anniversary led to tributes on social media, and Bleacher Report made a very sleek graphic to commemorate his career at the Gunners.

They edited an image of a young Wenger surrounded by 17 incredible players he worked with during his time at the club.

Players such as Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira and Tony Adams all feature in this picture, but there was one glaring omission that the player himself wasn’t too happy about.

One Arsenal fan was quick to point out that David Seaman wasn’t amongst the Arsenal legends, and the former goalkeeper clearly wasn’t too happy about it.

The former England man stated that he’d won multiple trophies during his time with the club, but he jokingly claimed that nine winners’ medals may not have been enough.

Liverpool fans believe Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho is "overrated"

Liverpool fans believe that the Borussia Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho is “overrated” after transfer rumours resurfaced via former Reds midfielder Dietmar Hamann.

The 19-year-old moved to Die Borussen for £8m from Manchester City in 2017 and his rise in football has been down to a gradual process of patience and sacrifice.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

After the youngster was unable to get any game time for the Citizens, the Englishman made the move to Germany and has gone on to score 18 goals and provide 30 assists in 66 games for Dortmund.

Sancho was part of the England squad that won the U17 World Cup in 2017 and scored three goals during the international tournament.

However, supporters of the Merseyside club are not convinced that Sancho would be the answer to take the club forward.

One fan has his suspicions about the 19-year-old and would consider taking the Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha over him. Another said that the youngster would struggle with the physicality of the Premier League.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Liverpool fans:

Tottenham’s predicted starting XI to face Bayern Munich

Tottenham Hotspur will look to serve up another famous night in their new stadium when they host Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

It will be Spurs’ second Champions League group game of the season following their disappointing 2-2 draw against Olympiacos last month – they led 2-0 in Athens before being pegged back and returning to London with just the one point.

That result was followed up with poor performances against Leicester City and Colchester United – they were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on penalties by the latter – although they did bounce back with a 2-1 win against Southampton at the weekend despite playing the majority of the encounter with 10 men.

Serge Aurier was the man to see red, but seeing as the suspension only applies to domestic games, will he make Mauricio Pochettino’s starting XI tonight?

Here is our predicted Tottenham side…

Captain Hugo Lloris starts in goal despite his huge error against Saints on Saturday, where he gifted Danny Ings a goal having attempted a failed Cruyff Turn.

In defence, Pochettino sticks with Sissoko at right-back after the Frenchman filled in admirably there against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men following Aurier’s first-half dismissal, with the backline remaining the same aside from that with Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose all on the team-sheet.

We expect the Argentine to go with more of a 4-3-3 system with Christian Eriksen dropping back in Sissoko’s absence alongside Tanguy Ndombele and Harry Winks, who will be tasked with stopping the in-form Philippe Coutinho.

That means there is a spot for Lucas Moura in attack, and he certainly has the big-game Champions League pedigree following his brilliant hat-trick to take the north London outfit to the final against Ajax last term.

The Brazilian joins Son Heung-min and Harry Kane in attack, with the latter looking to add to the goal he netted against Southampton.

Tottenham’s Moussa Sissoko slammed for speaking out against manager’s tactics

If things weren’t already bad enough for Mauricio Pochettino after watching his team lose 7-2 at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday evening – one of his players has now publicly criticised his tactics.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, Moussa Sissoko has come out and said that the midfield diamond that the Argentine has been persevering with leaves the team tired early on in the match.

It’s not often you see a player come out to publicly criticise his manager’s methods, but Sissoko has taken a bold step by questioning the Spurs boss.

ESPN’s top pundits couldn’t believe what they were hearing after the Frenchman’s comments.

“I guess they haven’t had media training, I guess they don’t know how to address a question, or they just have no common sense.” Alejandro Moreno said.

You’ve got to say it’s rather odd to air these issues publicly. All this does is begin rumours of unrest within the squad, and potentially causes a rift between Sissoko and the gaffer.

It remains to be seen whether or not the midfield diamond is utilised again this weekend, but there will certainly be more conversations about this no matter how Spurs line up against Brighton.

Aymeric Laporte’s contract extension validates Manchester City’s future success

The comeback win against Schalke in the UEFA Champions League, as well as winning the Carabao Cup, weren’t the only thing for Manchester City to celebrate about last week.

The defending champions also extended crucial defender Aymeric Laporte’s contract until 2025, retaining his services for a better part of the next decade.

Laporte had only signed for City just over a year ago, but has quickly adapted to the Premier League’s environment and helped keep them defensively dominant. He’s helped them keep 12 clean-sheets in 27 appearances, while only conceding 19 goals.

An intelligent defender, he’s also made 69 clearances, 30 interceptions and 144 ball-recoveries to prove himself as Pep Guardiola’s asset in defence. Not only has he been sharp defensively, but the fact that he’s made the highest passes in the league(2,313) and averages 85 passes per game (stats via Premier League) proves how well he’s taken to Pep’s system.

The French defender is slowly immersing himself into a role Vincent Kompany’s made his own and pinning him for such a long contract shows City’s ambitions to mould Laporte into their next defensive leader. They’ve also made sure to remain a defensive force for a long time, with John Stones and Laporte at the heart of their backline.

City have also proven why their project isn’t only focusing on current success, but continued success for the long-term. Having brought together a young, vibrant squad which will only get better as players hit their peak, Pep Guardiola’s men are destined to stay at the top of the Premier League for a long time.

West Ham’s Ryan Fredericks shares his joy after beating Manchester United

[ad_pod ]Manchester United may not be the team they once were, but that doesn’t stop opposition players feeling great joy after beating the 20-time champions of England.Plenty of West Ham players would have been buzzing after beating Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side on Sunday, but Ryan Fredericks’ tweet after the game indicates he may just be the happiest of the lot.

Fredericks made no secret of the fact he especially enjoyed getting one over Manchester United.

The right-back went on to say that he was glad to pick up three points and a clean sheet, while also paying tribute to the fans at the London Stadium.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The win moves Fredericks’ team up to fifth in the league, and now that they’ve proven they can beat the top sides they can begin seriously considering a top-seven finish this season.

Alex McLeish makes claim over Celtic trio

Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish believes that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou will make numerous outcasts train with the academy sides, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Derby demolition

The Hoops returned to the top of the Premiership on Wednesday night for the first time since August with a dominant win in the Old Firm derby.

Celtic scored three times in the first half, two of which came from January arrival Reo Hatate, ending a seven-game winless run against Rangers.

Three players who didn’t feature at Celtic Park were Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas and Boli Bolingoli, with the trio failing to seal moves away from the club in last month’s transfer window.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

McLeish, who contributes as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live, was talking to Football Insider about the trio in a story released the morning after the derby win.

He expects all three to be demoted to Celtic’s academy sides due to the size of Postecoglou’s squad, saying:

“This is where, when you’ve got a massive squad, you have to separate a lot of the players, and I’m looking at the likes of Ajeti, Barkas and Bolingoli.

“They will probably be, and I can only imagine because we did this back in my day at Rangers, under the supervision of other coaches.

“Maybe one of the younger coaches learning his trade as well with the professionals who are not in the plans. He’ll join them in with the young players and stuff.

“You know players of that ilk would want to go and play senior level (football). They don’t really relish playing with the young ones.

“To be fair, most of them will give the young ones the respect while they’re training with them.

“There’s no way you can train a squad with eight or nine you don’t consider as first or second choice.”

The Verdict: Still time…

Even though the transfer window is now shut in Scotland, that doesn’t mean Ajeti, Barkas and Bolingoli are stuck with the Hoops until the summer.

That’s because multiple countries across the world can still complete their winter business in February, including Turkey, with the window closing in five days.

Both Barkas and Bolingoli have been linked with moves to Turkey over the past 12 months, so perhaps that could be a possibility over the coming days rather than McLeish’s prediction of them being banished to training with Celtic’s reserves.

In other news – 20 duels won, 13 successful tackles, 77 completed passes: These were Celtic’s 3 best players v Rangers 

Leeds United missed out on Liverpool’s Luis Diaz

Leeds United missed out on the signing of now Liverpool star Luis Diaz according to claims made by Stewart Downing…

What’s the story?

He said: “Diaz has been brilliant. The first thing I look at when a player comes to the Premier League is the physicality. How do they handle all that? But he looks like he likes it. He gets stuck in, he bounces straight back up, he goes again.

“He looks like he’s been here for years. It says a lot about him that he’s been able to do that. A lot of clubs were chasing Diaz – I know Everton, Spurs, Leeds were all looking – but it couldn’t have turned out better for him, I don’t think. He’s got the best move and Liverpool have got a great player.”

Bielsa’s last blunder at Elland Road?

Marcelo Bielsa is, and always will be, a Leeds United icon.

The Argentine took the Whites from the Championship to the riches of the Premier League, and guided the club to an impressive first season back in English football’s top-flight.

His start to the current campaign though, went downhill rapidly, and his departure came amid a torrid run of results that left Leeds staring down the barrel of relegation.

But while on the whole, he got so many things right, missing out on Diaz may go down as final mistake at Elland Road.

The exciting winger joined Liverpool in the January transfer window, and while Diaz choosing the Reds would have been understandable if it was a straight battle, Leeds may have shown a bit more pro-activeness and tried to get a deal as soon as they were left impressed by him.

Instead, they chose not to act on their interest, and Diaz has proven to be a superb signing in his short time at Anfield thus far.

The 31-cap Colombia international was in scintillating form for his former side Porto this season, registering a very impressive 16 goals and six assists in only 29 appearances for the Liga NOS giants.

It was no surprise that he would earn a high-profile move to the Premier League in January, and he has certainly hit the ground running at Anfield, scoring two goals in his first six games for Liverpool.

Now valued at £58.5m by CIES, the 5 foot 10 star has been dubbed a “livewire” and as being “phenomenal” by Portuguese football expert Alex Goncalves – exactly the kind of rave reviews that would have had the Leeds faithful very excited.

Having Diaz and Raphinha line up on the flanks would have been a frightening prospect, but Leeds’ loss is very much Liverpool’s gain.

AND in other news – Leeds must finally offload £15k-p/w outcast who last played at Elland Road in 2018

AVFC must complete Lingard transfer

With three players added to their senior squad earlier in the current January transfer window, Aston Villa still have enough time to strengthen their side even further before the window closes.

One player that has been mentioned with a move to Villa in the past that journalist Ashley Preece revealed is “admired” by the Midlands club is Manchester United’s £10m valued attacking-midfielder Jesse Lingard.

Using Villa’s transfer swoop for Lucas Digne this month as an example, he was going through a rough patch at his previous club Everton after it was reported that he had a behind-the-scenes falling out with Rafa Benitez that arguably pushed the full-back out of the door which then led to what Christian Purslow described as an “opportunistic” move from Villa to sign the Frenchman.

Taking that into account, a move for Lingard could also be seen as an opportunistic deal that Villa could look to pounce on before the end of the month given his current situation at United with his deal set to run out at the end of the season after assurances over his playing time in this campaign have failed to come to fruition.

This term has made just nine appearances with no starts in the Premier League after a very successful loan spell with West Ham United last term where he scored nine goals and provided five assists in 16 league appearances.

This highlights just how far down the pecking order he is at the Manchester club and why a move away to a club where he’d be more likely to get regular game time would be tempting for the England international, especially if he can discover the same sort of form.

From United’s point of view, potentially selling Lingard, who has been described as a “phenomenal” player in the past by Kevin Phillips, on a permanent transfer for a suitable fee could be more enticing for the club than letting him leave as a free agent in the summer if he doesn’t renew his contract.

This could then pave the way for Villa to continue their January spending with Johan Lange adding a player with a lot of Premier League experience such as Lingard to their squad and replicate a similar sort of deal that they made for Digne.

In other news: John Percy drops eye-opening Aston Villa transfer update that will thrill fans – opinion

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