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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… 

After getting rid of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the summer, Manchester United have left themselves incredibly short of options up front. Reports in recent weeks have claimed the Red Devils are keen on bringing in reinforcements in the upcoming January transfer window, with suggestions Mario Mandzukic and Callum Wilson are high up on the shortlist.

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The latest man linked with a move to Old Trafford? Bayern Munich forward Thomas Muller. The former Germany international who appears to have a long-running arrangement with the Red Devils to have his name consistently linked with a transfer. A deal has failed to materialise before, but with United’s current goal-scoring struggles – they have scored just ten times in the league this season – an approach for the 30-year-old makes all the sense in the world.

On the chalkboard

As Ole Gunnar Solskjaer looks to implement a fast-paced approach, with an intent on pressing the ball, Muller would be the perfect embodiment of the Norwegian’s vision. The versatile attacker is a work-horse, and has an engine to rival anyone in the world.

His former manager at international level, Jurgen Klinsmann, paid a glowing tribute to the German’s work ethic. He said: “There’s isn’t a team in the world that wouldn’t like to have Thomas Muller on its side. He is mentally strong, a very smart player who always seems able to find space, but physically he is in great shape as well. He is the one who runs the most kilometres but he makes it look easy, even the heat doesn’t seem to affect him.”

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His current boss at Bayern, Niko Kovac, even described him as “intangible” and that “he helps everywhere, which makes him so valuable”. And that’s exactly the kind of player Solskjaer would undoubtedly appreciate. Working hard for the team, committed to the cause, and never one to let the team down. After all the drama surrounding Lukaku and Sanchez, Muller would be a welcome breath of fresh air.

He would hustle and harry the opposition defence, and his movement is unparalleled. Joachim Low remarked that the 6 foot 1 man is a “very unorthodox player” and that his unpredictable lines of running made him a particularly dangerous striker. Solskjaer has made it publicly known he wants both Rashford and Martial to score more scrappy goals like he did. Muller does exactly that.

So despite being in his thirties, Muller’s actual style of play makes him the ultimate fit for Solskjaer’s side.

When you sign a player for just £50k, and then have someone describe him as the “steal of the century”, you know clubs are going to start taking notice.

Glen Kamara’s arrival at Rangers for an absolute pittance should be seen as one of the shrewdest transfer deals in recent history, with the Finland international becoming a key part of Steve Gerrard’s side this season.

The 23-year-old has already made 15 appearances across all competitions, and it has reportedly led to some Premier League clubs to keep an eye on him.

According to The Daily Mail, Brighton and Crystal Palace are among a host of clubs “monitoring” the midfielder ahead of a potential swoop, with the likes of Burnley and Aston Villa also supposedly following him.

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After hearing the transfer report, Rangers fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Many supporters of the Ibrox side insisted they should try to get in big money for the 5 foot 11 ace, with some quoting figures of upwards of £10m.

Other fans however didn’t feel Kamara is worth that much, with one fan in particular labelling him a “Championship player” and that they should “get rid”.

Check out some of the split reaction of Rangers fans below:

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.

Philippe Coutinho has so far been enjoying his stay in Germany.

Barcelona decided to loan out their big-money signing in the summer and the Brazilian was shipped off to Bayern Munich on a one-year loan deal.

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Of course, we still don’t know whether or not he’ll ever be making his return to the Catalan capital but he’s certainly starting to find his footing away from Spain and La Liga.

Still, for all the great performances he’s been mustering so far – he has scored twice and laid on two assists for Bayern in six games – Coutinho has also received his first criticism from the German media.

Sport Bild have come out with a report slamming Coutinho for a lack of any defensive work and his poor involvement in the 2-1 defeat to Hoffenheim.

In that clash, the Brazilian could not turn the tide in his side’s favour and the outlet were quick to state that “two or three magic passes are not enough”.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Interestingly enough, however, this is actually pretty similar to what Coutinho was criticised for during his stay with Barca.

He didn’t have the right work rate to function in their midfield and was even branded as “lazy” in their 4-0 bashing at Anfield by Sport (via Metro), suggesting he didn’t work hard enough and even questioning his signing.

Other outlets, like Mundo Deportivo (via Metro as well), pretty much echoed that statement by calling the Brazilian “invisible”.

So even though he can definitely muster a great performance and is sometimes a joy to watch when he’s on the ball, he’ll still have to put in some more work if he is to be truly revered.

And granted, these are very much the first criticisms he has received in Germany but it’s a worrying sign since these are the same old cracks that appeared in Catalonia as well.

But who knows, maybe Niko Kovac and Bayern will manage to fix that.

They surely know, however, that Barca couldn’t.

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

Liverpool are reportedly battling with Merseyside rivals Everton to sign Wigan prospect Joe Gelhardt.

What’s the story?

According to TEAMtalk, the 17 year-old forward has attracted interest from many top clubs with his showings so far this season.

He has already made four appearances for the senior side this campaign, scoring once despite being on the pitch for just 73 minutes in total.

The report claims the teenager will be left to decide between the red and blue half of Merseyside, with a vacancy opening up in Liverpool’s under-23 squad after the departure of Bobby Duncan.

Polar opposites

Could there have been a more ridiculous way to leave a club than Duncan’s exit at the start of September?

The striker’s agent had a public spat with Reds legend Jamie Carragher on Twitter, accused the club of “mentally bullying” his client and even took a swipe at sporting director Michael Edwards.

Fiorentina’s gain was hardly Liverpool’s loss, as from the outside looking in it appeared to be nothing more than a young player throwing his toys out the pram because he wasn’t getting the money or first-team opportunities he thought he was worth.

Then you have Gelhardt, who for all intents and purposes seems to be the polar opposite of Duncan.

The teenager is paying his dues in the Championship, one of the most competitive and physically demanding leagues in the world, and Wigan manager Paul Cook’s comments about him after his first senior goal really say it all.

“He’s got that unique talent to find space in a telephone box,” he said. “He’s such a natural, good footballer. To get a goal like that in front of his own fans was a special moment.

“A lot of young footballers coming into the game are not very nice people. We’re just lucky to have a boy with his humility playing for us – the game is easy for him.

“He’ll be starting soon if he carries on like that. He’s a young boy that needs minding though. It’s a very special goal from a very special player.”

While only time will tell who is the superior talent, there is absolutely no doubt Liverpool would be receiving an upgrade in character by replacing Duncan with Gelhardt.

Thiago Almada, the young attacking midfielder who had been a transfer target for Manchester City this summer, has committed his future to current club Velez Sarsfield.

Velez Sarsfield confirmed on their Twitter channel @Velez [via Golazo Argentino] that the 18-year-old has signed a new four-year deal with the club which will take him up to 2023.

According to Golazo Argentino, the deal includes an increased release clause of €19m (£16.95m) if triggered before next February, €22m (£19.63m) up to next August and a final €25m (£22.3m) for the remainder of the player’s contract.

Portuguese media outlet Record reported [via Sport Witness] this summer that Manchester City were in negotiations with Velez Sarsfield over the teenager, with O Jogo claiming that the Premier League champions had a bid of €10m (£8.92m) rejected by the Argentine Superliga club.

Almada scored three goals and provided two assists in 16 appearances in his debut season for Velez Sarsfield, an average of 0.19 goals and 0.12 assists per game. [via TransferMarkt.co.uk]

He has featured in four of their first five matches so far this term but started just once and has yet to contribute to any goals in 2019/20. He has averaged 29.3 passes and 0.5 key passes per game this season, with an accuracy rate of 79.5%.

He has played as a left winger for Velez Sarsfield this season, the same role in which Raheem Sterling has excelled for Manchester City recently.

The 24-year-old England international scored five goals in his first four Premier League matches this season and has averaged 30.8 passes per game, although his passing success rate of 78% is slightly lower than Almada’s.

Sterling has been a hugely prolific player for Pep Guardiola’s team over the last couple of years, with 25 goals in 51 games last season (0.49 goals per game) and 23 goals in 46 appearances (0.5 goals per game) in 2017/18.

He had not always been such a fruitful resource of goals, though, with just 21 in 94 Manchester City appearances in his first two seasons at the club (0.22 goals per game).

When Sterling was Almada’s current age of 18 years and five months, he had just finished the 2012/13 season with a paltry return of two goals from 36 appearances for Liverpool (0.05 goals per game), which makes Almada’s return from his first Velez Sarsfield campaign seem quite respectable by comparison.

Almada has not been a regular in the Velez Sarsfield team of late and has only made 20 senior club appearances, which makes his potential release clause of £22.3m seem steep, while he would find it virtually impossible to displace Sterling at Manchester City given the England forward’s superb form.

However, Sterling has shown how beautifully polished gems can be made from rough teenage diamonds, while fellow Manchester City left winger Leroy Sane continues to be the subject of transfer interest from Bayern Munich, as reported by The Sun, which could leave Guardiola seeking an alternative to Sterling in that position if Sane goes.

Even with Almada signing a new deal at Velez Sarsfield, the Premier League champions ought to monitor his progress over the season and evaluate whether he could blossom into a winger of the same goalscoring substance as Sterling, in which case he would certainly be worth another transfer bid in the next few months.

Manchester City fans, do you think Almada would be worth pursuing in the future? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below!

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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.

When a man who came through the infamous La Masia academy for two years during his youth career arrived at Elland Road, there would have been a sense of excitement.

Perhaps there would also have been an expectation on Rafa Mujica’s shoulders too.

Reflecting upon things, a striker who scored ten times at senior level for Barcelona B may have just had Ryan Edmondson on his toes.

Leeds have a number of young promising attackers, not least in Edmondson himself but also Liam McCarron and Kun Temenuzkhov.

Competition for places in the U23s is fierce but it was perhaps strange that they brought in Mujica and then almost instantly loaned him out.

The 20-year-old was shipped out to the second division in Spain where so far, he’s played just two games for Extremadura UD.

During his loan spell he’s featured for only 30 minutes. Things haven’t gone according to plan for the Spaniard or his team who sit 21st in the Segunda Division without a win.

After six games they’ve scored just four goals and Mujica has rarely been seen. If he’s struggling to get into a poor side the future doesn’t particularly bode well for him ahead of the rest of the campaign.

Leeds stated when they signed the young striker that he’d go straight into the youth setup at Thorp Arch where he would develop his game.

That decision was eventually thrown out the window as he was sent to Spain to continue his progress. On the face of it, it was a decision that made sense, but it’s strange when you’ve only just signed the player.

At the age of 20, you need to be playing but considering Leeds was his first move abroad, time to settle in England should have been considered – especially if they see a future for him.

However, it does serve as good news for Edmondson.

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The teenager has appeared for the Leeds senior team in the past but may have feared for his future when both Mujica and McCarron walked through the door over the summer.

The former has more experience at senior level, playing 78 times as opposed to Edmondson’s two.

But the way things have played out, Edmondson should still feel as though he’s at the top of the pecking order in terms of the academy strikers coming through the ranks.

Mujica is so far struggling to make an impact and with his side doing so badly, confidence is unlikely to be too high.

It really is raining injuries over in the Spanish capital at the moment.

Saying that Real Madrid were quite unlucky with various fitness problems in the last couple of weeks would be an understatement. Currently, there are six players sidelined and unavailable to Zinedine Zidane.

But there were only five until recently when it was officially confirmed that Luka Modric has been diagnosed with a muscle injury to the adductor in his right leg as Los Blancos’ streak of bad luck looks to have continued.

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And the fans have just about had enough of it, as it seems from their latest social media activity.

Upon learning about the latest injury to their Croatian midfielder, they simply lost it and couldn’t believe this was happening all over again.

They quickly took to Twitter to express their disappointment, anger and sadness as some claimed they were “totally done” and wanted the season restarted.

You can see some of their replies down in the collection of tweets below.

Check them out…

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The Independent report that Jose Mourinho rejected the opportunity to sign Virgil van Dijk when manager of Manchester United, and it is a revelation which has amused a portion of Liverpool fans.

Some believe the 28-year-old was always destined for a move to Anfield and it therefore didn’t matter if there was interest from the Red Devils, but if true it seems like an odd decision from the Portuguese boss.

The Reds were interested in the centre-back for much of the summer of 2017 but with Southampton unwilling to sell, the Dutch international wasn’t able to make the switch until January.

In that time, it could have been possible for another club to step in, and with van Dijk keen to play Champions League football he may have accepted a transfer to Old Trafford.

Instead, Mourinho opted against the move, a decision which he now likely regrets as he finds himself out of work, and particularly as vthe Dutchman was recently named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year following some outstanding performances at the back for the Merseyside outfit.

Here are some of the responses from Liverpool fans, with some suggesting they made van Dijk the player he is now.

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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… 

You just knew this was going to happen wasn’t it? Manchester United’s decision to get rid of Romelu Lukaku in the summer transfer window brought some consternation from a section of the Old Trafford faithful, and it was understandable to say the least. The Belgium international may have not had the greatest campaigns last season (he scored just 15 times across all competitions), but he remained a proven forward in the Premier League. To then not replace him, made it even more eyebrow-raising.

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And now, the struggles of Marcus Rashford up top have only served to heighten the potential regret of letting Lukaku go. The England international has scored just three times in the league and only once from open play, while the latter has hit the ground running in Italian football with Inter. The graphic below simply shows the extent of United’s foolishness. It really is a case of look away now, Red Devils fans.

Leading the line for Antonio Conte’s men in Serie A, Lukaku has yet to disappoint his new employers. The Belgian has struck three times in just his first six league games for the club, and all of them have been trademark predatory finishes. His goal on his debut for the club was essentially a tap-in – the exact kind of goals United are desperately missing at the moment, and Solskjaer himself has urged his strikers to score more of.

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Perhaps most dishearteningly however for the Red Devils, is the stat that shows he has averaged one tackle per game in the league.

Doesn’t sound like much, but for a forward, and for what Lukaku produced in his two seasons with United, that is particularly impressive. The 26-year-old averaged just o.2 tackles and 0.3 tackles per game in consecutive Premier League campaigns, whilst Solskjaer has appeared to prefer an approach that focuses on pressing from the front – not the kind of style their former forward had made a name for.

But at Inter, and under the demanding gaze of the manic Conte, the Belgium international has bought into the off-the-ball work. He has hustled opposition defenders, used his sheer physical presence to win battles against centre-backs, and led the line with aplomb.

Forget the fact he has scored three goals, or that his shots and key passes per game have gone up from his United days. It’s his tackling numbers that really prove why Solskjaer passed judgement over Lukaku far too quickly. It seems it was never the case that the Belgian couldn’t press from the front, he just needed the right man to get it out of him.

Rovers had a very tough start to the season. They lost their opening two games against high-flying Charlton Athletic and pre-season promotion hopefuls Fulham, but since then they’ve hit a bit of form.

They’re unbeaten in their last three against some tough sides as they’ve played Middlesbrough, Hull and Cardiff, winning two and drawing one.

They’ve also kept three clean sheets in a row, and while Adarabioyo is buzzing with the performances his new team are putting in, this defensive resilience doesn’t bode well for his first-team ambitions.

If Tony Mowbray’s side continue to be so defensively sound the Man City loanee may find it hard to break into the squad, but at the moment he seems to be happy watching from the touchline as long as his team keep up the good form.

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