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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…

The international break may be the most annoying thing in the world to some football fans, but for EFL clubs it represents a real chance to regroup and iron out some of the ongoing issues in the squad.

This layoff opens up an interesting chance for Leeds United – an opportunity that they’ve not had in any of the prior breaks.

Chance to learn

Marcelo Bielsa has previously complained about Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah’s commitments to the England U21 team getting in the way of his ability to try things with the striker.

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With Nketiah out injured, he hasn’t been called up to U21 duty, and while his ongoing problem means that he can’t train properly with Leeds it doesn’t mean that he can’t spend time learning from the coaches and his teammates.

Preparing for life as a starter

The 20-year-old won’t be fit enough to undertake a proper training routine with his teammates, but there’s so much more to being a footballer than just doing work on the pitch.

Indeed, there is no reason why Nketiah can’t spend time learning how to play in Bielsa’s system more effectively, as this is the first extended period the Argentine has had with the youngster without having to worry about preparing for the next match.

Nketiah arrived on deadline day, and since then it’s been non-stop in terms of match-preparation with the striker then heading off to international duty. However, studying footage of matches and how he’s played in the past could prove extremely beneficial.

Equally, this next week where Leeds don’t have to do intense training ahead of their next match is an opportunity for Bielsa and his staff to run Nketiah through what is required from a striker in his system by communicating with him and observing what other attackers who are taking part in the training sessions are doing.

Extra guidance could just prove key once he returns and it may just have a decisive say on whether Bielsa can trust him to start.

Aside from their own struggles since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson back in 2013, Manchester United have had to watch their two fiercest rivals in Manchester City and Liverpool go on to dominate both the domestic and European scenes too.

Last season was a particularly forgettable one for Red Devils supporters, with City winning the Premier League for the second consecutive season, and Liverpool clinching yet another Champions League title.

With the duo once again neck-and-neck in the top-flight this season, you would have thought United fans may have clung on to any crumb of comfort. Instead, following Pep Guardiola’s admission that star striker Sergio Aguero would miss the Manchester derby early next month, supporters of the Red Devils did not appear to take any extra confidence.

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Heading on to Twitter, many fans suggested that even with Aguero being ruled out of the game, they would still go on to get beaten by their arch-rivals, and seemed resigned to their fate.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Meanwhile, former Manchester United midfielder Kleberson has hailed Fred’s huge improvements this season.

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…

Didier Drogba believes Sadio Mane is capable of emulating George Weah by becoming the second African footballer to win the Ballon d’Or.

What did he say?

The Liverpool forward is part of the 30-man shortlist for the prestigious award and the former Chelsea striker believes he has a good chance of winning due to his particular skill set.

Mo Salah is also nominated and therefore it would be a surprise if Mane has won, since Mo Salah has finished ahead of him in the African Football of the Year award for two years running.

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Drogba stated that he hopes Salah continues to improve in order to win the Ballon d’Or, but when asked who his favourite was for 2019, he told Paris Match:

“Sadio Mané. For the CAN, the Champions League, and the championship. What he does in the Premier League, very few players are able to do it.

“It would be really nice that Sadio (Mané) or even Mohamed Salah and Pierre-Eymeric Aubameyang continue to raise their level of play to hope to win this trophy.”

Liverpool supporters will likely be pleased to hear support of their players, particularly from a figure who so often acted as not only a rival to the Reds, but a key thorn in their side during his many years of success at Chelsea.

Deserved recognition

Mane is often a selfless player and the tireless work he does off the ball often gets overlooked and instead his teammates are the ones who earn praise and individual awards.

A moment in the match against Spurs on Sunday highlighted this fact, with the Senegal international winning the crucial penalty which earned his side the win – only for the home crowd to sing the name of Salah after he drove home from 12 yards.

As a result, it is nice for Mane to be recognised by a fellow pro and one of the best African players of all time, with Drogba finishing fourth in the competition in 2007.

Furthermore, his 26 goals in 2019 far outweigh the Egyptian’s total of 17, and above Aubameyang’s 24, despite the fact he plays on the wing, and doesn’t take penalties.

He scored key goals on Liverpool’s journey to Champions League glory, too, opening the scoring with a well-taken goal against Bayern Munich, but the fact he often loses out on awards to Salah still means it would be a shock for Mane to be recognised ahead of him.

The likes of Lionel Messi and Virgil van Dijk have also been superb this year, and have been rewarded with the FIFA Best and UEFA Men’s Player of the Year awards respectively, so Mane winning is very much an outside bet.

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…

Much like Brexit, this story seems like it’s never going to end.

Eddie Nketiah and his lack of minutes has been talked about ad infinitum and will probably stay that way until he either becomes a regular starter, or gets recalled by Arsenal.

However, with all the talk for what it means to Leeds, it’s his parent club that should be concerned according to one former Premier League man.

What’s he said?

Speaking to Talksport, Darren Bent spoke about how Nketiah’s future could be at risk if he doesn’t start getting some minutes under his belt.

He said:

“At the minute, he’s got an impossible task trying to move Aubameyang and Lacazette. That’s virtually impossible. But he’s never going to get the opportunity to do that if he’s not playing games. Maybe in January he has to look at going somewhere else.

“He just needs to be playing games. We’ve seen it over the years. Look at Saido Berahino, look at his England Under-21 record. It’s as good as anyone’s, but he couldn’t nail it down in the league.”

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Is this really Leeds’ concern though?

The question that comes out of Bent’s comments, is it really Leeds’ responsibility to worry about his career at Arsenal or whatever club he finds himself at in the future?

Unless they have an idea to bring him in on a permanent basis next season, surely their only worry is what he can offer Leeds this season.

Almost like a rental car – if you mess up the clutch or gearbox so that it can’t be used by the next customer, so long as you have got what you wanted out of it, it’s not really your problem once you’ve sent it back. Not that you should necessarily do that just for the fun of it, but the point stands.

But if this season-long loan is going to be just that, and once the summer rolls around Nketiah is never seen at Elland Road again, apart from perhaps as an opponent, then do Leeds really have a responsibility to give him the minutes to help his future career?

The concern, however, is that the fact he isn’t starting is not benefitting his loan side. Bamford hasn’t scored in six matches and since then, Nketiah has netted eight times for club and country.

They don’t just need to start playing him for his own benefit, but also for Leeds’. If not, as Bent says, he could end up going somewhere else in January.

He’s already been linked with Bristol City so Marcelo Bielsa and co have to be careful.

تعادل تورينو أمام يوفنتوس في المباراة التي تجمع بينهما ضمن الجولة 29 من الدوري الإيطالي على ملعب أوليمبكو دي تورينو.

يوفنتوس سجل هدف التقدم عن طريق فيديريكو كييزا في الدقيقة 13.

إبعاد خاطئ من دانيلو، شهد تسديدة قوية من ميندانجورا، تصدى لها تشيزني بطريقة خاطئة، لتسقط الكرة أمام أنتونيو سانابريا الذي سدد بالرأس أمام أنظار أليكس ساندرو في الدقيقة 27. هدف التعادل لـ تورينو ضد يوفنتوس

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…

Everton have fallen into the relegation zone after their fifth defeat of the Premier League season left them on seven points after eight games, with many questions asked of some big-name players, such as Morgan Schneiderlin.

The Frenchman played just 14 times in the Premier League for the Toffees last season and has failed to stamp his name on Everton’s midfield since joining the club in 2017. That said, due to the injuries to Andre Gomes and Jean-Philippe Gbamin, the former Manchester United man has been forced into the midfield, playing in six of the eight league games so far.

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Against Burnley, however, the £24m Schneiderlin was once again poor and further justified the importance of Gbamin’s return from injury. In the last two games prior to the Turf Moor trip, the midfielder scored a 4/10 from the Liverpool Echo in the defeat to Sheffield United and a 5/10 for his display against Manchester City, and against Burnley, he registered another 4/10.

During the fixture over the weekend, Schneiderlin failed to make a tackle and instead made three fouls, whilst he made one error which led to an attempt on goal for Burnley.

Going forward, the 29-year-old failed to dribble past a single player and could not get a shot away on the opposition. In fact, throughout the last three games, the ex-Southampton man has not offered much both in defence and in the Everton attack and is fortunate to still be in the starting XI.

However, Gbamin was spotted training at Finch Farm prior to the weekend’s action, and his return from injury is a very timely one given his teammate’s poor displays.

Over the last two seasons at Mainz, the Ivory Coast international averaged a WhoScored rating of 6.70 and 7.04, whilst completing on average 1.6 and 2.6 tackles 2018-19 and 2017-18 respectively.

There is also the return of Andre Gomes, who entered the fray on the 84th minute against Burnley. But with Gbamin’s physicality and proven defensive qualities, his return to the squad in replace of Schneiderlin can’t come quick enough.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Quite often, the academies of Aston Villa and in particular, West Brom, gain the most attention in the Midlands so much so that Wolves’ cohort of next stars goes under the radar.

And that’s rather harsh considering the array of talent that’s on offer at the club.

You’ve got a pair impressing on loan at Doncaster Rovers in Niall Ennis, who has scored and assisted one goal in five starts, and Cameron John, who has attracted the interest of several Premier League rivals.

Then there are prospects plucked from elsewhere like Bruno Jordao from Lazio and Meritan Shabani, who has featured three times for Bayern Munich’s senior side – both have been making their presence heard for the U23s.

But earlier this week, Benny Ashley-Seal fired his name into the limelight as he netted a hat-trick past League Two outfit Carlisle United in their EFL Trophy opener on Tuesday night.

The fact he scored three past full-time professional footballers instead of fellow youngsters is a key moment as it suggests he is up to the standard of the men’s game, albeit against a team lower down the English pyramid.

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Fosun’s plans to build a successful academy have been clear in the past and this season it may finally be coming to fruition, particularly after this promising display from a young player against senior opposition.

They just need a few players to break into Nuno Santo’s first-team plans and the way their season has gone, who knows, it could well happen.

Back in 2015, the young striker was named as one of the best twenty prospects to look out for in his age group by The Guardian.

Since then, he’s gone on to score 12 goals in 28 appearances for the U23 side and has also been out on loan in Portugal.

In his early years, he passed through the books of north London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, which can typically be a good indicator of how talented a player actually is as both youth setups are up there with the best in England.

If Ashley-Seal can continue to impress and build on this, then he could become a serious option amongst their ranks. Not only that, but he could help Fosun’s ambitions ring true.

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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…

QPR boss Mark Warburton has defended his ever-changing team selections following the midweek loss to Portsmouth.

The former Rangers manager has used 22 players already this season, and has overseen a mixed start to the campaign with the R’s winning two and losing two of their opening five Championship games.

Warburton also watched his side drop out of the Carabao Cup at the second hurdle following a 2-0 loss at home to League One Portsmouth, having overcome Bristol City on penalties in their first outing of the competition, but he has defended his decisions.

What did he say?

Warburton said: “We made eight [changes in the previous round] and won, we made six at the weekend and won. I’m a bit bemused when I hear about Watford making 11 [against Coventry on Tuesday], other teams making ten.

“You’ve got a squad of players – so when do they play? When do these players play? If you don’t think they’re good enough, don’t have them in your squad.

“If they don’t play, then when they do come on people say, ‘Oh, he lacked match sharpness’. Well he hasn’t played for six weeks.”

Has every right to defend his decisions 

Football is a team game and managing a sizeable squad is often an unenviable and impossible task.

It is Warburton’s job to make those types of calls and also to keep everyone in the squad as happy as he possibly can.

Cup games are usually the best opportunity to give fringe players a run out, and if the Londoners had picked up some better results it would be safe to assume that he wouldn’t be facing this type of criticism.

Additionally, the Championship is one of the most gruelling divisions around with 46 hard-fought matches on the fixture list throughout the season, in which players face trips all over England against some determined opponents.

It is imperative that Warburton does what he can to keep everyone fresh and injury-free, but also ensure that his charges are match fit so that they are able to be called upon when needed.

He isn’t going to be able to do that without making changes, so he has every right to defend his decision making.

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Tottenham Hotspur fans are delighted to have finally signed Giovani Lo Celso from Real Betis.

The club announced on Thursday that they had completed a loan deal for the Argentina international, which includes an option to buy.

It draws to a close one of the summer transfer window’s longest-running sagas, with the attacking midfielder becoming the club’s third signing following the acquisitions of Jack Clarke and Tanguy Ndombele. A deal for Ryan Sessegnon was announced later on Thursday.

And fans are thrilled at the deal chairman Daniel Levy has struck, particularly after Lo Celso’s mightily impressive 2018/19 season at Betis.

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He scored 16 goals in all competitions in La Liga and he has also won a total of 18 caps for Argentina.

A tricky No.10, it remains to be seen if he will eventually be a replacement for Christian Eriksen, who is said to be holding out for a move to Spain; the Liga transfer window does not shut until the end of the month.

Take a look at the best of the reaction 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…

Wolves’ pre-season preparations began in earnest on Wednesday lunchtime as they started where they left off in 2018/19.

The Midlands club were sensational last term after being promoted from the Championship, finishing in a Europa League place and they stated their intentions ahead of the new campaign with a 4-0 win over Newcastle in the Premier League Asia Trophy.

Nuno Santo’s men were essentially at full-strength besides the absent Matt Doherty and Raul Jimenez.

But throughout the match, the Wolves boss may have just solved a huge dilemma involving the latter already.

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On the chalkboard

It’s hard to look too much into pre-season matches but when you’re facing another Premier League outfit, it gives a better indication of what might play out in the top-flight over the next ten months.

Wolves’ start to pre-season will have come as a great comfort to their manager, especially with their first European qualifier looming next week.

It’s a quick turnaround for the black and gold but in Morgan Gibbs-White, they’ve solved a considerable dilemma after just one game.

Heading into the new season, loan enquiries had been made for the teenager but they were swiftly knocked with the notion that he’d be in the first-team picture again.

The 19-year-old struggled to make much of an impact last term, being subjected to just five league starts, claiming a solitary assist.

But with Jimenez not a part of the squad after his exploits in the Gold Cup for Mexico, Gibbs-White was afforded the opportunity to start in a more advanced role behind Diogo Jota.

Jimenez is unlikely to be able to play as big a part next season given the arduous campaign he endured in 2018/19, and there might have been fears over where the goals would come from aside from him and Jota.

In the video below, find out which former Chelsea star could be set to challenge Raul Jimenez as top dog at Wolves…

Indeed the Portuguese scored twice against Newcastle but Gibbs-White has now proven what he could do too, which may well just end the dilemma of whether Nuno can afford to rest Jimenez.

When the Mexican didn’t play last term, Wolves struggled, which was particularly evident in a 2-0 defeat against Burnley in March when the Mexico international started on the bench.

However, this was a Wolves side that didn’t look as though they missed their 17-goal forward, particularly because of how comfortable Jota and Gibbs-White looked going forward.

Although the club are just one game into pre-season, this should be seen as a major plus point.