Michy Batshuayi was the hero for Chelsea on Saturday as they came from behind at Stamford Bridge to beat Watford in the English Premier League.

Trailing 2-1 well into the second half, Antonio Conte made the bold decision to substitute summer signing Alvaro Morata off the pitch and bring on Batshuayi, who had struggled for form in their last match against Crystal Palace.

The challenge was to show he can be a first team regular at the Blues and the youngster responded with the equalising goal, before finishing off an injury time effort to round off the 4-2 result. It was an exceptional contribution at a critical time for Chelsea, who had lost their previous two league games.

Batshuayi has now scored seven goals in 10 appearances for Conte’s side this season, although many of those appearances have been from off the bench, making him one of the more prolific strikers in the country so far this term.

Has he played his way into a starting position next time out?

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on it all…

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Aston Villa were dealt a double blow at the weekend in their Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday.

Steve Bruce’s side suffered defeat and also lost defender John Terry to an injury that could keep him on the sidelines for a lengthy spell.

The Chelsea legend, who moved to Villa Park after calling an end to his Stamford Bridge career in the summer, broke a bone in his right foot inside the first 21 minutes of the team’s 2-1 defeat at home.

Terry is not expected to grace the pitch until 2018, and as frustrating as that may be, it appears that the 36-year-old is not moping around.

With the international break now upon us, the former England captain jetted to Dubai with his wife Toni, and later shared a holiday snap on Instagram.

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Villa dropped from fifth to sixth in the Championship as a result of the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday.

As it stands, the club are seven points adrift of the top two automatic promotion spots.

Arsene Wenger’s days are numbered at Arsenal, so if you think you have what it takes to take charge of the Gunners in his place on Football Manager 2018 then you’re going to have to consider doing what he failed to do in his final years – make the most of the academy.

The Frenchman’s apparent reluctance to spend big money on players and the failure to successfully bring through more than just a handful of young players during his long tenure had ultimately led to a final decade of underachievement and fan unrest.

But now, with you in the hotseat, Arsenal’s fortunes can start to change for the better. The best place to start is to look to the club’s youth setup for any promising youngsters who could develop in to world class players in the future – it’ll save a few quid in transfers (which is what Wenger loved to do) but will also keep on the right side of the Emirates faithful.

We’ve done some digging and have identified four youth players at Arsenal who have the potential to become top class players with the right training and development.

Do the right thing by this lot and you’ll be a huge success at Arsenal…

Reiss Nelson

Age: 17

Position: AM (RL)

Nation: England

Value: £1m

Asking Price: £37m

Jeff Reine-Adelaide

Age: 19

Position: AM (RL), AM (C)

Nation: France

Value: £2.2m

Asking Price: £47m

Joe Willock

Age: 17

Position: AM (RC), M (C), AM (L)

Nation: England

Value: £450k

Asking Price: £29m

Joao Virginia

Age: 17

Position: GK

Nation: Portugal

Value: £650k

Asking Price: £7.5m

Harry Redknapp is known for transfer market canniness, something that all managers need to have in some form: no matter how good a coach you are, assembling the right team is vitally important.

The problem with playing the transfer market, though, is that it often comes right down to the wire: leaving it late isn’t ideal, but it can be necessary as clubs look to make sure that replacements are lined up before letting players go and the savvier negotiators leave it late to drive up the price.

But even for a manager as experienced in the transfer market as Redknapp, it’s not always possible to get the deal over the line. And in hindsight, that can sometimes look agonising. Sometimes a player who could have completely transformed a club slips the net, and that’s exactly the story that the former Queens Park Rangers manager was telling about his time at Loftus Road.

Watch the video below to find out who Redknapp almost signed who could have changed the fortunes of QPR….

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Everton headed into Sunday’s Merseyside derby as underdogs due to Liverpool’s recent goalscoring form.Jurgen Klopp’s side had found the back of the net 15 times in their previous three games in all competitions, while the Toffees were struggling for wins until recently.The arrival of Sam Allardyce has been positive so far as he managed to pull the team away from the relegation places in the Premier League.A 2-0 win over Huddersfield Town gave the players some confidence heading into the derby, but at Anfield the team gave very little in an attacking sense.Liverpool dominated the ball, particularly in the first half, but they struggled to find a way through, taking 42 minutes to score.Mohamed Salah put the Reds ahead, but the hosts failed to build on it and were later punished when Dejan Lovren gave away a penalty by fouling Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the box.Wayne Rooney scored from the spot to earn his team a much-needed point in the final 13 minutes of the game.Former Everton striker Kevin Campbell gave his assessment of the contest on Twitter after the final whistle.

According to reports in The Sun, Borussia Dortmund are ready to use the money they get from selling Andriy Yarmolenko to West Ham United to sign Crystal Palace winger and Tottenham Hotspur target Wilfried Zaha, and they could be two deals that help Spurs out in their pursuit of another attacker.

What’s the word, then?

Well, a separate report in The Sun on July 6 revealed that Zaha had turned down a bumper new £125,000-a-week deal to extend his current £100,000-a-week contract at Selhurst Park, with Spurs, Borussia Dortmund and Everton among his suitors.

The latest report in The Sun says that Dortmund are ready to launch a big-money swoop for the Ivory Coast international should Yarmolenko complete a move to West Ham, as they look to bring in another wide player to boost replace the Ukraine international and strengthen their attacking options.

However, according to German media outlet Kicker, via The Sun, Mauricio Pochettino is also keen to sign Dortmund winger Christian Pulisic, rated at £40.5m by Transfermarkt.

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How would letting Zaha go to Dortmund help them?

Well, if Spurs allow the Crystal Palace to move to Germany in a big-money move there is no question that it would help them in their bid to bring the young American to north London, considering he plays in a similar position and could cost a significant fee if Dortmund need to balance the books somehow.

Pochettino, who has been told by the fans to get rid of an attacker following a new development, may feel that at 19 years of age Pulisic has more potential and room to grow than the Eagles man does, and he would also be able to provide cover and compete for a number of positions given he can play on either wing or in the No.10 position that Dele Alli often occupies.

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Manchester City’s achievements in recent years have been recognised by many, but there are always some that say the club’s success is down to money.

There is no getting away from the fact that City became a powerhouse thanks to the help of Sheikh Mansour’s billions following his takeover in 2008.

In the last eight years, the North-West outfit have won seven major trophies, including three Premier League titles.

Last season, Pep Guardiola guided City to the English crown in style, but they did struggle against Liverpool, particularly in the Champions League when the Reds knocked them out in the quarter-finals.

Liverpool are one of England’s most famous clubs, but they do not possess the spending power that City have.

With that being said, the Merseyside outfit have been making a statement in this summer’s transfer market as they have reportedly smashed the world record fee for a goalkeeper.

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According to Goal.com, on Wednesday, Liverpool agreed a fee in the region of £67m to sign Brazilian shot-stopper Alisson from Roma.

If the deal goes through, the Reds would have broken spending records twice in seven months following the £75m acquisition of defender Virgil van Dijk in January.

After the news regarding Alisson’s likely switch to Anfield emerged, City fans suggested on Twitter that the tables have turned.

Arsenal and Liverpool are set to battle over free agent Max Meyer according to Transfermarketweb.

What’s the story?

The 22-year-old midfielder is a product of the Schalke youth system but he refused to extend his contract with the German club and now is a free agent.

The German international made 24 appearances in the Bundesliga last season and is valued at £16.2million on Transfermarkt.

According to the report, Jurgen Klopp was interested in signing the young talent last summer, and now Liverpool and Arsenal are both considering making an offer for the free agent.

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Where should he go?

Both Liverpool and Arsenal have strengthened in central midfield this summer and it’s hard to see Meyer breaking into Klopp’s team.

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However, with Arsenal having a wealth of talent in attacking midfield but lacking more complete midfielders, Meyer could oust Granit Xhaka and partner new signing Lucas Torreira in the middle.

As a free signing, there would be little risk, but Unai Emery might want to clear out some dead wood first to make way for another midfielder in the squad.

Unai Emery has worked well with Sven Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi to bring in five quality player to the squad this summer and it’s left Arsenal fans feelingly quietly optimistic about the season ahead.  

Arsenal have seemingly found a midfielder that the club have been crying out for, a goalkeeper for Cech to contend with and two new defenders. The club may still be in the market to bring in some players up front but as has been widely reported, the club will need to sell some of their players first if they want to bring anyone in.

According to the Independent, Arsenal are close to agreeing a £2 million which would see Chuba Akpom leave to join Belgian side Sint-Truiden.

The Arsenal youth academy product looks set to leave the club and return to the side where he spent the second half of last season on loan with. Although he scored six goals in 16 for the Belgian side, the striker didn’t do enough to convince the Arsenal hierarchy that he has a future at the club.

With all young players, it’s about having luck and also seizing your opportunity, and in fairness, Akpom has never really been able to do either. The striker was incredibly close to breaking into the first team three years ago but was unfortunately sent out on loan and from there on in, his Arsenal future has been pretty much finished.

Moreover, with only one year left on his current deal, it might be the ideal time to get rid of the young striker.

Arsenal fans – thoughts?

As Manchester United continue to be linked with a big money move for England defender Harry Maguire, some fans will be wondering just who is going to end up making way for the big Leicester City man.

Old Trafford is arguably already full to the brim with talented central defenders, but the opportunity to sign Maguire is something it appears the club are not going to pass up on, as they look to cement their central defensive pairing for the immediate future and beyond.

Jose Mourinho will want his man though, and it will not bother the former Chelsea boss if he does need to wield the axe and get rid of some of his current squad, and we here at the Transfer Tavern think that Argentinian defender Marcos Rojo could be at serious risk of being moved on.

The £16.2m-rated defender was a key member of the squad last season at Old Trafford, but he has never quite lived up to what many thought he would bring to the team during his time with United, and a move away from the club would not be the biggest shock in football.

Rojo has the ability to play both central defence and left back, which might well be his saving grace, but with Victor Lindelof, Phil Jones, Eric Bailly, and Chris Smalling all still at Old Trafford, something will have to give, and Rojo might well be the one to bite the bullet.

Crucially, there would be plenty of interest in Rojo due to his reputation on the continent and in South America, making the defender a saleable asset to United and someone they can recoup some of the potential Maguire outlay on.

United fans, what do you think? Is Rojo the one who should leave? Let us know in the comments!