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This hasn’t been the best of starts to 2021 for Leeds United.

They have lost all three of their outings this term but thankfully, Marcelo Bielsa has had over a week to reflect on where things are going wrong.

On the chalkboard

One of Leeds’ biggest problems this season has been their defence. They have shipped seven times in three outings this year and have the worst record when it comes to defending set-pieces in the Premier League.

Furthermore, they have conceded the second-highest volume of goals (34) in the top-flight. Only West Brom are worse than Bielsa’s side.

Therefore, change could be brewing among the backline. If that is the case then the first man to be axed from the XI simply has to be Gjanni Alioski. The North Macedonian has struggled this term and nothing epitomises that more than the battering he received at the hands of Dan James at Old Trafford.

Though, the left-back was also abject against Brighton. Alioski made a horrendous individual error and also surrendered possession as many as 17 times. That happened to be the fourth-worst tally recorded by any Leeds player on the pitch.

We shouldn’t be surprised by this form, though. After all, he’s previously been described as a “liability” by Leeds pundit Noel Whelan.

As a result, he simply has to be dropped.

The solution

Fortunately, Leeds have received a timely injury boost over the last fortnight. Diego Llorente returned to action for Leeds U23s last week and thus, is fit to be in the squad to face Brighton.

The Spaniard has played just once since penning terms last summer but such is Leeds’ poor defensive record that he should immediately come into the side to partner Liam Cooper.

That means that Luke Ayling would finally be able to shift over to his preferred position of right-back.

The former Yeovil man has played in the middle in each of his last seven outings so it will be a welcome return to the flanks.

Stuart Dallas has been deputising at right-back but Alioski’s inconsistent form gives the Northern Irishman an opportunity to keep his place in the team and move to the left.

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It’s an area Dallas is familiar with having playing in that role on 17 occasions last season. We know that the versatile defender is Mr Consistent at Elland Road and won last season’s Players’ Player of the Year for his displays at the back.

Unlike the £3.6m-rated Alioski, Bielsa can be assured that Dallas would do a capable job on the left this evening.

AND in other news, Leeds could end four-year-long problem with swoop for £25k-p/w beast…

Sunderland are stuck in a horrible rot at the moment, one that seemingly has no end.

Despite news that Stewart Donald is set to finally relinquish his control of the Black Cats, there has been no rejuvenation or upturn in positivity.

In fact, there has been quite the opposite. The Mackems have sacked Phil Parkinson and now without a win in four League One outings, are searching for new owners, a new manager and a director of football.

If anything summed up Sunderland in the last four or five years it would be this. Yet again, there is a lack of clarity at the Stadium of Light and it must be impossible for the players to focus on their jobs.

However, one player who was able to focus on what mattered against Burton was Max Power. The midfielder popped up with a vital late goal in their 1-1 draw which somewhat saved Andrew Taylor’s blushes.

Despite his strike, there was someone who stood out further – Luke O’Nien.

The right-wing back has been impressive this term and is showing great commitment to the club with his performances. On Tuesday, he was brilliant again, providing a lesson to the rest of the team.

He didn’t score or assist a goal but he was dedicated and robust, winning 90% of his duels against the Brewers. Whether it was on the ground where he won four duels or in the air where he won five, O’Nien was imperious and deserves the plaudits from what was otherwise a damp occasion.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old was fouled on four occasions, using his body to good effect to win dead-ball situations for his team.

It was disappointing, therefore, to see him go off with an arm injury, something that is suspected to be a dislocated shoulder.

If that is the case, then it could be a few weeks before we see O’Nien in action for the Black Cats again. After this performance, that would be desperately cruel on the club.

Meanwhile, Sunderland MUST hand more minutes to one young striker…

Mike Ashley can hand Steve Bruce an ideal upgrade on Dwight Gayle by signing Aberdeen’s lethal striker, and rumoured Newcastle United target, Sam Cosgrove in January.

What’s the word?

According to The Scottish Sun, Bruce is determined to bolster his attacking arsenal in the winter market, feeling the Magpies currently lack adequate depth behind Callum Wilson and club-record signing Joelinton.

The Toon have sent scouts on regular missions to monitor the merits of Cosgrove whilst he continues to bounce back from knee cartilage damage, with the towering 6 ft 4 centre-forward making his fourth Premiership start of the season at St. Mirren on Saturday.

Cosgrove played an influential role in proceedings when he earned his campaign debut at home to nine-in-a-row title-holders Celtic in October by providing the assist for Aberdeen’s second in a 3-3 draw after just seven minutes on the pitch.

He followed the assist with a goal in the victory over Hibernian next time out and he could be signed for as little as £2million plus add-ons, after seeing a move to Ligue 2 side En Avant de Guingamp fall through this summer after an astounding 23-goal season across all competitions.

Forget Gayle, sign Cosgrove

While Cosgrove has not yet hit the same heights as last term as he continues his comeback from knee cartilage damage, a bargain £2m fee and his insane record in front of the net last season should be all the reasons that Ashley needs to get the cheque book out in January.

Bruce would be de delighted to have a player of Cosgrove’s ilk serving as the deputy to Wilson and Joelinton, as the Aberdeen ace’s towering physique and similar style of play to Andy Carroll will hand the Newcastle boss a game-changing option to call on when the Toon must ditch the original game plan.

The Magpies do not currently have regular goalscorers as backups as Carroll or Gayle are both yet to score this season, or in Gayle’s case, yet to even feature for a single minute in any competition.

Reports suggest that Bruce and the Newcastle hierarchy are unlikely to accept offers for Gayle in the upcoming winter market fearing a lack of depth in attack, but signing Cosgrove would allow the St. James’ Park natives the chance to listen to offers, rather than see the forward leave for free next summer.

Gayle’s future is certainly set to be away from Tyneside whether they keep him or sell him in January, so it would be foolish not to seek a replacement as soon as possible and accept whatever compensation can be found for the former Crystal Palace frontman.

Aston Villa have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Werder Bremen forward Milot Rashica this week, according to fresh reports…

What’s the word?

BirminghamLive’s Ashley Preece claims that the Midlands club, for the time being, have walked away from negotiations over the 24-year-old attacker.

Villa have tracked the player throughout the summer transfer window with sporting director Johan Lange holding talks with Bremen chief Frank Baumann recently.

However, despite meeting his €22.5m (£20.5m) release clause, it’s thought that discussions have stalled with Rashica wanting to double his €40k-per-week (£36.5k-per-week) wages.

Dean Smith’s side are wary of splashing out huge wages to players yet to prove themselves in the English game.

Huge blow

This comes as a massive blow to Villa’s transfer plans as the Kosovan talisman would have offered a new versatile threat and could have perhaps lessened the burden on skipper Jack Grealish.

The 24-year-old provided 11 goals and eight assists playing on the left-wing and through the middle for the Bundesliga outfit last season.

Per WhoScored, he averaged 2.6 shots, two dribbles, 1.4 key passes and one cross per game, so evidently he’s a troublesome presence wherever he’s playing on the pitch.

Rashica has even been likened to Alexis Sanchez in his playing style – “It’s not just his ability to play across the front line and ice-cold finishing that Rashica has in common with Arsenal-era Alexis Sanchez. A one-man attacking force with pace to burn, the Bremen talisman has that self-same stocky build and low centre of gravity that made Sanchez such an overwhelming prospect for opposition defenders back in his Barcelona and Arsenal days.”

Whilst his Bremen coach Florian Kohfeldt claims the wing wizard “makes scoring look easy” and there hasn’t been many players like that at Villa Park in recent years.

A front three of Rashica, Ollie Watkins and Bertrand Traore with Grealish in support should be enough for Villa to avoid another relegation scrap, so losing out on him over wages could be a killer blow.

AND in other news, Aston Villa must avoid a swoop for Danny Drinkwater v2…

According to an update courtesy of ESPN, Tottenham are one of a number of clubs ‘interested’ in snapping up Schalke midfield star Weston McKennie – with chairman Daniel Levy having ‘monitored’ the USA international over the last few months alongside Newcastle United, Leicester City, Everton, Chelsea and Southampton. 

McKennie, at just 21-years-old, has already totalled 19 international caps for his country and featured regularly for the Bundesliga giants throughout 2019/2020 – scoring three goals and averaging an 80.9% pass accuracy in midfield according to WhoScored.

The youngster, as a result, is being monitored by top Premier League sides ahead of the looming 2020/2021 campaign which starts as early as mid-September.

As per ESPN, Southampton currently lead the race for his signature, with McKennie potentially seen as a replacement for new Tottenham signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

However, this report also states that Spurs have shown an ‘interest’ recently – and ex-Lilywhites forward Darren Bent has labelled him a ‘very Spursy signing’ when commenting on the links last month (Football Insider).

Valued at £20 million, the American could certainly fall under Levy’s tightened budget this summer, even with Hojbjerg secured, and there appears to be a plethora of reasons to re-enter the transfer race.

Ex-Premier League boss David Wagner hailed McKennie as an ‘outstanding talent’ and claimed he could go on to become ‘one of the best midfielders’ in the German top flight (Bundesliga).

Bent also called it a ‘very doable’ signing from Tottenham’s perspective, and given manager Jose Mourinho’s goal of qualifying for the Champions League next season, he could need all the help he can get.

Lilywhites, would you be happy signing McKennie? Join the discussion by commenting below…

Manchester United’s hopes of signing Jadon Sancho have been dealt a blow by Borussia Dortmund sporting director Michael Zorc. 

The Dortmund chief recently told reporters “we plan on having Jadon Sancho in our team this season, the decision is final. I think that answers all our questions.”

Recent reports revealed the Red Devils have drafted a shortlist of alternative replacements if they cannot sign Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s top target this summer.

According to ESPN, Ed Woodward has held informal talks with Barcelona to sort out a deal for Ousmane Dembele.

Now Spanish publication Sport claims that, as cited by The Manchester Evening News (via @utdreport), Barca are willing to sell the 21-cap France international this summer if Man United meet their valuation.

The future looked bright for Dembele by all accounts but the Barca winger has turned out to be a complete-and-utter flop. The £135m signing has struggled to hit the ground running, having only managed nine appearances last season before succumbing to yet another injury.

Barca consider him surplus to requirements and will let him leave the Nou Camp on loan with the option to buy. It is believed that the Blaugrana want to sell him for €90m (£81m) in the summer.

He has been hampered by constant injury setbacks which has practically been the story of his career to date.

Naturally, many United fans blasted the transfer news on social media, with an angry supporter insisting Dembele is “another Bailly” in reference to the injury-prone defender. Another added “what a joke” while one fan tweeted he is “made of glass.”

Scroll through some of the scathing reactions so far…

United fans, do you think Woodward should sign Dembele? Let us know down below!

Tottenham Hotspur fans have been reacting in their droves to recent comments from their winger, Lucas Moura, this week and it’s fair to suggest that the Brazilian has divided opinion in north London.

The 27-year-old has lauded his manager Jose Mourinho for his support since taking the helm back in November and also went on to claim that he’d like to ‘become a champion’ at the club, thus marking his name down in folklore.

In an interview with Globo Esporte, Moura said: “You know I have that goal in my career (returning to Sao Paulo). But I have things to achieve here, the club is growing a lot. With the arrival of Mourinho and after last season, we reached another level. I aim to be champion here. I really want to be a champion and mark my name in the history of the club.”

It could be argued that the attacker already has etched his way into Spurs history after he bagged a stunning hat-trick against Ajax in the Champions League semi-final second leg to send them into the final last season.

Despite this, some supporters have blasted him for being ‘too inconsistent’ whilst others even wanted Moura sold – he is currently valued at £28.8m by Transfermarkt.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

This term, the former PSG man has provided seven goals and three assists in 39 appearances in all competitions and is clearly a favoured player by Mourinho.

Many fans have suggested that he’s best utilised as a rotation option or someone from the bench.

Here’s what has been said so far…

AND in other news, Spurs fans react to latest update on Philippe Coutinho move…

Jean-Philippe Gbamin has suffered a fresh injury blow after damaging his Achilles during a training session.

The club has confirmed the 24-year-old will need surgery and will undergo ‘an extensive period of rehabilitation’, according to an official statement released by Everton.

Gbamin only recently announced he was ready to get started with Everton and was feeling ‘fully recovered’ after his previous injury saw him sidelined for all but two games this season (via Transfermarkt).

Fans have responded to the news and many feel the best option would be to offload the Frenchman due to his injury history. One Blue has tweeted that ‘Brands needs grilling’ over bringing Gbamin to the club. The midfielder has missed a total of 150 days at Everton due to his hamstring injury, and was also sidelined for a total of 112 days whilst with former club Mainz (via Transfermarkt).

Another Evertonian has commented that Gbamin’s ‘career is over’ – which although seems like a stretch due to him being 24-years-old, it could still spell bad news for when he returns from this most recent setback. Gbamin will reportedly be sidelined for six months with his Achilles, which will take him to more than 16 months out of action.

Read more responses from disappointed Everton fans here:

How do you feeling about the recent injury news, Blues fans? Join the conversation in the comments below…

Newcastle fans are rightly suspicious about the timing of the latest takeover rumours at St. James’ Park, but The Chronicle’s Mark Douglas tweeted four simple words on Thursday evening that should make the St. James’ Park faithful extremely excited.After The Telegraph claimed earlier this week that paperwork had been filed to the Premier League over a potential £340m takeover, Magpies fans were understandably sceptical.

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Indeed, Mike Ashley has regularly used takeover rumours to distract from other things like a lack of success in the transfer market or Rafael Benitez’s departure from the club, and after the PR disaster at Sports Direct last week it certainly felt like the same old story.

However, Douglas revealed shortly after the Telegraph’s report that he expects a deal to happen this time if it is backed by “Saudi doshâ€, and has now also confirmed to fans that this is “not a PR stuntâ€.

Those four simple words will surely excite the Toon Army, for while it does not mean a deal is necessarily going to go through, it crosses off what seemed the most likely possibility – that all this was simply to distract from what happened with Sports Direct last week.

Whether or not the Saudi Public Investment Fund will meet Ashley’s asking price remains to be seen, but make no mistake about it, this is more than just another trick up the infamous owner’s sleeve.

Have you seen the Salomon Rondon video Newcastle fans are all talking about?

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…

Speaking on talkSPORT, former Arsenal man Perry Groves has suggested the players have lost confidence in Unai Emery this season.

What did he say?

The Gunners manager has come increasing scrutiny in recent weeks after a disappointing start to the season, with the north London side currently in sixth in the Premier League table, but already eight points off fourth.

That form has led to speculation Emery could have just a month to save his job, and Groves has claimed the players at the Emirates have simply lost faith in the Spaniard.

He said: “What has happened is he’s got rid of the players he didn’t want, like the Monreals, the Petr Cechs, and Aaron Ramseys but then the players that have been brought in, whether it’s by him or the sporting director, they have actually got steadily worse.

“That intensity has got less and less and less with a team that he is supposed to be constructing. The thing from watching from the outside is there doesn’t seem to be a desire to do the horrible stuff. The thing with the Arsenal situation with Unai Emery is, if you watch them against Leicester, and I’ve been watching Arsenal a lot this year, there is no structure. There doesn’t seem to be any philosophy.

“Unai Emery doesn’t seem to know his best formation, he doesn’t seem to know what players to play in that formation and I think the players have lost confidence in him. I don’t think the players are getting him at the minute.”

Philosophy

When Emery first arrived at the Emirates in the summer of 2018, one of his key buzzwords included “protagonists”. The idea that the Gunners would have a team who would look to play on the front foot, be aggressive in their pressing and rally the crowd. Instead, the north Londoners have been the complete opposite of that – particularly in the Spaniard’s second campaign in charge.

Emery’s men have been far too chameleon-like, changing tactical structure and philosophy game-to-game, and unsurprisingly leading to wildly disjointed performances. The sheer number of shots they have faced on average in the Premier League this season (16.4 – the third-worst in the division) is largely as a result of not having a clear identity or game-plan. As Groves alludes to, it makes it difficult for the players to completely buy into their manager, when quite simply, the results just aren’t bearing fruit.