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Giovani Lo Celso is set for a return from injury and some Spurs fans think he could be the solution to some of their problems.

The Argentine arrived in north London off the back of a season in which he scored 16 and assisted six, and as such there is some expectation on him to perform for the Lilywhites.

He arrived on loan but there is an option to make the move permanent – likely for a substantial fee given a price of £65m was rumoured – and that will only add to the pressure on him to deliver, which he has so far been unable to do because of his injury issues.

As a result, he has played just 44 minutes for his new side, though he could get a chance to return against Red Star Belgrade.

Supporters will hope that he begins to show the best of what he has to offer soon with other creative midfielders such as Christian Eriksen performing way below par, and some think the former Real Betis man is exactly what the team needs.

Here are some of the reactions from fans who think Lo Celso is the answer.

Hardly famed for his pace, the legitimacy of Luiz’s victory was soon questioned, however, and despite claims that VAR had indeed checked the decision and given it the green light, which means very little nowadays, his success was rapidly unravelled…

Luiz, forever the joker, will travel with Arsenal to face Sheffield United at Bramall Lane tonight. Maybe we’ll see some of his new-found speed in action?

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 exclusively to Football FanCast, John Hartson has talked up the major benefits a director of football would have at Manchester United.

The Red Devils have come under heavy fire for their scatter-gun approach to the transfer market in recent years, with players of vastly different profiles being signed under various managers.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

It is a policy that has unquestionably led to the mess Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is currently attempting to fix, and Hartson has suggested appointing a director of football would help bring a sense of control and decisiveness to the club.

He told Football FanCast: “Get a director of football in, somebody very experienced, somebody who’s done the job before and not an ex-player. Somebody who’s maybe managed before. Just to go in and help Solskjaer and oversee one or two of the signings. I think that would be a great move for United.

“They need someone who’s been there, seen it and done it at big clubs and can give sound, solid advice to Solskjaer.”

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Make no mistake about it, United are in desperate need for a director of football. Ed Woodward has come under increasing, and understandable, scrutiny for his role in the club’s poor recruitment over the past few seasons, and that is a direct result of not having someone who is football-oriented making those decisions.

Having an ex-manager who has been around the block and can liaise with Solskjaer and discuss things on a football level, rather than on a business one, would pay huge dividends for the Red Devils.

As well as the added focus they would bring to the club’s recruitment strategy, they could play a major part in helping the United boss turn things around.

Solskjaer’s inexperience has been a stick to beat the Norwegian with since his permanent appointment, and so having an almost ‘mentor-like’ figure voice their thoughts and act as a sounding board would help streamline matters.

United need major help behind the scenes, and Hartson’s calls for a director of football are absolutely spot on.

Since arriving from Borussia Dortmund in 2016 for a fee in the region of £20m, Ilkay Gundogan has endured a mixed time at Manchester City.

The 28-year-old has shown flashes of the quality he possesses, but has also frustratingly disappointed too. In the shock 2-0 defeat to Wolves in the Premier League, some City fans flooded to Twitter to voice their anger and disappointment with the midfielder’s poor showing.

But the international break appears to have done Gundogan the world of good. The former Dortmund man scored twice and provided a further assist in Germany’s 3-0 win over Estonia on Sunday.

After watching the midfielder’s superb display in EURO 2020 qualifying action, City supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts about the matter.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Many Citizens fans hailed Gundogan for his performance, and one supporter in particular insisted he did a great job in “silencing those haters”.

Some even compared his display to Spain legend Xavi, and felt he is returning to peak form in a timely manner for the side.

Check out some of the reaction of City fans below:

In our latest instalment of the Flashback series, we take a look back at a certain moment and look at how things might have changed those initial reactions.

In 1997, Arsenal had a pretty special strikeforce, comprised of Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright, who would both go on to be regarded as club greats.

For part of January, John Hartson could also be added into that, before he decided to make the move across London from Highbury to Upton Park, having scored 15 times in 52 starts and 12 substitute appearances for the Gunners, as per Transfermarkt.

Speaking to Football Fancast about the move recently, Hartson said: “I moved on. I had Bergkamp and Wright playing ahead of me. Several times Wenger played me and Wrighty with Bergkamp in behind in the hole, so the three of us did play quite a bit together, but in the long run, it was always going to be Wrighty and Bergkamp.

“I got a little bit disillusioned and perhaps should have hung around to pick up a double winners medal in 98, but I never did that.

“Harry Redknapp told me he was going to build his team around me and he did. I played every single week, I had the number ten shirt on my back and I was starring for West Ham.”

Hartson would repay Redknapp’s trust in claret and blue, as over a two year period, the 52 cap Wales international would go on to play 62 games in East London, making a return of 26 goals and 8 assists.

That number includes goals in two separate wins against Tottenham Hotspur and a victory over Liverpool, showing how much of a big game player the striker could be.

Following his spell with the Hammers, Hartson went on to represent the likes of Wimbledon and Celtic, winning six trophies at the latter.

West Ham fans, what is your favourite Hartson moment? Join the discussion by commenting below…

West Brom bounced back from their first defeat of the season in midweek with a 4-2 victory over Cardiff City at the Hawthorns, it also saw them regain control of first place in the Championship.

The Baggies’ enigmatic loan duo Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira both struck from long-range to give Slaven Bilic’s side a two-goal cushion at the break.

Charlie Austin then managed to finally pick up his first league goal for the club after he burst through the Bluebirds’ defence to powerfully fire one underneath the visiting goalkeeper.

Cardiff substitute Danny Ward ensured a nervy finish to the match as he bagged a quickfire brace to put the game at 3-2, but Romaine Sawyers’ last-minute strike in injury time sealed the victory.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Several Albion supporters flocked to social media after full-time to throw their weight behind Austin after finally getting the monkey off his back.

One fan said the 30-year-old was fully deserving of his goal because he always puts in 100% effort while another called him an ‘absolute legend.’

A further member of the Hawthorns crowd hoped their £4m man would fire them into the Premier League after this latest showing with one more believing that Austin has looked better each game.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

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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… 

Having arrived from Leicester in a big-money deal, the expectations were understandably high on what Riyad Mahrez would go on to produce in his Manchester City career.

The Algeria international had been one of the Foxes’ biggest stars in their miraculous title-winning campaign, winning the PFA Player of the Year award during the 2015/2016 season.

However, since arriving at the Etihad, Mahrez has found himself as being just another expensive recruit, and failed to really establish himself as part of Pep Guardiola’s first-team last year.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The winger made just 27 appearances in the Premier League, and often found himself coming off the bench on many occasions. If the 28-year-old needed a stellar performance to truly remind everyone of his credentials, then he delivered it with aplomb against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night.

Mahrez was at his talismanic best against the Ukrainian giants, operating from his favoured right-wing position and cutting on to his left foot as per his trademark style. The former Leicester star bagged himself a goal and an assist in a virtuoso performance, but his underlying numbers over the course of the game really under-lined the kind of the impact he had.

The Algerian registered a joint game-high three key passes, whilst only City teammate Rodri completed more dribbles for the away side. It was a throwback performance to his Foxes days, and a huge reminder to the club’s hierarchy about why they splashed the cash to sign him.

When you have stars like Kevin De Bruyne, Raheem Sterling, Bernardo Silva and David Silva, amongst others, in the City team, it can be so easy to just lose yourself. Questions of where exactly you fit into the set-up, and how much of the ball you will see all rear their ugly heads. It can really be a case of too many chefs and not enough waiters.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

But on Wednesday night, Mahrez proved he has the ability to not just be a supporting act to the main cast; he can be the star attraction too.

After Leroy Sane’s unfortunate injury, Guardiola really has no excuse now to not give the winger a decent run of games. Whilst he has featured in all six of City’s games this season, the 28-year-old has started in just three of them.

After a mesmeric showing against Shakhtar, City simply have to throw all their chips into the Mahrez basket and watch him pay-out big-time. Sterling on one flank and the Algerian on the other could be utterly irresistible.

Liverpool are reportedly weighing up a move for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi as manager Jurgen Klopp’s looks to improve his attacking options.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Calcio Mercato, the Reds are said to be “looking carefully” at the 20-year-old after failing to replace the departed Xherdan Shaqiri in the previous transfer window.

The report states that a January move could be on the cards for Hudson-Odoi, who was heavily linked with a loan move to Borussia Dortmund over the summer, although Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was reluctant to let him leave.

Jurgen Klopp would love him

Hudson-Odoi has made 100 appearances for his boyhood club since making his debut back in 2018, although more than half those outings have come via cameo appearances off the bench.

Nevertheless, the skilful forward has still managed to bag 13 goals and provide a further 16 assists for the Blues, highlighting his truly top-class potential.

He struggled to hold down a regular spot in the first XI following Tuchel’s arrival at Stamford Bridge last season, though, starting just 10 Premier League games all campaign as the capital club finished fourth.

The youngster’s lack of game time led to Dortmund enquiring about his services a few months back, but their approach was rebuffed by the Chelsea hierarchy.

Since then, Tuchel has openly praised the England international for his attitude, claiming the level of competition is a large reason why Hudson-Odoi has spent so little time on the field under his tutelage.

“From the first day in pre-season I saw him on a different level, but struggling a bit to produce the same performances on the pitch,” said Tuchel. “To be absolutely fair, I have to say that sometimes we use him as a wing-back on the right side, which is for me not the very best position for him.

“He waits. This is far enough. He waits for a regular chance on the half-left position, but he fights against Mason Mount, against Kai Havertz, against Hakim Ziyech, against Christian Pulisic.

“When the door opens a little bit, we demand he puts his feet in between it and makes his mark. This can happen any time. He is not happy with his situation, and he will find that he gets frustrated at times, but he never ever brings his frustration to work – not one single day.

“He is a super nice guy in the dressing room and an absolutely positive guy. He is struggling on the sporting side because there is a lot of competition in his positions, but he never puts it on us or his teammates,” the former Paris Saint-Germain manager concluded.

However, Hudson-Odoi has only received 82 minutes of league action so far this season, remaining on the bench for four of Chelsea’s five top-flight encounters to date, potentially opening the door for director of football Michael Edw.

The £28.8m-rated wing wizard still has three years remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, but his growing frustration could lead to an imminent exit, and Klopp would surely love to be able to call upon his services at Liverpool, as he can’t overplay the likes of Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Diogo Jota or he risks them breaking down.

The Reds boss has shown that he has the faith to play youngsters and for Hudson-Odoi, there looks to be more chance of game time at Liverpool, who don’t quite have the strength in depth in wide areas as Chelsea.

This looks like a good deal for the player and for Liverpool, Michael Edwards must do all he can to try to make it happen.

And, in other news…Signed for £34m, now worth £90m: Edwards struck gold with “exceptional” Liverpool gem 

With Slavisa Jokanovic’s Sheffield United side heading into Tuesday night’s Championship clash on a decent run of form, with the Blades picking up 11 points over their last five league fixtures, the 53-year-old manager would have undoubtedly been hoping his team could continue their climb up the second tier standings against Middlesbrough.

However, two first-half goals by Duncan Watmore and Paddy McNair were enough for Boro to seal all three points at the Riverside Stadium, with the 2-0 loss rather considerably taking the wind out of Sheffield United’s sails.

And, as is to be expected after such a result, a number of the United players turned in disappointing performances in the fixture, with Oliver Norwood, John Fleck and Robin Olsen all receiving SofaScore match ratings of 6.5 or under, however, it will undoubtedly be Enda Stevens most frustrated with his display on Tuesday.

Lost 71% duels

Over his 69 minutes on the pitch, the Blades left-back did very little to convince Jokanovic that he should keep his place in the starting XI ahead of Rhys Norrington-Davies for the club’s trip to Bournemouth this Saturday.

Indeed, the £3.15m-rated 31-year-old failed with his two attempted dribbles, his three attempted long balls and his two attempted crosses, as well as ceding possession of the ball on 15 separate occasions for his side.

The man the BladesPod podcast once dubbed a “poor” player also lost five of his seven duels – a failure rate of 71% – gave away two fouls, picked up a yellow card and was dribbled past by an opponent once.

These metrics saw the £32k-per-week Republic of Ireland international receive an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.0, with no player from either side earning a lower rating than the defender.

As such, it would indeed appear unlikely that Stevens will retain his place in Jokanovic’s starting XI for the trip to the Vitality Stadium this weekend, especially as Norrington-Davies looked much more impressive after replacing the 31-year-old in the second half of the loss at Middlesbrough.

In other news: Sheffield United handed big injury boost, Jokanovic surely buzzing

Some Liverpool supporters have criticised Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain despite a video emerging of him scoring a stunning goal in training.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has had an up-and-down Reds career in many ways, with high points thrown in but injuries often holding him back.

The 28-year-old has increasingly struggled to hold down a regular place in Jurgen Klopp’s starting lineup, making just two starts in the Premier League last season.

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Despite this, there is no doubt that Oxlade-Chamberlain is a talented technical footballer and a video shared by Liverpool’s official Twitter account has highlighted that to perfection.

The clip shows the midfielder rifling a stunning volley into the top corner in training before he nonchalantly celebrates the moment.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-3/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=“none”]

Liverpool fans critical of Oxlade-Chamberlain

While the video clearly shows what a talented player Oxlade-Chamberlain is, these Liverpool fans saw the negative side on Twitter, claiming he doesn’t replicate it enough during matches.

“Do it in a game”

Credit: @KlngJohnson_10

“He absolutely stinks in matches”

Credit: @Rome_yR

“I’d rather you’d do one thing that would impress me during an actual match”

Credit: @WasonJack

“Only at training”

Credit: @KatlegoPodile

“Admin releasing Ox’s season highlights”

Credit: @tannaknowsball

“Would be great to see that in a game”

Credit: @AbsolutefitOC

In other news, some Liverpool fans are excited after a January transfer rumour emerged. Read more here.