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

Atletico Madrid have entered the race to sign Christian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspur, per Marca.

What’s the word?

Eriksen has been linked with a move to Real Madrid throughout the transfer window.

But a new report claims that Atleti could make a move if they fail to sign James Rodriguez from their city rivals.

Indeed, Marca claims that negotiations between the two could be difficult, and the Denmark international has emerged as an alternative.

The piece states that Eriksen does not want to extend his contract at Spurs but that Real manager Zinedine Zidane is not keen to acquire his signature.

Music to Levy’s ears

A separate Marca report claims that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy phoned Real to offer them the chance to buy Eriksen.

And Atleti’s stance could see the attacking midfielder finally moved on.

He spoke of his desire to take on a new challenge after the Champions League final defeat to Liverpool.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And it appears that Spurs are actively attempting to move him on, though they are facing a fight to convince Zidane’s Real to make a bid.

That has lead some reports to claim Eriksen could end up staying at Tottenham, creating the daunting prospect of losing a top talent on a free transfer next summer when his contract is due to expire.

Financially that would be a huge blow for Spurs, but it could affect Eriksen’s form on the pitch too.

As such, Atleti’s interest should be music to the ears of the chairman as he looks to find the 27-year-old a new club prior to the transfer deadline.

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

West Ham have a measly transfer budget to work with prior to Thursday’s deadline, per ClaretandHugh.

What’s the word?

The Hammers have signed Sebastian Haller for a club-record fee this summer, spending £45m on the striker, per Football FanCast sources, and have also signed Pablo Fornals from Villarreal for a fee of £24m.

Those deals have taken a significant chunk of the club’s budget and ClaretandHugh now reports that they have “considerably less than £5m” available to spend on any more new additions.

Indeed, manager Manuel Pellegrini has reportedly been told that he can only afford one more squad player as he looks to further strengthen a squad that finished 10th last season.

Football FanCast understands, however, that the club’s board expects the Irons to qualify for Europe this season after a summer of investment.

Deflating news

West Ham still need additions.

The club have been left with two strikers – Haller and Javier Hernandez – after Jordan Hugill, Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic all departed the club.

Michail Antonio can play up top but he is more of a winger and one feels that another forward would be a shrewd addition.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The club could also use another defensive addition, particularly with Winston Reid a remarkably injury-prone centre-back.

The New Zealand international missed the entirety of the 2018/19 season with a knee injury and he cannot be relied upon to complete as many as 38 games in a single campaign.

Having even less than £5m in the kitty, though, suggests that the Irons may well have to sacrifice depth in one key position; that cannot be a good thing prior to the season’s kick-off.

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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…

As quoted by the club’s official website, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has hailed Phil Foden as the “most talented player” he has ever seen at his age.

What did he say?

Widely regarded as one of the brightest prospects in English football, Foden has enjoyed a meteoric rise with the Premier League champions since making his debut for the club in the 2017/2018 season.

The 19-year-old enjoyed somewhat of a breakthrough campaign last year, and scored his first Premier League goal when he netted the winner against Tottenham in April.

Now, speaking before the Citizens’ pre-season clash against Yokohama, Guardiola delivered glowing praise of the starlet.

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

He said: “I said many times in press conferences, but maybe not in front of him. He is the most talented player I have ever seen (for his age).

“His problem is sometimes his manager doesn’t put him in the starting XI. He deserves all the minutes but with his competitors it isn’t easy. He works incredibly. He knows I’m here to help him and I am pretty sure we will get it.”

Destined for the top

Now that’s what you call some high praise. To be getting first-team opportunities for a side containing the likes of Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva, amongst others, is an achievement in itself.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The England U21 international has incredible poise and technique and as Guardiola himself suggested earlier this year, is an “exceptional player” already. Despite the Citizens contending for trophies on all fronts, Guardiola seemingly had enough trust in his abilities to hand him 26 appearances across all competitions.

As he continues to learn and progress under his Spanish manager’s tutelage, there can be no doubting that Foden will fancy his chances of eventually taking over from the likes of De Bruyne and Silva to become City’s attacking lynchpin.

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Lots of Newcastle fans have been discussing a selection dilemma facing Steve Bruce, and it seems the Toon Army favour Javier Manquillo over DeAndre Yedlin.

Reports in France claim the Magpies are close to snapping up Sweden international right-back Emil Krafth as their fourth summer signing, but until that happens Yedlin and Manquillo are the only options in the position.

Yedlin offers excellent pace and athleticism, and perhaps boasts the higher ceiling as well, but Manquillo is a sturdier presence in the back line.

Last term, the American started 28 Premier League games, scoring once and assisting twice, while averaging 1.9 tackles, 1 interception and 2.4 clearances per game.

Manquillo meanwhile only started 12 league fixtures, with six substitute appearances skewing his stats in the wrong direction, but he did rack up three assists nonetheless, averaging 1.5 tackles, 0.9 interceptions and 2.7 clearances each game.

And while Yedlin is certainly the ‘sexier’ pick, fans are leaning towards Manquillo, favouring the Spaniard’s defensive solidity over Yedlin, who can be reckless at times.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick as Manchester City recorded a 5-0 win over West Ham United on the opening weekend of the 2019-20 Premier League season.

It was yet another terrific performance from the 24-year-old, who has now netted four times in two appearances this term following his effort against Liverpool in the Community Shield last weekend.

Sterling scored 25 goals and provided 18 assists in 51 appearances in all competitions for Pep Guardiola’s side during the 2018-19 campaign.

But he looks capable of beating that total this time around.

And a number of Manchester United fans have taken to social media to comment on the England international.

Despite the immense rivalry between the two teams, the United supporters cannot help but appreciate the player that Sterling has become under Guardiola.

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Meanwhile, there are those who wish that their side had a talent like him.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Red Devils fans can be seen below:

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Liverpool’s new 2019/20 season got off to almost a pitch-perfect start.

The first two games in the Premier League campaign have seen the Reds snatch all six points for their tally and they’ve also clinched the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul, beating English top flight rivals Chelsea in the process.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The only thing Jurgen Klopp probably wishes had have gone better is the Community Shield clash with Manchester City just before the rollercoaster of the new season started. But that defeat probably doesn’t hurt as much, anyway.

Mohamed Salah also seems ready and motivated for the new season as the Egyptian has already got one goal and one assist under his belt in the two games he played in the Premier League.

And now, he’ll be able to do it with some new boots, if his

/B1a5zC2BMwR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram video is anything to go by.

Salah shared some brilliant footage with Adidas, showing off the new blades in action as he kicked the ball into the water and then sprinted to get it back.

If these early signs are any indication, Salah looks to be motivated for another great season with the Reds.

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

Sport have reported that Barcelona want to renew Rafinha’s contract before sending him off on loan.

What’s the word, then?

Rafinha has spent most of his career at Barcelona. But despite that, he’s never been a really important piece of the Catalan jigsaw because of one simple thing: injuries. Last season, he was out for 217 days, missing out on a total of 41 games.In 2016/17, the situation was fairly similar when a meniscal injury sidelined him for 38 games.

Needless to say, the 26-year-old never truly got the chance to shine and show what he can do as all of that talent was somehow always buried beneath those fitness problems. And now that he has finally strung together a couple of games in the new 2019/20 La Liga season and the summer pre-season, we’ve seen a glimpse of what he can do.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The only thing, however, that seems to be keeping him at the Camp Nou is his old contract that will expire next year, preventing Barcelona from sending him on loan despite interest from Valencia.

And because of that, the Blaugrana aim to renew his contract so that they can send him along his way to Los Che. Looking at that potential deal, it seems to be a bad move from the Catalans.

A different kind of asset

Looking back at Barcelona’s first two games in La Liga, Rafinha not only looked like the best player on the pitch on so many occasions but he also offered something entirely different to the team.

Sure, Catalans have plenty of talented attacking-minded players but the Brazilian was very much involved in every aspect of their game: he was creating chances left and right, already tallying 2.5 key passes on average so far, three shots per game and 1.5 dribbles. This emphasised how good of a creative outlet he truly is.

But there’s something else about his game that needs to be emphasised. He’s always tracked back, worked hard and dropped deeper to support his teammates. He’s averaged 1.5 tackles per game and maintained a fairly impressive 91.7% passing accuracy.

With the likes of Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in the squad, both of whom are over 30 already, Barcelona are really short on hard-working attackers who are willing to go both ways.

That new contract seems to be in the plans but is it there for the right reasons? He should definitely be given a proper shot at the Camp Nou this season, rather than spending it with a La Liga rival.

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Barcelona finally clinched their first victory of the new La Liga season. And while it was certainly an impressive victory for the Catalans, their newcomer star Frenkie de Jong didn’t really have a game to remember. That happened for a simple reason: he was played out of position.

On the chalkboard

It was quite a spectacular night for Barcelona at the Camp Nou. Ernesto Valverde deployed a lineup without Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez or Ousmane Dembele, all of whom were out with an injury. Instead, we saw a much different, younger, less experienced but still hungry Blaugrana.

And while Antoine Griezmann and the young La Masia graduates Ansu Fati and Carles Perez caught the eye, the spotlight was somewhat taken away from De Jong. The young Dutchman started the game on the left side of the midfield trident and despite having a decent game, he was uncharacteristically quiet by the standards he set at Ajax – driving them to last season’s Champions League semi-finals.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This doesn’t mean he gave a particularly bad performance but he wasn’t able to express himself fully or the way he probably wanted to. All of that was caused by a relatively new and unknown role and despite Barcelona winning the game comfortably, there’s still a feeling that De Jong was underutilised by not being fielded in the defensive midfielder position which he took up 42 times for Ajax last season.

Back to the original

On the night, the Dutchman still managed to rack up 95% passing accuracy, which was to be expected, but he was not hugely involved. As a matter of fact, he had fewer touches than any other outfield Barcelona player in that clash as he only tallied 73. Looking at his heatmap from the game, we can see that he was, in fact, used as a make-shift winger of sorts, which is definitely an area he should be operating in.

As a result, other than participating in the build-up and sending long balls, De Jong hardly had an impact he would have hoped for; no key passes and just one dribble as opposed to being among the players with most touches in the game against Athletic Bilbao, the one he played as the team’s pivot.

In addition to that, when playing in his natural position, he tallied 4/4 ground duels and six recoveries of possession while this wide role didn’t give him as much to show for with only three recoveries and 3/7 won ground duels.

Valverde would be wise to revert De Jong back to his roots and back to the original blueprint if he wants to get the best out of him. Of course, even when he was played out of position, the young midfielder still managed to perform to a respectable standard but it’s a far cry from what he can potentially provide for Barcelona at the base of the engine room.

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[ad_pod ]Roy Keane is at it again.We’re not entirely sure why the former Republic of Ireland international seems to hate everything with a pulse but he does. Put a foot wrong around the man and he’ll never let it go; have the last name ‘Ferguson’, and he’ll chase you down for the rest of your life.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Indeed, for all the Keane fans out there, it’s your lucky day – he’s let loose again, on another matter of fact tirade about his former gaffer Sir Alex Ferguson (while we don’t agree with the disrespect he shows, he certainly makes some valid points).

Ah, Keane, you’re beginning to remind us of the angry old man who used to stick a nail in our football when it went over his fence.

Ferguson is football’s equivalent of a listed building. So, naturally, people have jumped to his defence – including talkSPORT hosts Darren Gough and Andy Goldstein…

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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…

Florentino Perez seems to think he knows exactly what the problem of the current Real Madrid squad is, and he outlined it perfectly in his latest interview with Marca.

What did he say?

A team that was once on top of the world have been a shadow of their former selves since the beginning of the 2018/19 season. The end of the previous campaign was probably the moment that sounded all the remaining alarm bells in the Spanish capital.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Los Blancos failed to secure any trophies of real value as they ended the year with only the Club World Cup crown to their name. Even the return of Zinedine Zidane hasn’t changed so much, at least for now, as the team went through a disastrous pre-season and have had a mixed start to the 2019/20 La Liga season with one win and two draws.

Perez, however, seems to think there’s one clear issue plaguing this team and he told it to Marca in his latest interview:

“Our success made us lose our intensity.

“We have to recover it. These players and this coach made us champions, so they’ll do it again.

“Last season wasn’t good and we have to reflect on the criticism.”

The core of the problem

Whether Real Madrid want to admit it or not, Perez certainly hit the nail squarely on the head with that statement. The media were quick to bash Real for a poor transfer window but they were right for all the wrong reasons.

Sure, Real could’ve used more players who could directly improve the starting lineup but that doesn’t take away from the fact that it’s pretty difficult to acquire such players at anything below a premium price.

The likes of Sergio Ramos, Luka Modrić and Toni Kroos didn’t just lose their abilities and skills overnight. Of course, as they get older, they will inevitably fall out of favour but the lack of hunger might very well be at the core of their problems.

After all, there’s hardly anything left for this team to win after clinching three Champions League crowns in a row under Zidane and adding one La Liga title to the pile in the process. And now he is expecting those same players to retain that extraordinary level once again with the same eagerness.

New players are needed but they also need youth to restore that hunger once again. The experience, skill and leadership are all there but they need to remember that there’s still so much to fight for.

How exactly Perez is planning to solve this conundrum remains to be seen. But identifying the problem is definitely a wise first step.

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