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

According to The Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur are in talks with defender Jan Vertonghen over a contract extension, but one aspect of the report suggests the usually-shrewd Daniel Levy has left Spurs in a difficult situation.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Daily Mail says Spurs are apprehensive about offering anything more than a 12-month deal for the 32-year-old given his age.

As things stand, the Belgium international will be able to sign a pre-contract agreement with a European club during the January transfer window that would allow him to leave on a free next summer, or a club would have to pay a fee to take him in the New Year.

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Vertonghen has been a key player for the north London outfit since signing in 2012, and he is just shy of making his 300th appearance for the club.

New Moussa Sissoko deal could be an issue

Tottenham would have raised a few eyebrows when they handed the France international a new four-year contract last week, especially given he is 30 years of age – a move away from their usual policy.

In fact, when Mauricio Pochettino was asked about the new contract for the former Newcastle United man at the weekend, via Football London’s Alasdair Gold on Twitter, he basically said it was down to the club rather than him, suggesting Levy is the perpetrator when it comes down to these particular calls.

The Daily Mail reports that Vertonghen could use the Sissoko news as a bargaining tool when it comes to potentially committing his future to the north London outfit, who seemingly don’t want to give him any more than a year.

Levy may well have made a rod for his own back on this occasion, because Vertonghen can just point to Sissoko’s situation during negotiations, and the chairman will surely find it difficult to argue with him.

The Daily Star have reported that Christian Eriksen’s representatives will travel to Spain to discuss a transfer to Real Madrid.

It is a long-running transfer saga and as such many fans are now bored of the seemingly endless speculation, with some now even desperate for him to leave.

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The Denmark international has been one of Spurs’ best players of recent years with 67 goals and 87 assists in 287 appearances for the club, but according to one fan he risks tarnishing his legacy due to his handling of the situation.

He has rejected contract offers from Spurs which suggest that he wants to depart to the Spanish giants and his actions appear to be unsettling the squad, with teammates Jan Vertonghen and Harry Kane also rumoured to be unhappy.

That has subsequently led to a drop in form with only three wins in ten games, and judging from the responses below fans will only be satisfied once the £11.5m man has left North London.

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…

Liverpool’s squad is full of top-class talent but Jamie Carragher has singled out Sadio Mane as the pick of the bunch.

What did he say?

There are several members of Jurgen Klopp’s squad who could be described as amongst the best in the world.

Virgil van Dijk and Alisson were recognised with UEFA awards as a result of their performances in last year’s Champions League, whilst Mo Salah was also among those who won votes for the FIFA Best Player award.

Mane was also regonised by FIFA at The Best awards, and ex-Red Carragher believes he has got “better and better” under Klopp, and compared him to former great John Barnes.

Speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, the former defender said:

“I absolutely love him, he’s my favourite player at the club. He’s brilliant, he’s always got a smile on his face, always there, always gets knocked about, gets goals, setting others up.

“He’s the one who came in at the very start under Klopp, his first real big signing, and I think ever since then he’s just been getting better and better. He’s just a machine.

“I always talk about the teams I played in never possibly had, say, a John Barnes, that world-class wide player, but I think Liverpool have got that now.”

Figure of consistency

Signing Mane was somewhat of a gamble by Klopp, but he has more than repaid the faith shown in him by the German.

Prior to joining the Reds, the Senegal international had 21 goals in 67 Premier League games, prompting Liverpool to spend £34m on him in a period when they had just missed out on Champions League qualification.

The winger’s arrival coincided with a change in style from the team, and he came to encapsulate what Klopp has looked to implement, with his pace and high-pressing intensity key to his manager’s strategy.

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He is now into his fourth year at Anfield, and he has been incredibly consistent during that spell.

Not only has he contributed 67 goals and 24 assists, but he has been available for selection for 135 games out of 167, and such reliability is vital to Klopp, and key to his success.

Carragher is therefore right to praise him, with his positivity and attitude setting a great example for others too, including his teammates.

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…

After scoring a hat-trick whilst on international duty with England’s U21 side, Eddie Nketiah has been attracting considerable praise from a former Young Lions manager, with comparisons to Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah being made in the style of play between the Leeds United striker and the Champions League-winning forward.

What’s the word?

Stuart Pearce, formerly manager of England’s U21s from 2007 to 2013, told BT Sport (via Goal) that Nketiah’s movement holds parallels to Salah, who joined the Reds for £34m in 2017, despite the Arsenal loanee having not started a Championship game for the Whites so far this season.

“I think if I was a striker in this day and age, a young English striker, I’d just copy Mo Salah in his movement, running in behind,” Pearce told BT Sport (via Goal)

“Nketiah’s certainly got that trait about him. The ones that run in behind are the ones that score goals in the modern game.”

Comparisons to Salah yet no Championship starts for Nketiah

Although Nketiah is yet to start a Championship game for Leeds in 2019/20, the forward has still scored four goals in nine appearances for Marcelo Bielsa’s side and the 20-year-old spoke out this week to air his frustrations at the lack of game-time he has been getting at Elland Road.

The Athletic’s Phil Hay revealed the extensive presentation that Leeds gave to Arsenal in a bid to convince Arsenal to allow the forward to spend the season in West Yorkshire, but so far Bielsa has been cautious to utilise the England U21 striker’s talents.

Bielsa has instead favoured Patrick Bamford in the starting striker berth for the Whites, though Nketiah has scored the same number of goals despite playing 535 minutes less than Bamford across all competitions.

After arriving on loan at Leeds, Nketiah would have been hopeful of gaining a regular run in a Championship side who are likely to feature in the promotion picture for the 2019/20 campaign.

Pearce’s comments point to a player who unquestionably has the ability to compete in the Championship, and with just one win in their last four league matches, Bielsa may well be tempted to hand him his first start this weekend.

Having taken the lead against Liverpool thanks to a Marcus Rashford goal, Manchester United appeared to be on their way to banishing some painful memories from their start to the current Premier League season.

The Red Devils had suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Newcastle last time out, and the international break came at arguably the perfect time for the club. In a far-improved performance, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side made Liverpool look nothing like the all-conquering league leaders.

Jurgen Klopp’s men lost possession 68 times in the opening period, as the Red Devils hustled and harried their opponents non-stop. But in the second-half, the home side appeared to retreat further and further back, and eventually conceded a late equaliser.

After seeing their side let go a of a potentially crucial three points, United fans took to Twitter to criticise Solskjaer for his decision-making after the break.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted the United boss should have made changes to keep things fresh, and felt the decision not to, cost them.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Manchester City fans don’t seem to be sold on the idea of signing Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur despite his outrageous goal scoring record.

The Englishman now has 173 goals in 265 appearances at just 26 years old for Spurs after scoring two in midweek. However, this does not seem to be enough for some City fans.

The discussion comes after Jamie O’Hara stated he thinks Kane would choose to join City over rivals Manchester United. The former Spurs man suggests that the Premier League champions hold the key to what the two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner would want.

He told talkSPORT: “I think if he is going to go it’s going to be Man City; it’s only Man City, for me, who can probably get him.”

It seems many supporters are satisfied with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus at the moment, whilst others would prefer to see the club sign Erling Braut Haaland – the Norwegian has made it an astonishing 20 goals in 13 games after his double against Napoli in the week.

As for City’s current bunch, their all-time top scorer Aguero will remain irreplaceable long after he is gone, whilst Jesus has been in top form lately with five goals across the board.

Plus, Transfermarkt value the Spurs superstar at £135m, which even for City’s budget may be troublesome with Financial Fair Play always a lingering issue.

Here’s what some fans have had to say about O’Hara’s words…

Everton fans are once again targetting Marco Silva for his treatment of summer signing Moise Kean. The Italian arrived from Juventus for £25.1m and has barely been given the chance to have a continuous role in the side, starting just two league games.

Kean did start the win against Watford on Tuesday, but the 19-year-old was missing throughout and once again failed to make an impact on the game. The former Juventus man had just 14 touches and made only three passes against the Hornets.

As a result of yet another poor display, Kean was brought off after 45 minutes in a match that should have been his chance to shine. However, fans have hit out at Silva after believing he needs to start as a centre-forward and not a winger.

The supporters have now expressed their desire to see him up top with one fan reminding the club that he played just “9 minutes on the wing for Juve”. Indeed, as the games recorded by Transfermarkt show, Kean started every game as a centre-forward, scoring seven goals from that role.

Some supporters are now calling for him and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to start up top, and most fans do seem to believe Kean is wasted on the wings. Here’s what a select few had to say…

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…

Erling Haaland is one of the most coveted strikers in the world at the moment, and for good reason.

The Norwegian striker hasn’t been out of the headlines since netting nine goals in an U20 World Cup game, and he hasn’t stopped scoring yet.

Indeed, the 19-year-old has scored 22 goals in 15 games so far this term, and that has sparked talk of a move to one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

However, it’s also caused a stir amongst the Leeds fanbase due to the fact that Haaland has an affinity with the Whites.

Of course, he is the son of former United midfielder Alf-Inge Haaland, therefore, he was born in Leeds and he has previously stated his ambition to win the league with the club.

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Phil Hay provided some news on Leeds’ previous interest in the striker and where they stand on the matter going forward.

What’s been said then?

The journalist was asked in his Q&A session with The Athletic if he thought Leeds could ever bring the striker in at Elland Road.

“The way he’s going with his goalscoring, someone is going to pay very big money for him. The Leeds link is very obvious but money talks.”

One fan picked up on the fact Haaland is already playing Champions League football and that he wouldn’t want to take a step down at this stage of his career. Hay responded:

“That’s probably true. And even staying where he is for a while, that move has done great things for him. Leeds did try to get him before he took the Red Bull offer. They couldn’t match it.”

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

Missed opportunity

Hay’s update will sting.

To know that the Whites had spotted Haaland’s talents before he burst onto the scene must be heart-breaking, especially as he was practically in their grasp. A little extra on the wage bill and he may have proven to be one of their most inspired signings, particularly given his record this term.

The journalist says that Leeds couldn’t match Salzburg’s offer, but with him joining the Austrian outfit for a reported fee of €9m (£7.7m) it’s hard to say that Leeds couldn’t have afforded that deal, just that they thought it was too much of a risk.

If they’d have had more faith in Haaland’s abilities they would have been in a much stronger position right now as they’d have one of the best goalscorers in Europe at their disposal.

As it happens, they’re now struggling on the goals front with Patrick Bamford failing to find the net in nine matches.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

He’s slowly getting there, but now let’s see if he can take another step forward.

Lys Mousset put in an incredibly impressive performance during Saturday’s victory over Burnley, as he registered three assists for his Sheffield United teammates in the first half, becoming the ninth player to do so in Premier League history (via Daily Mail).

This touches on what we were discussing on FFC last week. Mousset has done enough with his efforts off the bench to earn a place in the starting line-up and judging by his display last weekend, he certainly didn’t do his case to be there on a more regular basis any harm.

That was emphasised by pundit Jamie Redknapp, who detailed in his column for The Daily Mail this week that he was starting to vindicate his trust after an initial £10m move from Bournemouth – a team where he struggled for game time.

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The question now is whether or not he will both be able to continue this level of production throughout the season.

Three goals and three assists from just two starts and six substitute appearances is a wonderful return and those strikes in short bursts against the likes of Everton and West Ham United were a good starting point.

The 23-year-old’s display against Burnley has essentially earned him another chance to impress but there is going to have to come a time when he can finally put his foot down and stamp his authority on the position once and for all.

There’s a lot of competition for a starting role at Bramall Lane right now, with the likes of Billy Sharp, David McGoldrick, Oliver McBurnie and Leon Clarke among others all breathing down one another’s neck to try and fight it out for one of the two spots up front.

The club will be looking at someone like him to keep them in the division and only then will the investment have been worth it.

The worst thing that could happen is if he ends up being a player who starts off the season and then tails off. If he ends up a bust, then it could end up busting Sheffield United’s season as well. He’ll need to prove he can do this consistently when starting.

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…

Not so soon.

There’s always an extra spice when it comes to Derby games, and that’s something that former Red Garry Birtles knows well. It’s something that could cause some problems for one player in particular.

What’s he said?

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live, Birtles pointed out how the emotion gets to players and it can lead to some rather rash moments:

“We all know what these games meant to both clubs and both sets of supporters, and no doubt the opening exchanges will be chaotic as they usually are, so you hope that when things settle down, Forest’s ball players will take control and exert their authority over the Rams.”

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Too fiery for some?

Birtles also recently spoke, again to Nottinghamshire Live, and he noted how important it is to not change a winning line up.

And that message doesn’t strike any truer than when it comes to Forest skipper Michael Dawson.

Whilst Birtles is on the money when it comes to not changing a team that won the last match, there’s something else that comes into the equation and that’s his injury. This is where the two stories come together.

The latest injury report lists Dawson as being available for the game this week, but it seems that a match like this, and particularly at this time of the season, would be one encounter too early for him to be making his comeback.

Not only will leaving him out of the clash take him out of the firing line from any rash challenges that might take place in the opening exchanges, but also give him that little bit of extra rest as he recovers from his calf injury.

Forest showed what time off can do for the team when they beat Luton Town last weekend, with Lewis Grabban scoring the opener after they’d previously had a game postponed.

With the international break just around the corner, it would be best if Lamouchi gave Dawson the week off and let him have that extra time away to make sure that he is at 100% when he comes back from injury.

Lamouchi has shown that he doesn’t have a lot of faith in Dawson’s backup Chema and Tobias Figueiredo by constantly swapping the two of them around in recent fixtures rather than sticking with one of them, so that proves just how important he is to the team.

Rather lose him for just one more game, than risk losing him for a lot more in the future.