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Barcelona have a plethora of young quality rising through their academy system and B team at the moment.

This season we have seen the likes of 17-year-old Ansu Fati steal the headlines with mature performances for Ernesto Valverde’s first-team, notably when he scored against both Osasuna and Valencia in late-August and early-September.

Fati has now made a total of eight appearances for the Blaugrana this term, with his latest start coming against Real Valladolid last week as the club cruised to a 5-1 victory at the Camp Nou.

Another young player to see plenty of game-time this season is winger Carles Perez, who has registered three assists and scored once in seven La Liga appearances (five starts) this term, per Transfermarkt. Both Perez and Fati are now deemed to be valuable assets to the Catalan’s senior side – proven by the amount of minutes they have both seen this time out.

20-year-old central midfielder Riqui Puig is another young player making progress for Barcelona. Despite not featuring for the first-team yet, he has scored two and assisted two goals playing for the club’s B team in the Spanish second-tier this season.

Barca fans are excited about what the future has in-store for Puig, expressing their feelings towards the Spaniard on Twitter, after a clip of him doing an obscene bit of skill recently surfaced on the social media platform.

Barcelona fans, how much of a talent is Puig? Let us know by commenting below!

Liverpool fans were stunned by the performance of Takumi Minamino in their Champions League clash with RB Salzburg, and fans on Twitter are now desperate to sign the Japan international.

One fan even went so far as to say Minamino “tore us apart” in the Reds’ 4-3 win over the Austrian outfit, and they are now discussing the idea of signing the 24 year-old.

Liverpool.com have claimed the Salzburg starlet would be a clever acquisition for reasons off the field, with potential new kit supplier Nike perhaps hoping to grow their revenue in Japan.

On the pitch he looks a tidy player too though, as he really did set Anfield alight in that clash at the start of the month.

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Per WhoScored, Minamino registered one goal, one assist, three key passes, one successful dribble and three tackles, the latter stat of course implying he may be a fit for Jurgen Klopp’s heavy metal brand of football.

After a fan site proposed the idea of signing him, one fan said “think of the shirt sales”, while another claimed he is a combination of legendary former Celtic man Shunsuke Nakamura and Tottenham star Son Heung-min.

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

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

Wolves return from the international break with high hopes about kicking on in the Premier League after they enjoyed a fruitful run of matches just a couple of weeks ago.

Nuno Santo’s men recorded three straight victories in all competitions, which was topped off by a stunning 2-0 win over reigning champions Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium.

The result was a stark contrast to last month when the west Midlands outfit were trounced 5-2 by Chelsea before losing their Europa League group opener to Braga just days later, both coming on their own patch, Molineux.

Their 32,000-seater home plays host again this weekend as Southampton make the trip north looking to bounce back from a Blues-shaped defeat of their own.

On the Chalkboard

With both teams having to endure a two-week pause in the season, it is hard to gauge how either side is going to perform.

However, Nuno will need to call on improvements from his key man up top, Raul Jimenez, if he wants to get anything from this match.

The Mexican striker is currently suffering a barren domestic spell as he is without a goal in six successive matches in all competitions – his last strike came in the 3-2 defeat at Everton.

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This just simply has to improve, especially as the Saints come into this fixture on the back of four clean sheets in their last five away games and for a side that sits in the sole spot outside of the relegation zone, that’s quite impressive.

Centre-back Jan Bednarek has been a mainstay in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s backline this season, playing in all eight top-flight matches, so it is reasonable to suggest that he will hold the keys to Jimenez unlocking that much-needed goal.

The 23-year-old stands slightly smaller than the Mexican, but this season, he’s won more aerial duels at 3.3 per game. He should be able to use his ability in the air to combat any long balls or crosses that come into the box.

As that’s not entirely Nuno’s style of play, it may be wiser to look at how Jimenez can get the better of the Pole, and it appears that on the ground is the way to go as he averages 2.5 dribbles per game when Bednarek sees a man get past him a good 1.1 times per match.

Although he is strong in the tackle as highlighted by his figures of 2.4 per game.

Jimenez needs to find a way to rediscover his goalscoring prowess this weekend, but Southampton’s young centre-back provides a problematic encounter in doing so.

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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…

Speaking on the HLTCO podcast, Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha had some pretty revealing words to say on what happened this summer regarding his transfer wishes.

As has been well documented, the Ivory Coast international handed in a transfer request amid interest from Arsenal and Everton this summer in a bid to force an exit, and was reportedly left “devastated” when no such move materialised.

The Toffees moved on with the £34m deadline day signing of Alex Iwobi from Arsenal, while the Gunners also found an alternative in £72m man Nicolas Pepe.

Zaha has since appeared in all five of the Eagles’ Premier League games this season, but he has now hinted at the truth behind the summer saga.

What did he say?

Zaha told the HLTCO podcast: “I feel like what happened in the summer happened.

“Obviously there were things I was told that didn’t happen and I wasn’t happy about it but I feel like all I can do is just move forward now.”

Suggests promises were broken

“There were things I was told that didn’t happen” is a pretty damning statement from the Palace academy graduate and it suggests that promises were broken by the board this summer.

This suggestion can only be further reinforced by Roy Hodgson stating himself that Zaha’s “beef” was with the chairman and the owners, when reiterating that everyone at the club had a good relationship with the mercurial forward.

He said: “Everyone here has a good relationship with him. There’s not a problem with that. His beef is with the chairman and owners of the club because he’s wanted to leave and they haven’t received the offer that they think is sufficient to allow him to leave.”

The south Londoners will get to keep their prized asset until at least January now, but don’t expect this saga to come to a close anytime soon given his evident frustration at being denied a move away from Selhurst Park.

Some Arsenal fans have taken to Twitter in fury after they discovered that Unai Emery had left Mesut Ozil out of the squad once again for the game against Bournemouth.

The Germany international has made just one Premier League appearance all season, playing 71 minutes of the 2-2 draw against Watford.

Ozil has also made one appearance in the Carabao Cup, again playing 71 minutes of the win over Nottingham Forest.

Emery said that he left the former Real Madrid man out of the side in the midweek Europa League win over Standard Liege because other players deserved their place more – it is a puzzling situation between player and coach.

It is also a decision by Emery that the Arsenal fans on Twitter don’t appear to be behind.

One supporter called Emery a disgrace, while another said that his treatment of Ozil is getting out of hand.

Let’s take a look at some more of the reaction from the unhappy Arsenal fans on Twitter…

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It would be fair to say that Dimitri Payet is still splitting the opinion of the West Ham United supporters, more than two years since he left the capital club.

The 38-time France international scored 15 times and registered 23 assists in 60 appearances for West Ham between 2015 and 2017.

It did not take long for Payet to become a firm favourite with the London club’s supporters and he scored 12 times during a very impressive first season in England.

Things ultimately turned sour, however, and the talented playmaker left West Ham in January 2017 to seal a return to Marseille.

The 31-year-old has been impressive since re-joining the French club and has contributed six goals and six assists during the 2018-19 campaign.

West Ham took a trip down memory lane on Thursday when they posted two spectacular goals from the Frenchman.

And the response from the club’s supporters was extremely mixed, as can be seen by the tweets below:

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Leeds suffered a disappointing draw against Derby at the weekend as they conceded just their fourth league goal of the campaign.

The Whites spent the majority of the game with the ball at their feet, registering over 60% of the possession.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men rarely had any defending to do until the final 15 minutes when three of Derby’s five shots were taken.

Ben White was again in the defence but despite dropped points, Leeds supporters still found a reason to rave over the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for August.

One fan determined that he would play for England in the future while another suggested he would be at Manchester City in the next two years.

A further individual went as far as saying he was the best defender they’ve seen at Elland Road since a certain Rio Ferdinand. White was also hailed as top class.

The 21-year-old signed on loan from Brighton during the transfer window and has won 2.9 aerial duels per game this term. He’s also been hugely successful with the ball at his feet, completing 88.2% of his passes.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

Tottenham Hotspur advanced into the fifth round of the FA Cup with a convincing win at home over Premier League rivals Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday evening.

Harry Kane scored twice – either side of a Solly March own goal – to see Spurs into the next round despite the Seagulls threatening a late comeback after Yves Bissouma bagged a consolation.

It was the England international’s night, that’s for sure. He curled in a beautiful goal for his opener whilst he completed his brace with an effort on the other end of the spectrum as he poked home a goalmouth scramble after a great solo run from Heung-min Son.

However, for all of the 28-year-old’s efforts, he wasn’t the only man to impress.

On his return from injury, Argentina centre-back Cristian Romero looked like an absolute Rolls-Royce of a defender in the 77 minutes he was on the pitch.

Antonio Conte was forced to withdraw early with cramp but the 23-year-old, who is on loan from Serie A side Atalanta, was playing his first game – and only third under the Italian – since November.

Not only did SofaScore rank him as the second-highest rated player for Spurs but the local press wrote glowingly of his display.

‘A dominant and eye-catching return to the side in the heart of the three. Composed on the ball, aggressive without it,’ said Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard, whilst The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare dubbed his performance “very impressive” on social media.

Indeed, Romero was an absolute rock at the back, thwarting Graham Potter’s side every time they went forward, leaving Neal Maupay left frustrated in the attack.

As per FotMob, the Argentine led the match for tackles (four), recoveries (nine) and clearances (five). He also won 71% of his seven duels and was sublime on the ball, registering a pass success rate of 97% – which was even better than Conte’s engine room duo of Harry Winks (86%) and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (89%).

This suggests that he was a very hard man to get past and that he remained calm and composed throughout – as if he hadn’t just missed nearly three months of the season with a “serious” injury.

It’s also no wonder that his teammate at both I Nerazzurri and in north London, goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, dubbed him an “animal” who is “perfect” for the English game.

The £31.5m-rated star was arguably the man who stole the show against Brighton this weekend. Kane will understandably take the headlines but the 23-year-old’s display cannot go unnoticed, especially considering the circumstances building up to this moment.

Spurs will be hoping that he can remain fit for the remainder of the season as glory in the FA Cup and a place in the top four still remain on offer.

AND in other news, Paratici can truly kickstart Conte’s revolution at Spurs with “special” £50m sensation…

Leeds United selling Helder Costa this summer would allow Jesse Marsch more funds to bring in new signings, according to transfer expert Dean Jones.

The Lowdown: Costa out on loan

The Angola winger joined Valencia on loan last summer, with Marcelo Bielsa unable to afford him regular playing time at Elland Road in 2021/22. However, Costa has failed to set the world alight in La Liga, making 19 appearances in the division but failing to score and registering just one assist.

It could be that the 27-year-old is sold by Leeds at the end of the season, permanently bringing an end to his time at the club.

According to a report by El Desmarque (via Sport Witness), the deal which took Costa to Valencia included a €20m (£16.7m) purchase option, although that figure has now been described as ‘inaccessible’ for the La Liga outfit, so the Whites may need to re-negotiate the agreed fee if they are to offload the attacker permanently.

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The Latest: Jones talks up Costa exit

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones claimed that it would be the right decision to offload Costa for good as Marsch looks to bring in his own players to Leeds.

The transfer insider said: “It could be a good opportunity for Marsch to start making his mark on the team and bringing in players that he actually wants.”

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The Verdict: Time to get rid

It makes complete sense for Leeds to sell Costa for good in the summer transfer window considering that he seems to be surplus to requirements there, despite being hailed as ‘immense’ by his former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo.

His current Whites deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024, so they should still be able to receive a healthy fee for his services.

Costa is valued at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, and if Leeds could receive a similar bid for him despite the aforementioned purchase clause, they would likely consider it good business to be done with a fringe player who is out of form.

In other news, Fabrizio Romano has made a key Leeds transfer claim. Read more here.

Under the new ownership of Serbian media mogul Dragan Solak and his company Sport Republic, Southampton could see some new investments being made to their squad in the near future to improve Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

However, it seems as though the south coast club could have a fight on their hands to keep hold of one of their star players.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from Spanish media outlet Fichajes, fellow Premier League clubs Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing James Ward-Prowse in the next summer transfer window.

As a product of Southampton’s youth system, Ward-Prowse has gone on to make a total of 344 senior appearances for the Saints across all competitions, scoring 39 goals and providing 45 assists along the way, easily cementing himself as a crucial figure for the club and prove that Hasenhuttl would not be pleased to potentially see him go to another club.

Saints calamity

His latest appearance for Hasenhuttl’s side saw the Englishman score a brilliant free-kick in their 3-1 defeat against Wolves at the weekend and although they lost, it defined the captain’s importance to the squad.

Having scored 12 Premier League free-kicks in his career, Ward-Prowse’s previous efforts have been labelled as “unbelievable” by Darren Ambrose and thus, seeing him leave would be quite the disaster.

Interest in the midfielder isn’t new either, with the Saints turning down a bid of £25m for the 27-year-old last summer from Aston Villa last summer showing just how reluctant they were to let him go even before he signed a new contract.

This suggests that it would take a massive amount of money for any club to sign Ward-Prowse, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £100k-per-week according to Salary Sport, anytime soon but still be a worry for them if it were to happen.

With that in mind, this should ease any worries the Southampton supporters may have about the club captain’s future at St. Mary’s.

If Ward-Prowse did join another Premier League club in the future in the same way that the likes of Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Jannik Vestergaard and Danny Ings have done in recent years, this would surely be something that would leave Hasenhuttl enraged.

It’s safe to say this would not be a good start to the Solak ownership on the south coast.

In other news: Solak could land the next Broja at Southampton with swoop for £3.6m-rated beast – opinion