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Everton fans can’t seem to get enough of Bernard after hearing his comments made in light of the win over West Ham United.

The Brazilian scored his second goal of the Premier League season when he dribbled through the Hammers defence to knock the ball under keeper Roberto. His performance was vital in helping the club register their first league win since September 1 when they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers.

It seems that after the 27-year-old scored and kissed the Everton badge, he has become a new fan favourite at Goodison Park. The supporters are loving his confidence in his own ability right now, and are hoping that he shows more of this willingness to win.

Bernard’s goal does indeed take him to the top of the Premier League goalscoring charts for the club this season, along with Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The former Shakhtar Donetsk man could have established himself as a mainstay on the left wing for Everton, as Alex Iwobi also had a fantastic game in the number 10 role.

With Theo Walcott on the right, Iwobi behind Richarlison and Bernard on the left, Marco Silva may have finally found his winning team.

Regardless, fans right now are loving Bernard’s confidence.

Here’s what some of them had to say in light of his recent comments…

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

It’s nearly time for Barcelona’s second game of the Champions League group stage.

The Catalans will welcome Inter Milan at the Camp Nou and the key to overcoming them just might lie in the middle of the park.

On the chalkboard

It hasn’t really been a dream start for Barcelona in Europe this season.

Their opening clash against Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park ended in a goalless draw but the Catalans surely wanted to claim more than just a point for their efforts.

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Still, that was only the first game and seeing how Inter Milan also drew their game with Slavia Prague, Group F is very much open.

This particular clash, however, is huge for both teams and if Barca want to pick up all three points, Sergio Busquets will have to outshine Marcelo Brozovic.

Midfield generals

Busquets is very much the linchpin of Barcelona’s midfield.

In many ways, the experienced Spaniard is the Catalans’ general and everything starts and ends with him in the middle of the park. But Brozovic certainly looks like Busquets’ direct counterpart in Inter’s camp.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

The Croat is heavily involved in everything that’s happening on the pitch and most of it flows directly through him.

Just this season, in the six games he’s played in Serie A, Brozovic has registered a 91.5% passing accuracy with a total of 83.8 passes per game. This becomes even more impressive when we compare it to Busquets’ 90.6% passing accuracy and 76.8 passes per game.

Barcelona are very much known for their passing game, which only emphasises Brozovic’s importance to his team since he managed to edge out Busquets in both aforementioned categories.

But the Croat falls short only slightly in key passes as he tallied 1.2 as opposed to his rival’s 1.4 per game.

Both players are pretty active going the other way as well, often dominating the defensive phases of the game. Busquets registered 2.6 tackles and one interception per game in La Liga while Brozovic averaged 3.2 tackles and 1.8 interceptions under his belt in Serie A.

By all standards, this is looking likely to be an impressive battle of two highly skilled players – Barcelona’s midfield general vs Inter Milan’s engine.

The winner of this battle just might tip the scales in his team’s favour.

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…

It seems that the transfer saga of Neymar Junior to Barcelona is not yet at its end.

On the contrary, reports from Mundo Deportivo state that the Brazilian’s name is still very much on Blaugrana’s minds and even though it is highly unlikely they will go for him in January, next summer could see them return for their man.

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But the situation is still difficult, as the same source points out, since PSG are not really planning to let go of their prized possession.

Interestingly enough, however, there might be another twist in this story that could turn the whole operation upside down.

As Mundo Deportivo have also revealed, the recent emergence of Barcelona’s prodigious talent, Ansu Fati, could put the whole Neymar transfer into jeopardy.

It’s a rather straightforward equation – Neymar’s arrival could potentially block Fati’s development and Barcelona obviously have big plans for the crown jewel of La Masia in the future.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Not to mention the potential finances the transfer would demand and the fact that not all board members seem to be in unison about the Brazilian’s return to the Catalan capital.

For those reasons, Fati might be Barcelona’s unlikely saviour and could yield them a surprising positive.

Of course, just his talents alone have given the fans a look into the future but seeing how re-signing Neymar doesn’t really make much sense in the first place and from multiple aforementioned angles, Fati’s emergence might save them the trouble.

It’s difficult to say that this will definitely prevent Barcelona from chasing Neymar in the not so distant future but it is already casting doubt over the deal, and that’s a big positive for the Blaugrana.

[ad_pod ]Some Manchester City fans have taken to Twitter to criticise Nicolas Otamendi for his performance in the 3-2 defeat to Norwich.The back-to-back champions were shocked by the Canaries at Carrow Road as goals from Kenny McLean, Todd Cantwell and the in-form Teemu Pukki helped Daniel Farke’s men beat Pep Guardiola’s side.

Goals from Sergio Aguero and Rodri made things interesting late on, but Otamendi’s terrible error for Norwich’s third goal ultimately proved costly as the Citizens suffered their first defeat of the season.

The Argentina international was caught napping on the ball by Emi Buendia, who squared for Pukki to poke home, while the former Valencia centre-back looked a liability all game.

The 31-year-old received a 5.74 match rating on WhoScored – the lowest out of any player who started – whereas he didn’t make a single tackle or interception as Pukki tormented him throughout.

Let’s see what the City fans on Twitter have been saying about the 6 foot man’s showing…

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Birmingham City eventually fell short of even a point on Saturday afternoon as Derby County edged them 3-2 in what was a very entertaining game between the pair at Pride Park in the Championship.

The Blues have been fairly decent so far under Pep Clotet this year in the second tier but have lost their last two games on the spin, leaving them four points off of the play-off places.

Even so, they will feel as though they have a team capable of being dark-horses for the top six this year, providing that they find a bit more consistency.

One man that has shown such an attribute in his performances so far this year, though, is Ivan Sunjic with the summer signing putting on a number of decent displays in the middle of the park.

And, indeed, his fine goal during the game on Saturday, as well as his overall performance, led plenty of Blues fans to discuss his showing on Twitter.

Let’s take a look, then, at some of the praise he received on the social media platform…

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Football Fancast is embarking on a new series, in which we take a look at some of the hottest young prospects currently playing in the Championship…

Tall, quick and powerful. Brentford’s Ollie Watkins seems tailor-made for the top flight, and appears to have all the necessary tools to become one of the Premier League’s most dangerous wide forwards in years to come – for now, at least, he will have to contend with being the Championship’s most effective winger.

Watkins’ rise has not quite been meteoric, but it has been an eye-catching one. It was only in the summer of 2017 that the Bees took the plunge in signing a little-known League Two forward from Exeter, where he had just missed out on promotion after losing the play-off final to Blackpool.

Despite his side’s failure to earn promotion, the campaign was a personal triumph for Watkins as he was named the EFL Young Player of the Year, having notched 16 goals in 52 appearances.

The Englishman shows a maturity in his position that should be beyond his years. The most common irregularity of a young winger’s game is his tendency to hug the touchline for much of the 90 minutes, where he will struggle to make an impact for the majority of the game unless he is spoon-fed the ball.

What Watkins does differently, however, is ensure that he is always getting inside his full-back when not on the ball, so he can be first in line to head home or tap in a cross if the right delivery comes in, as opposed to allowing an easy clearance for the opposition defenders.

The former Weston-super-Mare loanee has plenty of time on his side at just 23 years of age, and is taking to the Championship like a duck to water with nine goals and five assists so far for Brentford this season.

Another man who has been performing superbly for the Bees this season is French striker Neal Maupay, who has hit 21 goals across all competitions so far in the current campaign and has consequently attracted interest from the Premier League – Huddersfield were keen in the January window.

Maupay has arguably had more media coverage and attention in comparison to Watkins, which is unfair on the latter seeing as he has performed just as admirably.

Crystal Palace and Bournemouth were circling around Watkins back in the summer, and one would assume that they and plenty others will be back at Griffin Park in a few months to check on his availability.

Understandably, it was seemingly a very emotional occasion for the midfielder. His caption mentions how happy he is to be back and how much he missed playing for his country during his time on the sidelines, while also reminding us all what a great teammate he is as well, congratulating Mason Mount on his first senior cap.

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Having scored fewer goals than all of the clubs currently above them in the Championship table as well as a few currently underneath them, West Bromwich Albion dived into the January transfer market to add some extra firepower to Valerien Ismael’s squad with the signing of Daryl Dike from Orlando City.

However, with only a few days left until the window shuts, the Baggies may have to bring another attacking option to the club before the deadline arrives as a result of Dike’s recent muscle injury that will keep him out of action for the next eight weeks.

One potential option that West Brom could realistically look to bring in before the end of the month that they have been mentioned with recently is Middlesbrough striker Uche Ikpeazu.

With a total of 269 senior club appearances under his belt, the 26-year-old, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £5.5k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has managed to score 53 goals and provide 32 assists along the way, highlighting the sort of experience he has and his ability to score and create goals, which is something that West Brom could do with at the moment.

Even though the attacker only joined Middlesbrough back in the previous summer transfer window from Wycombe Wanderers, he has only started eight of the 20 league games he’s appeared in, which suggests that he could be tempted with a move elsewhere if he’d get regular game time, which West Brom could offer him as a result of Dike’s unfortunate injury.

Labelled as a “humble” person in the past by Gareth Ainsworth, Ikpeazu could be just what Ismael needs at the moment to add an extra attacking dynamic to his side and potentially push the Baggies closer to promotion if he can hit the ground running in terms of scoring goals.

Moving forward, with West Brom’s recent 2-0 defeat against Preston North End proving how much they could do with some attacking reinforcements by having no shots on target throughout the match, the Baggies should definitely make a late approach to Middlesbrough to see if they’d be willing to negotiate a deal to sell their striker.

However, with Boro only three points behind West Brom at this stage of the season, they could be reluctant in allowing one of their attacking talents to join another team so close to them in the table, making it a potential challenge for the Baggies to sign him.

In other news: Ismael must finally axe £36k-p/w West Brom “leader” this month, he’s stealing a living

Rangers have a big game ahead of them at Ibrox in the SPFL when the latest international break comes to a close.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side have the chance to go level at the top of the league table if they manage to beat Celtic in the latest Old Firm Derby.

In recent days, the Gers have been hit with a potential injury worry as Alfredo Morelos has been reportedly left out of Colombia’s squad for their upcoming World Cup qualifying match against Bolivia due to “muscle overload.”

Should the striker be unable to play in the showdown against the Hoops next weekend, this could pave the way for Van Bronckhorst to put his trust in another attacking figure in his squad.

Opportunity knocks

Since arriving at the club back in the 2020 summer transfer window from RSC Anderlecht, Kemar Roofe has gone on to make 66 appearances for the Gers across all competitions and score 30 goals in the process, chipping in with three assists as well.

Despite appearing in 19 league games this season, the 29-year-old, who is currently valued at £3.6m according to Transfermarkt, has only started seven of them, showing that he has been playing second fiddle to Morelos, who has started 25 league games, for most of the campaign.

Even though he hasn’t been a regular starter for the Ibrox side this season, Roofe has still shown that he is a capable goalscorer, having found the back of the net 12 times across all competitions.

Labelled as a “leader” for his side on the pitch in the past by Michael Beale, the striker could be just what Van Bronckhorst needs in his team to take on the Parkhead club if Morelos isn’t fit enough to play.

Having not started a league game for the reigning SPFL champions since their last meeting with Celtic back in early-February where he failed to register even one shot at goal in the entire 90 minutes, the Jamaican will undoubtedly be hoping that he gets the chance to take on Ange Postecoglou’s side once again and deliver a more impactful display that he did last time.

Previously tipped to be a “real handful” for the team up front by former Gers manager Steven Gerrard, this exactly what his current boss will need him to be if he does end up starting against Celtic.

In other news: Forget Morelos: “Beautiful” Rangers gem who’s “unplayable” could fire GVB to the title

Leeds United have agreed on a deal to sign a new midfielder, according to reports…

What’s the word?

The Sunday Mirror (16th January, page 73) claim the Yorkshiremen are on the verge of sealing the 20-year-old’s signature in a £6m move from Belgian outfit Standard Liege.

It’s thought that the highly-rated Belgian U21 international has been brought in to provide cover for the injured Kalvin Phillips, who isn’t expected to return to action until March at the very earliest.

Bielsa will be buzzing

Well, it seems as if United have finally found that engine room enforcer they’ve been desperately looking for – and at just the right time.

Sunday’s game down at West Ham was another reminder of their mounting and persistent injury problems as Adam Forshaw – who has been playing in the Phillips role – went off during the first half with an injury.

It leaves Bielsa hugely light on options in the middle, so signing Raskin should leave him relieved, if not hugely excited about what lies ahead.

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The young 5 foot 10 dynamo has excelled for Liege over the past 18 months. This season, he has provided two assists in 18 appearances from a deep-lying role, whilst also averaging a whopping 2.9 tackles per game.

That builds on last season’s performance, where the £4.5m-rated beast delivered three goals and five assists, and even featured in the Europa League, thus handing Bielsa some valuable experience that he perhaps lacks in his current squad.

“He is a box-to-box midfielder. He can play in every position in the middle of the park. He is technically gifted, but he is also a bit of a pitbull,” claimed Bob Faesen of Belgian newspaper Het Belang van Limburg to The Herald.

“He can run a lot, is powerful and has a good shot. He has been one of the big surprises in Belgium football this season and will be a key player for Liege who Rangers will need to be wary of.”

That sort of review will only make Bielsa even more buzzing to have landed him. Raskin certainly fits the atypical profile – hard-working, powerful and commanding at both ends of the pitch.

If reports are to be believed, then an announcement can’t be far away now. For £6m, it has to be considered an absolute bargain from Victor Orta and co.

AND in other news, Orta could sign his next Samu Saiz in Leeds swoop for “exciting” £10.8m-rated maestro…