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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…

Liverpool have taken a massive step towards a maiden Premier League title win after beating Manchester City 3-1 on Sunday afternoon. The defeat leaves the champions nine points behind the Reds in the table after just 12 games and places their credentials this season into serious doubt.

Throughout the game, Pep Guardiola’s men were second best across the pitch, but one area which was exposed in particular was central defence. The injury to Aymeric Laporte has caused problems at the back for City, with the club immediately losing to Norwich and then falling to defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers not long after.

Now, after the loss to Liverpool, it is clear – if it wasn’t already – that the champions made a massive error in not recruiting at the back in the summer window. The loss of Vincent Kompany was always going to be a miss, with the City legend’s 360 appearances helping collect four Premier League titles.

This has left Guardiola with only Nicolas Otamendi, John Stones and Laporte as his natural central defensive options, with Taylor Harwood-Bellis only just being promoted and Eric Garcia hugely inexperienced at 18.

Otamendi has struggled this season and was largely at fault for the defeat to Norwich, whilst Stones has looked lost without the Frenchman beside him. Last season at Anfield both Stones and Laporte were in incredible form and managed to keep the Reds at bay.

This time around, however, Stones’ performance simply shined a light on why City should have signed a centre-back in the summer.

The club’s failure to recruit a new defensive talent could ultimately prove to be their downfall as they bid to secure a hat-trick of Premier League titles.

Injuries happen all the time and as unfortunate as Laporte’s injury is, it is not exactly a surprise. Simply put, it is poor anticipation from City in that regard, who have clearly shown down the years that money is not an issue.

Whether the manager will spend in the January window remains to be seen.

However, he most definitely needs to open conversations with Txiki Begiristain about signing a new man at the back, regardless of whether he arrives in the mid-season window or next summer.

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… 

Ben Davies has struggled to get into the Tottenham team so far this campaign with only three starts to his name, but his performance against Croatia for Wales will certainly give Mauricio Pochettino something to think about.

Danny Rose has been the preferred choice at left-back for much of the season but with no end in sight of Spurs’ defensive woes – with 13 goals conceded in their last five games – a change may be in order.

Added to that, Rose didn’t exactly impress for England on Friday night with a SofaScore rating of 6.1 in defeat against the Czech Republic, and therefore Davies is deserving of a recall.

As well as providing a defensive improvement, the Welshman could also provide more energy and impetus going forward, as he showed bravery and ambition against the World Cup runners-up, and that could help to end Tottenham’s bad run of form.

The 26-year-old’s commitment was on show in everything he did on Sunday, and if the level of desired he showed was replicated throughout the team then Spurs would get the lift they need.

He put in a strong defensive performance, helping the young Ethan Ampadu and leading by example, as well as making one tackle, as per SofaScore.

However, it was going forward where he really excelled, linking up with Gareth Bale frequently, including a great run which set up a chance that the Real Madrid man couldn’t miss to level things up.

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Wales could have had more thanks to his efforts, too, and if he is able to repeat the two key passes he made this weekend against Watford, then a top striker like Harry Kane is likely to put them away.

Davies sometimes lacks the skill and physicality to attack effectively, as his rate of 0.1 successful dribbles per league game last season suggests, so the fact he managed two against Croatia suggests he did so because of a determination to help his team.

Spurs need that kind of team player currently, someone who isn’t afraid to put their body on the line – as his four out of seven duels won indicates – and therefore Pochettino should show some faith in Davies by giving him a run in the team.

Newcastle United did not approach the former Manchester United defender Jaap Stam to become the manager at St James’ Park, according to The Chronicle.

Stam, who is currently managing Feyenoord, told Voetbal International that the Magpies approached him just days after taking the reigns of the Rotterdam based-outfit.

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It’s another headache in the Mike Ashley story after the businessman’s sale of the club to a Mexican consortium fell through recently, with the Sports Direct owner coming across as ‘rude’.

Fans of the North East club had made their feelings known about their controversial owner since the resignation of Kevin Keegan in 2008 and have been unable to force Ashley out.

Supporters were not impressed with the club’s stance on Stam, contrary to his claims in the Dutch media. One fan said that he knows sources within the club that are consistently dishonest and is not aware of the Dutch manager of telling lies. Another supporter reminded fans that the club admitted at Keegan’s tribunal that it intentionally misled the press, public and fans of the Magpies.

Here you will find some of the best comments from Newcastle fans:

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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 Italian publication Calcio Mercato, Liverpool are keeping an eye on PSV starlet Donyell Malen.

What’s the word?

The Dutchman came into the spotlight after netting in Netherlands’ victory over Germany during the international break earlier this season, and the 20-year-old followed that up by scoring five goals for PSV against Vitesse.

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Now, Calcio Mercato claim Liverpool are keen on the youngster, although the report itself doesn’t give any more detail than that.

Exciting talent

Scoring five goals in a game is a huge feat in Sunday League football, let alone in the top-flight of a European league. Malen’s achievement spoke volumes of the kind of progress he has made since leaving Arsenal in 2017 to return to his homeland.

In his five appearances in the Eredivisie this season, the attacker has averaged an impressive four shots and two dribbles per game, constantly causing opposition defences problems with his directness.

Encouragingly for Klopp, the 5 foot 10 prospect has already gained plenty of experience playing in numerous positions. Aside from operating through the middle, Malen has had a lot of game-time on both flanks, as a second-striker and as an attacking midfielder too. That kind of versatility will surely appeal to the Reds boss.

Speaking back in 2017, his former U14s coach at Ajax, Brian Tevreden, hailed the potential of the then 17-year-old, and made a huge comparison about who he is similar to.

“He can play at No.10, or as a winger or a striker. He’s a multi functional player. Quite small, pacey. He’s strong as well even though he’s not the biggest striker. It’s difficult to describe him. In terms of people playing in England I would say he’s like Alexis Sanchez.”

The Sanchez of 2019 may not be the comparison Liverpool fans may have been dreaming of, but the Chilean was still firing on all cylinders for Arsenal when Tevreden made the huge claim, scoring 30 goals and providing 18 assists in that campaign.

Certainly if he joins Liverpool and plays like that, it could be considered somewhat of a coup – snapping up an exciting young talent who clearly possesses real potential.

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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 talkSPORT, Sam Matterface has revealed Manchester United “need” someone like Declan Rice in their team.

What did he say?

The West Ham midfielder enjoyed an impressive campaign last season in the holding midfield role, and Matterface has insisted United could do with someone of the 20-year-old’s qualities.

He said: “I think that’s what they (United) need, I think they need someone in that position. At the moment they’re playing (Paul) Pogba a little bit deeper because (Nemanja) Matic’s legs have gone and can’t get around the pitch as much as he did before, (Scott) McTominay’s playing alongside Pogba as a result of that.

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“I think ideally, and they did this in the game against Southampton, they pushed Pogba into a No 10 position when they were chasing the game.”

The long-term solution

Whilst Scott McTominay continues to improve with each passing game, there is no doubt Rice would represent an upgrade on the Scotland international. The Hammers man averages a ridiculously impressive 3.5 tackles and 2.3 interceptions per game this season, comfortably bettering the numbers of 1.5 and 1.8 for McTominay.

The 20-year-old shows a sense of maturity that belies his tender age, and in a position that requires a real perception of the game, Rice has taken to it like a duck to water.

If United were to sign him, then he could sit back and protect the back-four, and allow flair players like Pogba to really do their damage going forward. He could quite comfortably establish himself as part of the United midfield for more than a decade, given that he will not turn 21 until January.

Buying him from a fellow Premier League side may be tricky, but it could well turn out to be a masterstroke if they manage to pull it off.

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It has been a great start for Eddie Nketiah since moving on loan to Leeds for the duration of the 2019/20 campaign.

The 20-year-old scored on his debut for the Whites in the first round of the EFL Cup against Salford City, and he followed that up with his second goal for the Yorkshire club against Brentford. That ended up being the winner and the only strike of the match.

Could Gabriel Martinelli become Arsenal’s star striker in the not too distant future? Deluded Gooner thinks so in the video below…

So, that’s two in two appearances for the Elland Road outfit. And, even more impressively, he only started one of the two fixtures, coming off the bench to strike against the Bees.

Arsenal fans appear to have been keeping an eye on Nketiah’s development with the Championship side, and they believe that he should be starting for Marcelo Bielsa and co. They have taken to Twitter to share their opinions of the England U20 international. You can see some of the best comments below.

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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…

Lucas Moura believes the north London derby has come at a perfect time for Tottenham Hotspur, per the London Evening Standard.

What’s he said?

Spurs take on Arsenal at The Emirates on Sunday, fresh from a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United last weekend.

The Gunners also lost at the weekend, going down 3-1 to Liverpool at Anfield, and Lucas insists that he and his team-mates will get back to winning ways against their bitter rivals.

He said:  “Is this the perfect game for us to have after the Newcastle defeat? Yes. We need to look forward now. There are a lot of hard games to come.

“We lost against Newcastle but I am sure we have the quality to go to Arsenal and come back with three points. That’s what we must try to do.

“Each game is different. This is a new season and we have new players. I think we are stronger now (than in previous years). I am sure we can go anywhere and win games.

“For sure it was a very bad result against Newcastle. We tried but it was very difficult to play against them, especially as they kept everyone behind the ball after they scored.

“It was difficult to find the space in the air and the ground because everyone was in the box. I missed a very clear opportunity and I am upset about this. We need to get back to work this week and win the next game against Arsenal.”

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Derby atmosphere

Form goes out of the window in a derby game, or so the saying goes.

That is good news for both Spurs and Arsenal after their execrable performances at the weekend.

With the season still in its infancy, it is difficult to draw too many conclusions but Lucas is right that Spurs cannot afford to lose two games on the bounce.

They have not won at the Emirates since 2010, but they will surely be champing at the bit to set things right.

The derby may well have come at the perfect time.

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Tottenham Hotspur fans took to Twitter to praise the attitude of attacker Son Heung-Min after a video of the South Korean appeared on Twitter.

Son was featured in a behind-the-scenes clip where he was seen mimicking Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark celebration during a shoot for a promotion video.

Son enjoyed a great season last campaign as he scored and assisted 30 goals and he helped the North London giants reach the Champions League final.

The 27-year-old is yet to return to action for the North London side after a red card against Bournemouth towards the back end of last season and will miss the next game as a result too.

Indeed, Spurs had a tricky start to their Premier League season, narrowly avoiding a relative shock as they came from 1-0 down to beat newly-promoted Aston Villa 3-1.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side face a tricky fixture next as they travel up to Manchester to face Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering City side.

Fans were enjoying the mood of the South Korea international and reacted well on Twitter.

Here is a selection of tweets from Tottenham fans:

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…According to a report from Matt Wilson, talks are ongoing with Basel over the potential of bringing striker Albian Ajeti to West Brom this summer.

What’s the word?

Albion’s transfer activity has kicked into life in recent weeks as Slaven Bilic and the hierarchy lay the groundwork for what they are undoubtedly hoping will be a return to the top-flight.

Most recently, Romaine Sawyers re-signed for the club, a deal that marked their fifth incoming of the transfer window.

However, they look as though they could be returning to the market for Swiss forward Ajeti.

Express & Star initially reported that the player’s wages demands could be a stumbling block. Yet, Wilson has since claimed that the deal might be back on, suggesting the Baggies’ interest wasn’t dead.

Transfermarkt currently rate the player at £6.3m.

Fixing a problem

At the moment, West Brom are heading into the season with a distinct lack of goals in their side.

Dwight Gayle was in superb form for Albion last term but has returned to Newcastle following his loan spell whilst Jay Rodriguez has packed his bags for Burnley. As a pair last term they netted 46 times.

Without them, therefore, they could well struggle.

Hal Robson-Kanu is still at the club but finished last season with a red card whilst Kenneth Zohore’s arrival after scoring just once in 2018/19 isn’t too convincing.

The fact is that West Brom will need someone who can score on a regular basis and judging by Ajeti’s record in Switzerland, he can provide that.

Check out what happened when Thogden mixed with some of Montenegro’s craziest ultras in the video below…

At 22 years of age, he is still very much a developing player and scored 14 times in 32 Swiss Super League matches throughout last season.

That was further enhanced by five goals in the cup as well as scoring in continental competitions for his club.

In each of his last three seasons with Basel, he’s found the net with double figures and for a West Brom outfit who lack a genuine goalscorer, this would be a hugely encouraging signing if he joins.

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Lots of Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react after Rhian Brewster put in an impressive performance against Tranmere, in what was the Reds’ first pre-season game this summer.

The 19-year-old has been spoken of very highly by Jurgen Klopp, and the German seems to be placing a tremendous amount of faith in the teenager for the upcoming 2019/20 campaign.

Check out some amazing tekkers in the video below…

It has been reported that Klopp has decided not to buy a new forward as he is keen to hand Brewster a more prominent role, and you can certainly see why judging by the 5 foot 11 striker’s performance against Tranmere.

The Liverpool academy graduate hit two goals and also grabbed an assist in just 45 minutes of action yesterday evening, resulting in a number of Liverpool fans on Twitter taking to their keyboards to discuss his fine showing.

Let’s take a look at what the Reds supporters have been saying about the precocious young talent…