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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…

The plaudits just keep coming in for Sheffield United.

Although we might be jumping the gun ever so slightly when it comes to this particular assessment of how well they are doing.

What’s he said?

Speaking on the 5 Live Football Daily Podcast, Luke Edwards of The Telegraph made the rather bold claim that he thought Chris Wilder should be in contention for Manager of the Year:

“He is innovative, he is revolutionary in his own way. He’s got Sheffield United promoted that way, and he’s carried it on in the Premier League. They are, Sheffield United, for me, in what I think has been a pretty predictable season so far in many ways, the story of the season. Chris Wilder, manager of the year, I’m going to call it now.”

Find out which Premier League newcomer is a future England boss in the making in the video below…

Let’s just wait and see

People really do need to stop being victims of the moment with things like this.

Do pundits and journalists not remember when Hull City were in their first Premier League season back in 2008/09, how they were on a similar trajectory as Sheffield United right now?

Rather coincidentally, they also beat Arsenal and received plaudits in their first couple of months in the league, only to end up staying in the division by the skin of their teeth on the final day of the season.

Phil Brown didn’t receive Manager of the Year that season did he?

So let’s all just wait and see what happens as the campaign goes on before we start proclaiming just how great things are and are going to be at the end of the season. Feet must be kept firmly planted before the hype overawes the club.

Suspensions haven’t started to take effect yet, neither have any major injuries to the Sheffield United squad. Let’s see what Wilder’s credentials are like when he is really up against it in that way.

As we discussed previously, there are some big tests coming up for the Blades in the form of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United, so tunes may very well change if they don’t put in the best of performances in those games.

At the end of the day, what’s going to be better for the Yorkshire side? Having their expectations set too high and then be disappointed when they don’t end up meeting them, or keep them at a reasonable level and then end up beating them?

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…

Jamie Redknapp believes Declan Rice’s long-term future could be as a centre-back, and he therefore provides a solution to England’s problems in defence.

What did he say?

After the Three Lions’ defeat to the Czech Republic there has been a lot of discussion about Gareth Southgate’s defence.

Michael Keane has been the target of criticism whilst the manager has contemplated a return to the 5-3-2 formation which worked so effectively at the 2018 World Cup.

Rice, who has featured solely in defensive midfield for the Three Lions, first came through at West Ham playing in the heart of a back four, and Redknapp believes he would be just as effective if he made a return to that position.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In his column for The Daily Mail, he wrote: “Is Declan Rice the answer to England’s problems in defence? I suspect he could be.

“I see a centre back in the 20-year-old and that is where his future could lie for club and country, rather than being used solely in midfield. Using him at the back could be the long-term answer.

“He’d be more than happy to get on the ball and has the intelligence needed to form an effective centre back partnership.”

The former England international also points to the fact that Rice has the attributes to perform in that position, with only two midfielders making more tackles in the Premier League, whilst he ranks fourth for midfielder interceptions too.

Waste of potential?

It is understandable that Redknapp views the Hammers man as a potential centre-back, and there is little doubt he could perform that role effectively for Southgate, with his pass accuracy of 90% in the league matching his defensive capabilities.

However, he has made great strides for West Ham since Manuel Pellegrini began utilising him further forward, and he has already shown a great understanding of his position in midfield, leading him to progress and rumours that Man United want to sign him for £70m.

As a result, not only would he be less familiar with the centre-back role if he played there for his country, but his skills would be wasted there, as the energy and passing range he possesses makes him ideal for defensive midfield.

He has also received praise from Gary Neville and comparisons have been made between Rice and the likes of Rodri and Fabinho – with the West Ham player being labelled a “rare talent”, so he is clearly performing well in his current position.

As a result, it would be an unnecessary change for Southgate to make, particularly as he has a plethora of options available, with players such as Tyrone Mings and Fikayo Tomori beginning to emerge on the international stage also.

Newcastle United fans have been reacting as scouts are keeping track of Lille forward Victor Osimhen, according to a report in The Chronicle.

The Nigerian striker recently joined the French outfit from RSC Charleroi in Belgium and made himself part of the club’s infamous project.

With Joelinton currently yet to get up to speed at St James’ Park since his £40m from Hoffenheim, the Magpies are believed to be looking towards their winter recruitment is being taken into careful consideration to bolster the attacking line for Steve Bruce’s side.

A Newcastle fan calls for Sean and Matt Longstaff’s Mum to give birth to a starting eleven’s worth of Longstaffs in the video below…

The Chronicle revealed that scouts have been deployed to the Hauts-de-France outfit to track the progression and player development of the 20-year-old, who has seven goals in nine games this season in Ligue 1.

Osimhen recently scored against Chelsea during Lille’s Champions League Group Stage tie against the Blues but fell to a 2-1 defeat.

Supporters seem a little unsure about the links to the Nigerian star, with one fan saying he is “10 times the player Joelinton is”. However, others believe that it is pointless going for such a player with the current management and owners at the club.

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

FIFA 20 is finally here!

Whether you’re an avid career mode player or just play to make the very best FUT team you possibly can, this year’s edition of the most popular football game in the world is one of the best yet.

FUT has become the biggest part of the game over the years and most people spend ages discussing player ratings and trying to build the best squad to beat their mates with.

Unsurprisingly, there were thousands of players around the world who received pretty significant upgrades to their overall ratings. But Premier League players were among the most upgraded in the game this year, with quite a lot of youngsters improving following solid starts to their senior team careers.

So here’s a rundown of the most upgraded Premier League players on FIFA 20…

Harry Wilson – +5

After an impressive season on loan at Derby County last term, Harry Wilson has finally been given the chance to show what he can do in the Premier League.

He’s been given upgrades in all of his key attributes, including a +12 boost to his shooting, which we’re sure has something to do with his superb free-kick ability.

With an overall rating of 75, he’s perhaps not as good as some may believe he should be on the game, but he’ll no doubt improve as the season progresses.

Fikayo Tomori – +6

Tomori has been pretty impressive under Frank Lampard at Chelsea this season, and he scored an absolute screame against Wolves to really announce himself to Blues fans.

He’s pretty quick for a defender, with 80 pace definitely the highlight of his key attributes, and we expect his overall rating of 72 to rocket closer to the 80’s as the season goes on.

Joseph Willock – +6

The youngster has impressed in the Arsenal first team this season, so it’s not much of a surprise to see him handed a +6 upgrade to his FIFA 19 rating.

Now at 67, it surely won’t be long before he’s comfortably in the mid-70’s if he continues his current good form.

Jamal Lewis – +6

A lot of Norwich players have been handed upgrades this year, which isn’t surprising when you consider how impressive they were in the Championship last season.

Jamal Lewis was a key man for the Canaries last season and on FIFA 20 he’s expected to improve further on his +6 upgrade throughout the season.

Angelino – +6

Angelino was a relatively low key signing for Man City in the summer, but his transfer to Pep Guardiola’s side has broughtout on a pretty impressive +6 upgrade to his FUT rating.

The biggest improvement to his score comes in his defending rating, with a +7 upgrade in that department.

Teemu Pukki – +6

It’s not surprising to see Pukki getting a nice FUT upgrade, but many will have expected him to get more than just a +6 improvement.

His pace was downgraded -2 but, as expected, his shooting was given a +7 improvement. If he continues to take the Premier League by storm this season, then expect his FUT rating to pass the 80 mark at some point.

Morgan Gibbs-White – +6

Gibbs-White’s FUT upgrade has been very impressive, with huge improvements coming in all his key attributes.

His physicality, passing and pace were given +10, +9 and +8 boosts respectively.

Jack Simpson – +6

The Bournemouth defender made his first-team bow two seasons ago but is yet to make an appearance this term.

However, his FUT stats have been hugely boosted, with his passing being given a huge +13 boost.

Scott McTominay – +6

He’s not the most glamourous of Man United midfielders, but Scott McTominay’s FUT rating his been given a well-deserved upgrade this year.

Despite losing -3 on his pace, he’s seen growth in all other areas of his game on FIFA 20 and would be a solid presence in any FUT midfield on this year’s game.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

QPR fell to their second successive defeat on Wednesday evening, following up Saturday’s 2-0 loss to West Brom by succumbing to a 3-0 scoreline against Cardiff.

Goals from Sean Morrison, Marlon Pack and Callum Paterson put the R’s to the sword, but perhaps Mark Warburton could have changed the outcome of the game with a slight tweak to his starting XI.

Snapshot

As aforesaid, QPR fell to a 3-0 defeat after goals from Morrison, Pack and Paterson.

The former had opened the scoring in the 11th minute with a header, after his centre-back partner Aden Flint headed the ball onto him.

The R’s played well despite the result – which slightly flatters Cardiff – having hit the woodwork twice through Eberechi Eze and Ryan Manning, while also having 72% of the possession and four more shots than their opponents.

Clearly though, defending resolutely enough to stop Cardiff maximising the chances they did create was a problem for Warburton’s side.

Conor Masterson should’ve started 

Since signing in the summer after leaving Liverpool, Conor Masterson hasn’t played a single minute of football for QPR.

The 21-year-old – a natural centre-back – was left on the bench against Cardiff with 34-year-old Geoff Cameron starting ahead of him, as Yoann Barbet and Grant Hall were missing.

Cameron, formerly of Stoke, performed poorly last time out against West Brom and, what with his age and the fact that the R’s had two games in the space of five days, Warburton should have been bold and dropped the experienced 55-cap international for a younger option.

With Barbet out due to suspension and Hall still not quite fit – they both look set to be ready for the Blackburn clash – what better time for Warburton to throw Masterson into the action for his first taste of first-team football at the club?

Blooding young players into the first-team can often be a thankless task, but the benefits from handing Masterson some game time would surely have been fruitful for QPR later down the line, as opposed to seeing a 34-year-old get more action, perform poorly and also have no more room for development.

Admittedly, it would have been a risk due to his lack of game time so far this term, but after Cameron delivered the performance that he did against the Baggies, it seems harsh not to have at least given the Irishman a chance.

Manchester City brought in Pep Guardiola to make them part of Europe’s elite, and if he fails to win the Champions League during his time in Manchester he’ll be seen as a failure.

When he joined the club in 2016 City’s chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak told the club’s official website: “I have no doubt that he will transform our team to a new level.” It’s clear he’s done this within the style of play you see at the Etihad, but what Al Mubarak really meant, was to dominate Europe.

City had won the Premier League title twice before Guardiola, they’d also played some brilliant football, scoring over 100 Premier League goals during Manuel Pellegrini’s title-winning season of 2013/14, but the Champions League had eluded them.

Even when they got to the semi-final against Real Madrid in 2014/15 it felt the occasion got too much for the players and the manager, and they chose to play more conservatively, only having one shot on target in each leg, eventually losing 1-0 on aggregate. The mentality for European domination seemed worlds away.

With Guardiola comes confidence, and the players have felt it. After a disastrous first season, the club have looked capable of going all the way last year and this year too. Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp were the stumbling blocks last season but their meeting at Anfield this season, despite it being a 0-0 draw, showed he’s now capable of outsmarting Klopp.

The domestic plan ran smoothly last season with only a hiccup at Wigan knocking them out of the FA Cup, but the Champions League requires a touch of fortune and experience. City’s squad are still lacking in European experience, but that’s the hill Guardiola must climb to make the club’s unprecedented heights become the norm. It’s not going to be easy, but he has to succeed.

People are still quick to point the finger at Lionel Messi as being the reason he won the two Champions Leagues he did at Barcelona, but it’s clear his management played a huge part. If he wins the European cup with City, he will have taken the club to the next level Al Mubarak speaks of.

If he doesn’t, then City will still feel as if they’re yet to arrive on the European stage.

Would Guardiola be a failure if he doesn’t win the Champions League at Manchester City?

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Oh Ed, you just don’t help yourself do you? Manchester United’s executive vice-chairman has been the target for many fans’ disdain over the club’s current plight, and his latest comments have certainly not gone down too well.

In a conference call with club investors following the release of United’s financial figures, Woodward strongly defended the recruitment policy in place at Old Trafford.

The 47-year-old insisted the Red Devils are going about things the right way, and that understandably prompted many supporters of the Manchester side to flood to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the matter.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Many United fans couldn’t believe what Woodward said, and revealed they are stunned by the “utter delusion” of the club’s key figure.

Some went into meltdown, and suggested the club is now “finished”, with one fan in particular insisting they are going to give up with supporting the club.

Check out some of the shocked reaction of United fans below:

An exciting Newcastle United transfer claim has been made, regarding Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno…

What’s the talk?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie has revealed that the Magpies could target the German international at the end of the season.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “I could foreseeably see them, if they stay up, looking to bring in a new goalkeeper in the summer and changing things up in the goalkeeping department.

“I think Bernd Leno is someone they would be interested in given his experience in the Premier League already.”

Buzzing

Newcastle fans will surely be buzzing with this claim as Leno could be an excellent addition to the squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

He is a proven top-flight performer who could come in and improve the team, as he has shown over the years that he can make some excellent saves. The German has a career average WhoScored rating of 6.71, compared to Dubravka’s 6.66, and has played for teams with high expectations in Bayer Leverkusen and Arsenal, showing that he can handle pressure.

Only Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang stopped him from being the Gunners’ Player of the Season in the 2019/20 campaign, which proves that he was able to produce consistently impressive displays in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe may want a goalkeeper who is able to play out from the back in order to build a progressive style of play and that is what the 29-year-old could offer him. He averaged a pass completion rate of 64.1% or higher in all of his top-flight seasons for Arsenal, averaging 72.3% or higher in each of the two leading up to the current one.

The current Magpies shot-stopper, meanwhile, has averaged a pass completion rate of less than 60% throughout his time at St. James’ Park. This suggests that he is not as accomplished on the ball and may not have the ability to effectively play out with his feet.

Leno could also be more effective in controlling his area. He ranks in the top six percent of goalkeepers in Europe’s top five leagues in the last year, whilst Dubravka is in the top 38 percent. This means that the German could alleviate pressure from his defence by coming out to claim the ball, rather than being hesitant and causing confusion at the back.

Therefore, fans would surely love to see the shot-stopper arrive in the summer and will be buzzing with the club’s big plan to bolster their goalkeeping department at the end of the season.

AND in other news,  Imagine him & Burn: Howe must now unleash “big” NUFC gem who’s massively “underrated”…

Rangers marksman Alfredo Morelos has picked up an injury on international duty, coming as a potentially monumental blow for the Light Blues ahead of a massive Premiership clash.

The Lowdown: Gers face massive game

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are in the middle of a two-week international break, with many of their players off representing their respective countries around the world.

Upon their return to league action next Sunday, they face a potentially season-defining Old Firm clash as they host bitter rivals Celtic at Ibrox. The Gers currently trail the league leaders by three points.

To their dismay, a significant injury update has now emerged which could have a big bearing on the outcome next week.

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The Latest: Morelos could miss out

As relayed by The Glasgow Times, Morelos is a genuine injury doubt for the crucial visit of the Gers’ arch-rivals, having picked up a thigh problem with Colombia in recent days.

A statement from the country’s FA read:

“The technical and medical staff of the Colombia Men’s Senior National Team reports that, after performing medical tests on player Alfredo Morelos, a muscle injury in the left thigh was confirmed, which prevented him from participating in the previous match against Bolivia and likewise does not allow him to participate in the next match of the Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

“For this reason, the striker is called off to start his recovery work. We wish the player a good return to his club.”

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The Verdict: Fingers crossed

Morelos is arguably one of the first names on Rangers’ team sheet, so this is a massive blow for Van Bronckhorst ahead of the biggest game of their season so far.

The Colombian has scored 11 goals and registered seven assists in 25 league starts this season, and his big-game mentality could be crucial in a match of such magnitude.

Morelos has been hailed as ‘fantastic’ by former Gers manager Steven Gerrard and his overall record of 113 goals in 224 matches for the club outlines why the Ibrox faithful will be sweating on the 25-year-old injury status between now and next Sunday. Fingers crossed he can recover in time.

In other news, a key Rangers transfer claim has emerged. Read more here.

West Bromwich Albion are interested in a deal to bring Liam Kitching to The Hawthorns in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sunday Mirror (via Football League World), who claimed that Valerien Ismael is keeping a very close eye on his former Barnsley centre-back ahead of a potential move in the current transfer market.

However, the report added that West Brom are facing competition from Birmingham in their pursuit for the 22-year-old, with Lee Bowyer also thought to be keen on a swoop for the defender this month.

Imagine him & O’Shea

While it is true that Barnsley have not enjoyed the best of seasons following Ismael’s move to West Brom last summer – with last season’s play-off semi-finalists currently sitting bottom of the Championship – Kitching has nevertheless proven that he is a player who possesses a great deal of potential for the future.

Indeed, over his 16 league outings in the current campaign, the £270k-rated defender has been one of Barnsley’s few bright sparks, helping his side to keep three clean sheets and registering one assist, as well as making 1.3 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and 3.8 clearances per game and winning 59% of his duels.

These returns have seen the £3k-per-week defender average a SofaScore match rating of 6.71, ranking him as Barnsley’s joint 10th-best performer in the division, and that score would likely be much higher if it weren’t for his team’s awful form.

While he is still just 22 years of age, Kitching certainly seems like a player who has the potential to go on and become a top-level centre-back, something which would only be aided by the youngster playing alongside West Brom’s own 22-year-old defensive colossus in Dara O’Shea. The Irishman’s 7.26 Sofascore rating put him top of the Baggies’ squad.

Indeed, should Ismael go on to land a deal for the Tykes starlet this month, O’Shea and Kitching could well form two-thirds of the Frenchman’s three-man defence for many years to come. That will undoubtedly be an exciting prospect for the Albion faithful, and the centre-back would be a signing that Ismael would clearly love to get over the line, adding to his one January acquisition so far in Daryl Dike.

In other news: Ismael could repeat Oli Burke disaster as West Brom plot January bid for “horrible flop”