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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has delivered his verdict on Newcastle’s signing of Callum Wilson.

With six goals in his first eight games across all competitions, it’s been an impressive start to life on Tyneside for Wilson. The England international arrived from relegated Bournemouth back in the summer transfer window for around £20m, and he is already proving his worth for the Magpies.

Now, Kirkland has thrown his backing behind Newcastle’s summer signing, and insisted that he has improved massively in recent times. Speaking to FFC’s James Beavis, he said: “They needed somebody up top, didn’t they? Wilson, he’s surprised me, because I saw him a few times for Bournemouth but he looks like a different animal now. Now he’s there, he looks like a different player. Superb.

“For £20m as well, that’s nothing these days, for a number nine, for a striker, who’s going to score you 10-15 goals. An absolute bargain.”

If Wilson keeps his current form up, then he’s well on course to break the 20-goal barrier for Newcastle in the Premier League, and it’s been a long time since that’s happened.

Having a proven goal-scorer at the top of the pitch who you can rely on week-in and week-out to find the back of the net and stick chances away is always going to be the difference-maker at the highest level. The Magpies had to watch Joelinton toil away at the top part of the pitch last season, and it was no surprise that they looked toothless in attack, scoring just 38 goals in the entire league season.

Wilson however, is showing that he can absolutely be that man for Newcastle, and Steve Bruce will be hoping he delivers on that.

Plenty of Liverpool fans have been reacting to an admission from Trent Alexander-Arnold as to when he felt that the Premier League title was on its way to Anfield.

In an interview with Eight By Eight magazine, the 21-year-old said that he “started to believe” that the Reds would go on to triumph following their resounding 4-0 win at Leicester on Boxing Day, when Jurgen Klopp’s side had just returned from winning the Club World Cup in Qatar.

That was Liverpool’s ninth first-team fixture in 23 days and it came at the home of a Foxes side who, at the time, were their nearest challengers at the top of the table. Alexander-Arnold scored in that four-goal demolition as the Reds opened a 13-point gap at the summit with their biggest away win during the triumphant 2019/20 campaign.

It was also the ninth of an 18-match winning streak in the Premier League as the Merseysiders ultimately powered to their first league title in 30 years, confirmed as champions with seven matches still to play (as per BBC).

The Reds right-back told Eight by Eight: “We came back from the Club World Cup maybe the day before Christmas Eve. A lot of traveling, a lot of games. Leicester were in top form at the time, so I think everyone was expecting that to be our slip-up. Everyone wanted to see us fail.

“Many teams would have fallen at that point. It’s difficult to return to the rhythm of Premier League football and to play against Leicester, who were, I think, in second at the time. But we came back and probably put in one of our best performances of the season. After that Leicester game is when I started to believe.”

These Liverpool fans agreed that the win at the King Power Stadium was the defining moment in their charge to the title, with some supporters hailing Alexander-Arnold and his team-mates as “unplayable” that night as he also provided two assists in addition to his goal:

Liverpool fans, when did you feel that there was no way the Reds would be caught at the top of the table? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

Gervane Kastaneer has returned to Coventry City after he failed to secure a move back to Holland, according to Coventry Live.

Sky Blues manager Mark Robins has made significant changes to his squad ahead of the new season with the likes of Gustavo Hamer and Julien Dacosta coming in.

After promotion from League One, Coventry are now set for a stint in England’s second tier and, following those aforementioned additions, it was expected that Kastaneer would move on and seal a return to the Netherlands.

Since arriving at the Midlands last summer from NAC Breda, the 24-year-old has made just 10 league appearances, finding the back of the net once in the process.

Coventry Live touched on Kastaneer’s potential exit with a look at his pre-season performances for Robins’ side, claiming that he has impressed the manager to a high standard.

The same outlet has now revealed that a proposed move back to Netherlands has failed to materialise, with the 24-year-old unable to secure a move despite training with an unnamed club.

His return to Coventry saw the winger included in the pre-season friendly with Solihull Moors on Tuesday evening.

Kastaneer has yet to fully adjust to English football and it will be interesting to see if he gets sufficient playing time over the coming months.

Just one goal since his arrival is hardly something to get excited about and it does seem that an exit would suit the winger rather than staying, unless he can put those challenging first few months at Coventry behind him.

Do you think Kastaneer should be handed a proper chance in the Coventry side this season? Let us know your views in the comments section below…

Burnley could make a move for Middlesbrough defender Dael Fry this summer in a potential swap deal involving Ben Gibson.

Burnley Express claimed that the Clarets are considering the possibility of a transfer exchange between the two clubs which would see the 22-year-old come to Turf Moor and their £15m signing return to Teesside. However, any such deal could rest on whether relegation-threatened ‘Boro avoid the drop to League One.

As reported by the Daily Mail, Burnley will not recall Gibson from exile despite Ben Mee’s injury leaving them with a sparsity of centre-back cover, with the ex-Middlesbrough defender training at his former club in recent months following disagreements with some staff at Turf Moor.

The £15m acquisition from ‘Boro has made only six appearances since joining the Clarets in 2018, with seemingly little sign of him ever resuscitating his Burnley career.

Fry, by contrast, has performed impressively at the Riverside Stadium this season, making 31 Championship starts for Middlesbrough. He has won 4.4 aerial duels and made 5.2 clearances per game this season, while also boasting a solid passing success rate of 77.3% (as per WhoScored).

By way of comparison, Burnley skipper Mee has averaged 4.1 headers per game and has a passing accuracy of 71.4%, while ever-present centre-back James Tarkowski has won 5.3 headers per game but completed just 70.1% of his passes (via WhoScored).

Until Mee’s recent injury, he had started every Premier League game this season alongside Tarkowski, illustrating how difficult it can be for other centre-backs to get a look-in at Burnley.

However, Fry’s aerial strength and his superior composure in possession should make him a worthy transfer target for the Clarets and could even see him challenge for a first team place at Turf Moor. Even if Middlesbrough are unwilling or unable to take Gibson back, the Lancashire side should strongly consider making a move for the 22-year-old ‘Boro defender.

Burnley fans, would you be in favour of a potential swap deal between Fry and Gibson? Have your say by commenting below!

According to The Telegraph, Leeds are interested in signing Newcastle starlet Matty Longstaff this summer.

What’s the word?

Longstaff’s future at St James’ Park has been the subject of much speculation, with his contract with the club coming to an end this summer – reports had even suggested that Serie A side Udinese had offered him a contract.

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Now, The Telegraph claim newly promoted Leeds have entered the race to sign the 20-year-old, with Marcelo Bielsa keen to make some reinforcements ahead of their return to the Premier League.

A priority for Victor Orta

With the chance to potentially snap him up for a compensation fee, Leeds trying to sign Longstaff this summer should be a no-brainer.

At just 20, the English prospect has plenty of time to further grow and develop, and his break-out performance against Manchester United earlier in the 2019/2020 campaign proved he has a lot of potential.

His long-range strike was to be the match-winner, with Match of the Day pundit Martin Keown raving about his performance. He said: “The young lad should be knocking on Steve Bruce’s door and saying ‘Why didn’t you play me sooner?!’ He played more passes, covered more distance and really put in a performance. It was like a Paul Scholes. I know they’re big boots to fill but him and his brother were like Scholes and Carrick.”

Hailed as simply “talented” by Jamie Redknapp, the sky really does appear to be the limit for Longstaff, and given his contract situation with Newcastle, Victor Orta must surely be considering the midfielder as a priority.

Football pundit Tony Cascarino has slammed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for his poor work ethic and attitude despite captaining Arsenal to a long-awaited victory by scoring in their 3-1 win at West Ham United on Monday night.

Aubameyang sealed the points as the Gunners hit the Hammers with a quickfire nine-minute treble that downed Manuel Pellegrini’s side and earned Arsenal their first win in 10 games.

However, writing in The Times, Cascarino was critical of the striker, branding the 30-year-old as one of the laziest players in the team along with Mesut Ozil – and suggesting he would boot him out of the side if given the chance.

He said: “Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored last night but he really hurts Arsenal with his poor attitude. People talk about his goalscoring record – and it is indeed very good – but he needs to be a team player.

“Last night he was just letting opposing defenders head the ball away without even making a challenge.

“Along with Mesut Ozil, he is the laziest player in the side. His work ethic for a senior player is bordering on disgusting. Last week against Brighton and Hove Albion he remonstrated with Joe Willock, his young colleague, when he should be encouraging him.

“He would be the first one out of the club if it was up to me.”

On the face of it, Cascarino’s comments seem a little misguided, especially after offering a counter-argument himself by highlighting Aubameyang’s goalscoring record which was improved upon last night.

His apparent unwillingness to challenge for headers is hardly a surprise given he is yet to score a header since moving to Arsenal almost two years ago.

That he is not prolific with his head arguably points towards a playing style rather than a lack of desire or energy, as Cascarino speculates.

Cascarino’s feeling that the Gabon striker should be let go on those grounds perhaps demonstrates the strength of the opinion he holds, particularly when Aubameyang’s impressive goalscoring record in North London (54 in 84 appearances) is considered.

However, it may be that it is pure hyperbole from Cascarino on a night where the most important thing for Arsenal was surely getting back to winning ways at long last.

Arsenal fans, should Aubameyang be sold in the summer? Let us know what you think below!

If there was ever a duo of recent years to sum up Everton Football Club, it would have to be Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman.

The official Everton Twitter account has posted a snap of the full-back duo during a training session at Finch Farm. Plenty of Blues have flocked to show their appreciation of the pair.

Between them, Baines and Coleman have contributed 24 years of service to the Merseyside outfit and have a combined goal tally of 72 (via Transfermarkt).

Coleman is currently contracted until 2022 but Baines could be leaving the club as a free agent this summer unless new terms are met. Everton have offered the 35-year-old a new one-year deal but a decision has yet to be made from the player himself.

One Blues supporter has tweeted saying: “It’s almost unforgivable that these two players won’t win a trophy”. As Everton have struggled over the last few years and have qualified for Europe just once in the last five seasons, it seems likely the pair will leave the club without any silverware.

Read through more replies from Everton fans here:

How would you describe Baines and Coleman over the years, Blues fans? Let us know in the comments below!

The sacking of Mauricio Pochettino and the subsequent appointment of Jose Mourinho have truly shaken the Premier League to its core.

But even though he’s already played some games as the new Tottenham Hotspur manager and has been with the team for a week or so, the Special One is still a heavily discussed figure in the world of football.

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Gary Neville, for instance, believes that Mourinho and Spurs’ chairman, Daniel Levy, are using each other at the club and that this deal has prenuptial written all over it.

The former Manchester United player turned pundit thinks that Mourinho is here as a big name to protect Spurs’ revenue, their finances and as someone who can keep things from falling apart at the club.

And upon hearing his verdict, many Spurs fans accused Neville of stating the obvious and they were quick to call him a charlatan and his narrative “pointless”.

You can see some of their reactions down in the collection of tweets below:

Elsewhere, Chelsea’s young defender has been linked with a move to Barcelona.

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…

Darren Bent has given an indication about why it is that Sebastien Haller has struggled so much for West Ham United in recent times, as reported by Football Insider.

What did he say?

The Frenchman is a key man for West Ham, being the main figurehead of their attack and club-record signing.

Therefore, when he is not on form it is highly detrimental for the team, as has been highlighted in recent times, with the striker having gone seven Premier League games without getting a single goal or assist.

That does also include the game against Chelsea, for which he was dropped to the bench and replaced by Michail Antonio, before coming on for 14 minutes.

Speaking to Football Insider, Bent spoke about the West Ham man’s struggles: “I think a lack of confidence, a lack of creativity – at the start of the season when they were feeding him, they were scoring goals left, right and centre.

“It’s been indifferent performances, people haven’t been creating much for him, he’s been feeding off scraps and he’s not scoring which is no surprise.

“When you’re not creating chances for somebody, as a centre-forward who’s there to score goals, he’s going to become disillusioned, become frustrated, become angry. There’s no point pointing the finger at him saying he can’t score – you’ve got to give him the opportunities.”

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Hard to argue

West Ham fans were not impressed by Haller’s performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers, feeling that he looked off the pace, though it is easy to see how the striker could be growing disillusioned.

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FFC has previously written about how the 25-year-old seemed like a man stripped of his confidence and that remains the case, as has been seen in his body language at times.

He has grown so isolated and has to feed off scraps at numerous points this season, and didn’t even take a single shot against Wolves, also failing to make any key passes.

Considering this, his dry spell is not necessarily through a fault of his own, so Manuel Pellegrini needs to do all he can to help get the most out of the marquee signing.

In other news, Pellegrini was criticised for one of the decisions he made during West Ham’s loss against Wolves.

Leeds United fans on Twitter have been crying out for Mateusz Klich to be given a rest after seeing some ridiculous stats on social media.Indeed, according to @LUFCDATA the Pole has played in 78 matches for club and country since the start of last season, and he’s approaching 6,200 minutes played during that period.

We’ve previously made a case on FFC for Klich having a rest in the coming weeks, and it seems as if seeing these stats has forced a number of fans to agree with that sentiment.

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The midfielder could probably do with a bit of time off as 78 games over a 15 month period would take a lot out of any footballer.

Of course, Klich may not want a spell out of the first team, but his performances seem to be declining as he’s scored just once in the league this term after netting double figures last season, so a bit of time out of the first team could be exactly what he needs.

Here’s what the Elland Road faithful have been saying on Twitter…