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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…

Nice to talk about someone different for a change.

Whilst most of the discussion around Leeds United following their draw with Preston North End continues to be the ongoing battle between Eddie Nketiah and Patrick Bamford over who should lead the line, one player has caught the eye of former Premier League forward Clinton Morrison.

Kalvin Phillips is an incredibly popular figure, but now it seems as if he’s starting to get recognition from those outside the club.

What’s been said?

Speaking on Gillette Soccer Special (22/10 from 9pm), Morrison said that Leeds will struggle to keep hold of the local lad if this season doesn’t end in promotion:

This came in the midst of Leeds’ late 1-1 draw against Preston on Tuesday evening.

“He is a player and a half. He’s dominated this game. He is a top, top player. If Leeds don’t get promoted this season then that young player will be gone. He has dominated the midfield. He cleans up things and he always looks to pass forward.”

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Are plans already in place?

Reports were rife during the summer that he could leave, with clubs like Spurs, Aston Villa and Newcastle United all interested at some stage, and Leeds were even forced to turn down a £27m offer from one of them in order to keep a promise to Bielsa that he wasn’t to be sold.

Leeds probably know they can’t hold out forever, and they’ve taken precautions to compensate for his potential departure.

It’s a well-known ploy by football clubs to give players longer contracts to increase their value, and with Phillips signing a five-year deal back in September, they may have done this to act as a bit of a ‘safety net’ in case they didn’t go up this season.

And if he was worth more than £27m to them this summer, they should be able to command a much higher fee in the summer of 2020 and use that to rebuild the squad.

But the possible windfall they get from an exit would be mere peanuts compared to the money they’d receive from being in the Premier League.

So whilst it is a safety net, it will be something that they probably don’t want to end up using.

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 to the club’s official website, Manchester United legend Andy Cole has tipped Mason Greenwood to make a huge impact in the near future.

What did he say?

The 18-year-old has burst onto the scene at Old Trafford, shining on the club’s pre-season tour earlier this summer. Despite not making a single Premier League start this campaign, Cole has insisted Greenwood is ready to take off when given the opportunity.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

He said: “The kid has got quality in abundance, to be fair to him. If he keeps working and keeps progressing, which I have no doubt he will do, it won’t be too long before he is lining up for the first team on a regular basis.

“When you watch him, as a former centre-forward, you can see with your own eyes that he has two great feet. If you look at his mentality as well, he looks like he has got his head screwed on for a very young boy who has just turned 18. I watched him a lot during the pre-season tour and watched him quite a few times on MUTV as well, so you realise he has quality. It won’t be long, it won’t be long.”

Chance

Having made it quite clear at the end of last season that he would be prepared to hand out opportunities to the club’s clutch of talented youngsters, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer hasn’t exactly fulfilled that promise entirely. The kids have largely been restricted to Europa League appearances, and just a few minutes off the bench in the Premier League. Hardly a great show of faith now, is it?

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In Greenwood, United have a starlet who the club can get behind. Amidst all their goal-scoring troubles – the Red Devils have struck just nine times in their opening seven league games – Greenwood can be the man to get them out of it. His finishes against FC Astana and Rochdale were clinical, and it’s exactly the type of ruthlessness Solskjaer’s side could do with in the big games.

Cole suggests “it won’t be too long”, but for United, the time for Greenwood really has to be now.

Undeniably one of the most ineffective signings in Premier League history, Alexis Sanchez’s miserable time at Manchester United was mercifully ended when he was allowed to leave the club on loan in the summer.

The Chile international initially arrived at Old Trafford as a bona-fide superstar from his time at Premier League rivals Arsenal, but never truly looked like capturing his best form, scoring just five goals in 45 appearances for the club.

Having been given a new lease of life by joining Serie A giants Inter, Sanchez may have hoped to reignite his flailing career. Instead, it appears to have taken another major setback. According to BBC Sport’s Simon Stone, the forward was injured on international duty, and is now expected to be out for the next two to three months.

After hearing the news of the 30-year-old’s potential lay-off, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on their loanee.

Many supporters of the Manchester side delivered a fairly brutal verdict on Sanchez’s plight, and insisted they “love to see it”.

Some Red Devils fans felt the injury meant they are now the last ones laughing, and called on him to simply retire from football.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

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A large number of Liverpool fans have slammed James Milner’s performance in Tuesday night’s 2-0 loss to Napoli in the Champions League.

The Reds suffered their first defeat of the 2019/20 campaign in Naples with goals from Dries Mertens and Fernando Llorente handing the home side a two-goal success.

Jurgen Klopp’s side still have plenty of time to respond in Group E but suffering a defeat on the opening night is not what the club would have had in mind.

And it would be fair to say that a lot of the Liverpool supporters were particularly upset by what they saw from Milner during his 66 minutes on the field.

According to WhoScored, Milner won three tackles in Naples, but the midfielder’s pass success rate was only at 78% – not the best.

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The Liverpool fans did not hold back in their criticism both during and after the match, with a selection of their comments on Twitter available to view below:

Rangers earned themselves a fine win over Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon in the Scottish Premiership with them emerging 5-0 winners from the match at Ibrox.

The Gers went into the game knowing that it was going to be tough against a Dons side that has proven difficult opposition in recent years – with them often the side challenging to break into the Old Firm’s top two places in the division.

However, the Light Blues took care of the away side with relative ease, scoring five goals without reply and closing the gap to Celtic in the league to just a point.

Unsurprisingly in a game that saw such a performance from the home outfit, several Gers players have taken plenty of plaudits in the aftermath, with midfielder Steven Davis earning a lot of credit for his display in the middle of the park.

Here, then, are some of the best tweets from Rangers fans looking at his showing…

He may not have scored but he earned high praise and fans will hope that that can continue…

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Loads of Leeds fans have been running the rule over their defeat at Loftus Road, and one post-match image of Marcelo Bielsa is hitting fans right where it hurts.

After recovering from a poor run of form with consecutive 2-1 wins over Swansea and Bolton, this week presented a huge chance for Leeds to try and replicate the winning spree that made them clear title favourites before Christmas.

QPR had not won a Championship game since Boxing Day before Tuesday’s clash, and West Brom, who Leeds play this Friday, just took a wounding 1-0 home defeat to Sheffield United at the weekend.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side were unable to capitalise on the former’s horrific patch of form though, as Luke Freeman popped up with the winner for Steve McClaren’s side just after half time.

The Whites were really poor in the match, controlling 64 per cent of the possession but mustering one less shot on target than their hosts managed, per BBC.

After the game, Bielsa was spotted slouched down on his haunches in the tunnel, and fans are heartbroken by the thought of not earning promotion under their enigmatic gaffer.

You can see the image here, and find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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According to The Daily Mail, Andy Carroll will be unavailable for Newcastle United’s Premier League clash against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

The powerful forward is yet to play this season following an ankle operation.

It had been thought that the summer arrival would be fit enough to play a part against his former club after the international break.

However, according to The Daily Mail, Carroll’s return to action is ‘not imminent’.

The report insists that there has been ‘no setback’ when it comes to the 30-year-old, but his lack of first-team training has pushed his return date back.

It remains to be seen whether the Englishman can return to fitness and contribute for Steve Bruce’s side, who showed a lot of faith following his West Ham United release.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

However, there will be no Anfield return this weekend – a selection of the Twitter reaction from the Newcastle supporters is available to view below:

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As per a source close to Flamengo forward Gabriel Barbosa, speaking in an interview with Globo Esporte, there has been more news involving West Ham United and the player.

The Lowdown: West Ham enter talks…

The 25-year-old is a name we keep hearing through the press as David Moyes aims to bolster his attacking options before the January 31 deadline.

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Sky Sports first broke news of West Ham’s interest in Barbosa as they went on to lift the lid on talks and a loan-to-buy offer for him earlier this month.

Indeed, the Irons and recruitment chief Rob Newman lodged a proposal to take the striker on a temporary spell for 18 months with the option to make his stay permanent for €30m (£25m), according to Sky Sports.

Sharing an update, a source very close to Barbosa has now made a further admission.

The Latest: Agent confirms Barbosa offer…

Speaking to South American news outlet Globo Esporte, the former Inter Milan striker’s representative Junior Pedroso has claimed that West Ham have indeed tabled a formal offer to take Barbosa on loan.

First revealing an approach from Newcastle, Pedroso then went on to confirm West Ham’s involvement, saying: “The other club that actually went about with a formalization of a loan offer was West Ham. And then I didn’t even take that offer to Gabriel, I directed it to Flamengo , who gave a negative.

“Flamengo doesn’t see a loan as a possibility, even paying a fortune, and we wouldn’t consider a loan issue at the moment either.”

The Verdict: Time to move on…

The prolific forward has been nothing short of a revelation in Brazil, having scored a phenomenal 29 goals in all competitions throughout 2021, but he could be a gamble in the English top flight.

Barbosa’s only spell in Europe to date came at Inter, which was a regrettable one to say the least, so you can understand why Moyes and co want to test the waters with a loan deal before discussing any permanent move.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, West Ham are still interested in a loan deal for the ‘big name’ striker, as Graeme Bailey worded it. However, after this interview with his agent, it could be time for the Irons to move on to other targets.

In 0ther news: ExWHUemployee claims West Ham are eyeing ‘absolutely incredible’ ace with loan-to-buy move in discussion, find out more here.

A major update has emerged on Newcastle United and their interest in Tottenham outcast Dele Alli…

What’s the talk?

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has revealed that the Magpies are now looking to secure a deal for the England international ahead of one of their Premier League rivals.

He tweeted: “EXCL: Newcastle make dramatic late attempt to pip Everton to Dele Alli signing after losing out on Lingard. #NUFC have enquired to take Dele on loan just as permanent Everton move enters final stages. Unclear if it will succeed.”

St James’ rocking

This move could get St James’ Park rocking, as Alli has the potential to be a stunning addition to Eddie Howe’s squad and possibly help them to secure Premier League survival this season.

They are currently 18th in the table and struggling badly, with two league wins under their belt so far in 2021/22, coming against Leeds and Burnley.

Alli has proven himself at the top level in England, with 67 goals and 61 assists in 269 games for Spurs, This includes 51 goals and 37 assists in 180 Premier League matches for the north Londonders, and he has also managed eight or more league goals in four separate seasons.

This suggests that he could have the quality to come in and offer a real goal threat for the Magpies in the coming months if they are able to secure this deal. Therefore, St James’ Park could be rocking if he comes through the door, as his pedigree will surely come with an anticipation and excitement that he could be the player to pull Howe’s side over the line.

Along with that, the supporters could also be buzzing to see PIF hijacking Everton’s deal for Alli as the Toffees are only four points ahead of them in the table. This means that they could stop a relegation rival from strengthening their squad, whilst duly improving their own in the process, making this a sensational piece of potential business by the club.

AND in other news,  “In the past few minutes”: Sky Sports drop on-air update which will leave NUFC fans gutted…

Fabio Paratici is reportedly now ‘insisting’ on signing Dejan Kulusevski for Tottenham Hotspur in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: On the shortlist

Speaking live on Sky Sports (via Football Daily), Italian football journalist and transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio recently revealed that Kulusevski is ‘one of the names’ on Spurs’ list for potential signings this month, and that both Paratici and Antonio Conte ‘like’ him.

It is not surprising, given that they know all about him from his time at Juventus, as Paratici used to work with the Old Lady, and Conte was managing in the Serie A with Inter Milan before moving to North London.

Nonetheless, Kulusevski is certainly one player to keep an eye on as the window progresses.

The Latest: Paratici ‘insisting’

As per Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Paratici is now ‘insisting’ on signing Kulusevski for the Lilywhites, and is ‘keen’ on offering him to Conte.

They could also offer a player as part of a deal, with Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele and Japhet Tanganga the names who have been mentioned.

The Verdict: Sign

At 21 years of age and already playing at the highest level with Juve, Kulusevski is a player whose stock is only going to increase.

Described as ‘lethal’ for Sweden by Swedish and Italian football writer Maxi Angelo, he has played for his country at every level, including at Euro 2020, where his two assists in a 3-2 win over Poland ensured that they reached the knockout stages of the tournament. He also grabbed an assist against Spain in a FIFA World Cup qualifying win (Transfermarkt).

At Juventus, he has managed great talent’.

Nonetheless, the prospect of Conte working with him is quite frankly mouth-watering given the versatility and creativity he could inject into the attack, and so THFC should do everything that they can to sign him up.

In other news, find out who Conte is now eyeing a move for here!