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Well, Jose Mourinho has certainly made a bright start to life in north London hasn’t he? The Portuguese man has revitalised Tottenham in the short time he has been in charge of the club, securing three wins on the trot.

The north London side’s latest victory came against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, and one man who impressed more than most, was Davinson Sanchez.

The Colombia international has made 14 appearances across all competitions this season, including playing and completing the full 90 minutes in each of Mourinho’s initial games as manager.

And against the Cherries at the weekend, the 23-year-old was solid as a rock. Despite rather unfortunately missing out on a goal thanks to VAR, the former Ajax man still enjoyed an impressive game at the heart of defence.

The £49.5m-rated man, per Transfermarkt, made four clearances, two interceptions and blocked two shots, per Sofascore, as he helped Spurs hold on to a precious victory particularly towards the end of the game.

After watching his performance, Spurs fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts about the defender.

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Many supporters of the north London side hailed his immense display, with one fan in particular claiming that Mourinho could quite easily turn him into one of the best centre-backs in the world.

Check out some of the reaction of Spurs fans below:

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Leeds United fans on Twitter are far from happy with one refereeing decision from this weekend’s game against QPR.

Indeed, fans have taken to social media after seeing Patrick Bamford’s disallowed goal for offside.

It may seem a little strange for a fanbase to be arguing a disallowed goal in a game they won 2-0, but the fact that it was Bamford who had his goal chalked off makes it all the worse.

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Bamford hasn’t scored in any of his previous ten league matches for Leeds and a goal against the London club may have reignited some of his form.

As it stands though, the former Middlesbrough man’s goal drought continues, and it’s hard to see where things start to pick up for him again.

Images shared on Twitter make it look as if Bamford was onside when the ball was played, but it was incredibly tight.

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

With just 16 caps for Scotland, Matt Ritchie has called time on his international career, with former teammate Alan Hutton lifting the lid on the potential reasoning behind his decision.

The former Bournemouth winger, as per the Daily Mail, confirmed he was hanging up his Scotland boots, potentially to focus on his club form with Newcastle – with Ritchie so far having been out of action for most of this season.

Ritchie could find it difficult to break into this Magpies side with the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron current first-team regulars – but ex-Aston Villa defender Alan Hutton has revealed that his decision to retire from international football could stem from other reasons.

Speaking to Football Insider, the former Scotland full-back went into great detail over Ritchie’s decision, citing ‘feeling unloved’ on international duty as a possible reason.

“He obviously feels he’s a bit unloved when he goes up there, he doesn’t play all the time. Maybe he feels he can offer more but he feels he’s not getting the chance,” explained the pundit.

“When you get to a certain age, then you start thinking: ‘What am I going to put forward? I’ve got my family here, I’ve got Scotland there, I’m not really playing there so I’d rather use the days for X, Y and Z.’

“I did the same thing so I’m not going to sit here and say he made the wrong decision but I think when you start to get to that age, that’s the way you start thinking.”

Indeed, with Ritchie playing in England and never actually having plied his trade north of the border in the SPFL, it could be a case of priorities – with the winger coming back from injury ahead of an uphill task to battle his way back into contention under Steve Bruce.

Newcastle fans, could Ritchie be more effective now his international career is over? Let us know your thoughts!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

It hasn’t really been a good start to the new season for Carles Alena, one of Barcelona’s big La Masia talismans. And according to Marca, the 21-year-old could be looking towards an exit option in January already.

What’s the word, then?

The youngster was always supposed to be the next big thing at the Catalan capital.

After all, Alena was a big star back at Barcelona B where he mustered 89 appearances and looked set to join the seniors after netting 18 goals and assisting a further 14 for the younger crop of Blaugrana players.

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And that came true this season as the 21-year-old talisman was finally a part of the first-team under Ernesto Valverde. But despite a bright start to the campaign, it has quickly gone downhill.

Now, he could be on his way out come January and looking at his position at the club, that might not be such a bad idea after all.

A new chance

It’s always a big shame when an academy graduate fails to live up to the expectations and ends up leaving the club of his youth behind.

But that’s also nothing particularly new, especially at Barcelona.

Long gone are the days of the golden La Masia generations and Alena wouldn’t be the first nor the last talent having to depart and seek his fortune elsewhere, away from Catalonia.

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

Seeing how we have only seen him on the pitch for 45 minutes in the entirety of the 2019/20 campaign so far, it’s pretty clear that Ernesto Valverde doesn’t really count on Alena.

He made his first and last appearance in the curtain-raiser against Athletic Bilbao back in August and then he was gone, nowhere to be seen since.

As strange as this situation is, with so many midfielders in the squad, it’s difficult to see Alena making a sudden breakthrough, even if Ivan Rakitic, the other midfielder reportedly close to the exit door, leaves in the not so distant future.

That would still leave Alena competing with five other midfield players, all of whom seem to be ahead of him in the pecking order if their tally of minutes so far this season is any indication.

As it currently stands, a January exit, either in the form of a loan or a permanent deal, could be the ideal solution to this problem.

After all, that could be the only way Alena can actually make a step forward in his career.

Manchester United reportedly turned to a player who left the club this year to try and convince one of his country’s brightest prospects to come to Old Trafford.

In their Next Generation 2019 feature, The Guardian stated that the club had asked Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, who left for Inter in August, to try and lure Anderlecht winger Jeremy Doku to United.

According to The Guardian, the 17-year-old could have joined Liverpool after his current club allowed for a potential deal to be discussed arising from Lazar Markovic’s arrival on loan from Anfield, but the Brussels-based outfit ultimately persuaded the Belgian youngster to stay.

Doku made six senior appearances for Anderlecht last season before turning 17 in May and has played eight times for the first team in the current campaign.

He has yet to score for the senior side but has netted twice in as many appearances for the reserves this season, while Kristof Terreur noted in The Guardian that he was applauded by some Benfica supporters after impressing against them in a summer friendly with his “pace, acceleration and skills”.

While Doku remains very inexperienced at senior level, Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not been slow to show faith in teenagers who he feels are good enough to play in the first team since replacing Jose Mourinho last December.

Mason Greenwood, who like Doku has played mainly as a right winger recently, was thrown into the second leg of the last 16 tie against Paris Saint-Germain for his debut in March when the tie was in the balance and has now made 13 appearances for the first team, scoring against Astana and Rochdale last month.

Tahith Chong, another right winger, has made eight first team appearances under Solskjaer, who gave him his debut in an FA Cup over Reading this year.

Teenagers Brandon Williams and Angel Gomes have also featured for United’s first team this season, while James Garner debuted against Crystal Palace in February two weeks before his 18th birthday.

Whether Solskjaer will survive in the Manchester United manager’s job for much longer given their abysmal league placing of 12th and current run of 11 away games without a win and two league wins out of 13 is unclear.

If he is shown faith by the club’s hierarchy, though, Old Trafford could be an ideal destination for Doku, as he would be playing under a manager who has demonstratively trusted in teenage talents in big games, as evidenced by Greenwood and Chong playing in the 3-1 win over PSG last season.

Manchester United fans, would you like to see Doku coming to Old Trafford in the future? Let us know your views in the comments section below!

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Liverpool’s trip to MK Dons provides Jurgen Klopp with the ideal opportunity to test out some unproven youngsters, whilst also easing players back into the side who are making a return from injury.

The German has often used domestic cup competitions to experiment with different players as it allows him to rest first-team members for more important matches in Europe and the Premier League, with success in those competitions his priority.

As a result, a new-look Liverpool side is likely to take to the pitch at Stadium MK, and with a number of promising youngsters making the trip, the only question is who will get the call.

Here is our predicted XI for the Carabao Cup clash.

Against Wolves in the FA Cup this year Klopp made the bold decision to start Curtis Jones, who is likely to feature along with Ki-Jana Hoever, another player who featured at Molineux in what was the only senior game for the club for both players.

The inclusion of Jones would certainly please the fans, and given his record of two goals and three assists in five Premier League 2 games he should have the quality to unlock a League One defence.

He will have a greater chance to do exactly that if he plays alongside Rhian Brewster and Harvey Elliott, two players who have featured next to him on a regular basis already this season.

Both have impressed U23s manager Neil Critchley this term and big things are expected of both, with Brewster finishing as top scorer in the Under 17s World Cup in 2017 and Elliott being the youngest ever player to play in the Premier League.

MK Dons promises to be a great challenge of their abilities, therefore, and a test to see if they are ready to feature regularly in Liverpool’s matchday squad this season, which could be necessary with injuries to Sadio Mane, Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri currently.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Whilst those absentees are a setback for Klopp, the return of Naby Keita to full fitness is a reason for optimism, and this match provides him with a great chance to rebuild his match fitness along with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Adam Lallana.

Both players are still recovering from long-term lay-offs, though, and therefore there is a likelihood that the midfield won’t be able to see out the game, which is a risk if the Reds need to bring on a forward to score or if they suffer an injury in another area.

Dejan Lovren is another who may appear for the first time this season, but for Caoimhin Kelleher it may possibly be an even more memorable occasion, as the goalkeeper could be in line to make his debut.

*Change Bamford stat if needs be

Victor Orta is a meticulous soul. He is a passionate being with a wealth of football knowledge. He has also been fortunate enough to learn from some of the best in the business.

That doesn’t just lie at the feet of manager Marcelo Bielsa but also with Monchi.

Sevilla’s former Director of Football is internationally renowned as one of the best at what he does and Orta had the chance to work under him in Spain.

Learning about a pragmatic approach and a way of football politics, it’s something the Leeds director has taken in his stride.

In fact, it could now prove crucial for the Spaniard in the coming months. Everything he’s learned is set to be put to the test and it could just prove crucial in Leeds’ history for a number of reasons.

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He sits on the verge of his most legacy defining challenge yet, one which could cement his status as a cult-hero in west Yorkshire or see him forgotten as yet another individual that failed to oversee Leeds’ return to the big time.

This challenge will be negating the January transfer window, a period when his painstaking methods will be under the microscope.

Orta is a studious mind and has it within his capabilities. After all, he’s someone who scouted Ben White for two years before he arrived at Elland Road.

How Leeds could do with more players like him being uncovered in January.

What he does or doesn’t achieve over the next couple of months at Elland Road might not only have a giant say on promotion, but it might well determine the direction of the club as a whole.

That’s certainly if recent claims are anything to by.

Owner Andrea Radrizzani recently had his say on matters at board level, suggesting that financial backing from Qatar Sports Investment could help them compete on a level that Manchester City are capable of.

It was a huge statement but it shows what could be on the line. Would QSI still be interested in pumping money into a side who are in the Championship? It’s a difficult subject to work out but any extra support in the transfer market would make Orta’s job far easier.

The director has previously stated that Leeds simply don’t have the means to buy any players permanently in January and that could provoke a big issue.

The Whites already have six players on loan and only five can feature in a matchday squad. Bearing that in mind, will some have to leave? It’s a distinct possibility. Jack Clarke could be recalled by Spurs and, given he hasn’t played in the Championship, it would be hardly surprising if that was indeed the case.

Eddie Nketiah’s future has also been thrown into doubt. Finding someone available with a finishing record as he does, scoring nine for club and country since Patrick Bamford last netted, would take something special.

But there is also the fear of White returning to Brighton in January. Given he won the PFA Fans’ Player of the Month for August, he’d be a monumental loss to a Leeds defence that currently ranks as the best in the division.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

Therefore, Orta would have to stretch every sinew and recall each inch of guidance he received from Monchi to replace them. But that is only a hypothetical scenario.

Either way, this Leeds squad needs strengthening if they want to achieve promotion. There is simply so much riding on the 2019/20 campaign.

If Orta can do the required business in January then it will go a long way to helping Angus Kinnear realise his 50,000 capacity dream for Elland Road. It would likely be a huge boost in keeping Bielsa too.

Radrizzani has noted that the current wage bill of around £40m isn’t sustainable. Not receiving QSI backing or reaching the Premier League means that would have to take a hit.

Who might be first to walk out the door? It wouldn’t be a great surprise if it was the manager. Orta, therefore, has to step up.

Aston Villa turned their fortunes around with their business last summer, landing the defensive wall of Tyrone Mings on temporary terms initially. He helped inspire the Villans on a ten-game unbeaten run and an eventual playoff win.

Leeds, however, ended the campaign with four straight matches without winning before their promotion dream was extinguished against Derby. What they would do for a similar run this season.

Their conversion rate is one of the worst in the league, scoring just 17 goals from a league-high 16.9 shots per game. On that evidence, there needs to be a greater goal threat in the team. As far as the transfer market goes, Orta should have this on his mind over anything else going into January.

Kinnear’s plans for Elland Road and the financial pressures surrounding the club dictate that anything other than being promoted would be a disaster and that could be determined by how well the next window goes.

Alongside Bielsa, Orta has the potential to be the mastermind behind the promotion bid. Mistakes have been made in the past in regards to recruitment but that simply cannot afford to happen in January.

Living up to the huge demands Leeds are commanding is a monumental challenge and what he does in the next few months may shape his legacy in west Yorkshire.

The January window could spur the Whites onto bigger and better things; it could also be a month of rueful missed opportunities.

Keeping Bielsa, a bigger Elland Road, QSI investment and ultimately promotion are on the line.

Over to you, Orta.

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…ÂLeicester City look reformed under Brendan Rodgers and even despite the loss of their centre-back Harry Maguire over the summer to Premier League rivals Manchester United, they remain unbeaten.The Northern Irishman has been at the club since the end of February, so by now his philosophy has been fully instilled at the King Power Stadium.They sit fourth in the table after three matches, including two against Wolves and Chelsea who were both top seven clubs last season with the latter also claiming Europa League glory.One part of him being able to implement his own ideas comes from his activity in the transfer market – something he wasn’t able to do until this summer having joined after the January window.He signed four players in the summer – Youri Tielemans (£35m), Ayoze Perez (£30m), Dennis Praet (£18m) and Justin James (undisclosed).

On the Chalkboard

The Foxes were able to nab arguably Newcastle United’s best player from last season in Perez, who scored 12 and laid on two assists in 34 Premier League starts, per WhoScored.

The 26-year-old can play as a striker, as a second striker, as a number ten or even out wide as he has mainly been utilised so far this season, playing on the right-hand side with James Maddison on the other.

But this acquisition brings more than just attacking output from the front.

His part in Leicester’s opener against Sheffield United at the weekend showed that aspect of the Spaniard’s game perfectly.

Perez robbed Chris Basham of the ball to regain possession before handing it off to Maddison who fed Jamie Vardy with an exquisite outside of the boot through ball to which he calmly fired home.

His ability to influence the game through his tackling is rather unique and is an attribute which might put him ahead of others in his position.

Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The goal above merely shows evidence of his industrious capabilities despite being an attacking midfielder.

Last season for Newcastle, Perez averaged 1.6 tackles per game as well as 1.1 interceptions, per WhoScored.

This season he is actually averaging more tackles per game but only just, at 1.7.

To put this into context, he is only behind Leicester’s defensive players and Wilfred Ndidi for tackles completed this term, sitting just 0.3 tackles away from Jonny Evans.

This goes some way to explaining just how big an impact the Spaniard has, showing why he can also have an impact in defensive phases, as well as attacking ones.

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It happens so rarely but when it does you know. You know for certain and you know instinctively.

It is a knowledge accrued from watching so many hours of football that if those hours were lumped together and placed in a pie chart of your life it would make up a sizeable portion rivalling sleep.

On October 19th 2002 a 16-year-old boy from Croxteth scored an absolute belter against Arsenal’s David Seaman at Goodison Park and a star was instantly born.

“Remember the name,” shrieked commentator Clive Tyldesley as the Toffees faithful went absolutely berserk and a lad still too young to drive or vote or drink ran away in celebration. It’s a great line but also a flawed one.

We didn’t need to remember Wayne Rooney for this was a generational talent, already fully formed bar the immaturity of a teenage mind. Generational talents dominate the headlines and a nation’s thoughts; they divide opinion and shoulder our hopes on the international stage and get talked about by relatives who would otherwise struggle to name five Premier League clubs.

Remember him? From the moment the ball left his boot and caressed off the crossbar to make him at the time the top flight’s youngest ever goal-scorer we knew he’d be as famous for the rest of our lives as Prime Ministers and A-list film stars. We knew instinctively and certainly.

If that might seem somewhat premature, even with the benefit of hindsight proving such a lofty claim correct as Rooney went on to win six league titles and a Champions League at club level while becoming England’s record goal-scorer but it should be noted that we – we being the populace who resided outside of Merseyside – were actually playing catch-up.

In Liverpool they were already well-versed in the very special talent emerging through the Everton ranks, for what it’s worth a born and bred Evertonian too.

Archie Knox, who was David Moyes’ assistant at Goodison at the turn of the century, had described Rooney’s displays as a 15-year-old playing in the under 19s set-up as ‘’Roy of the Rovers’ while the insular world of football also was aware of the one-man tsunami approaching.

Bob Pendleton, the scout who discovered the striker who would later be nicknamed ‘the White Pele’ by future manager Sir Alex Ferguson, relays the reactions of Glenn Hoddle and David Pleat on first witnessing Rooney’s innate brilliance at youth level and it is fair to assume that similar revelations took place on a regular basis. It’s fair to assume whispers of his promise spread like wildfire.

One such early devotee was Ferguson. When Rooney was 14 overtures were made following a recommendation by United’s youth coach Jim Ryan but nothing came of it: “The boy wanted to stay at Everton – at that time he had a love of the club and he’s an Everton fan,” the most successful manager in British football later recalled.

Rooney’s trajectory at Goodison was typically sharp and gob-smacking.

Just three short months after announcing his imminent greatness against Arsenal he won the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award. Two months after that he made his international bow becoming the youngest player to wear three lions on his shirt when he took on Australia in a friendly.

He never once played at any level below: he was thrown in the deep end; introduced at the top because when you know, you know.

At this point there is a reluctance to put up his stats while adorning the royal blue of Everton because they are ordinary whereas his performances – given his tender age – were anything but.

For the record though he scored 15 goals in 67 games. As for his displays there was a rugged maturity coupled with an easy vision and a deftness of touch that amazed from one so inexperienced.

The fans must have been in dreamland with all this. Not only did they possess a storied superstar-in-the-making. He was a local boy too with the club in his bones. In primary school he had written a letter to jailed star Duncan Ferguson.

After scoring in an FA Youth Cup final he famously unveiled a t-shirt declaring ‘Once a blue, always a blue’.

That shirt would come back to haunt him and sooner than maybe he or anybody else thought.

Check out which team have “the best defence in the Premier League” in the video below…

In the summer of 2004 Manchester United made overtures once again only this time they weren’t given short shrift by the player but instead – mere weeks after lighting up the Euros with a series of phenomenal showings – Rooney put in a transfer request.

Ferguson remembers the deal being all-but-concluded after several weeks of back-and-to, not to mention a million speculative headlines when United hosted the Blues in late August, two days before the transfer window ended. “We thrashed out the deal. £27m. 18 years of age.”

If the deal being finalised wasn’t a huge shock considering how long it had dragged on for the move as a whole prompted rancour through the streets of Merseyside.

Paul Stretford, Rooney’s agent, was reported to have received death threats blamed as he was for turning his client’s head. With the deal imminent the teenager was smuggled out of Bellefield – Everton’s training ground – in the boot of his team-mate Alan Stubbs’ car. A nascent love affair was now severed.

On his departure graffiti appeared close to the ground stating: “Rooney could have been a God but he chose to be a Devil”.

On his arrival in Manchester, Ferguson said: “I am very excited. I think we have got the best young player this country has seen in the past 30 years.”

Fifteen years ago on September 1st a transfer took place that shook English football involving a local hero playing for a mid-table side moving to one that chased silverware as the norm.

For those that emitted surprise then or recall it as a surprise now three words harshly but pertinently spring to mind. Remember the game.

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

West Brom are far from the finished article, there’s potential issues at the back and a lack of real creativity in attack.

That being said, it’s still early days.

Baggies boss Slaven Bilic made four signings on deadline day to desperately try and plug the glaring gaps in their squad.

That’s something that will take time to see come into effect as West Brom have won, drawn and lost their opening three competitive matches.

Last season, the team sometimes lacked composure but as long as the trio of Dwight Gayle, Jay Rodriguez and Harvey Barnes were in full flow, the goals would fly in. Goals and creativity, however, has been an issue in 2019/20.

So far they’ve scored just four goals in three matches, a somewhat steady return.

On the Chalkboard

Bilic brought in three wingers on deadline day to add to Matt Phillips and Kyle Edwards so surely a solution is in there somewhere.

It may lie with Matheus Pereira who has joined the club on a season-long loan from Sporting CP – a club known for its academy exploits having brought through legends like Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo.

A few years ago, the Brazilian was actually likened to Ronaldo and Ricardo Quaresma after his impressive early breakthrough in Portugal.

Since then things haven’t exactly gone to plan with two loan spells away from the club, the latest playing in the Bundesliga for FC Nurnberg – where he netted three goals and two assists in 19 appearances.

Thogden ranks all 24 Championship away kits in the video below…

The 5 foot 9 ace may be the answer to their creative problems having averaged 2.1 dribbles per game in Germany as well as picking up an average of 2.5 per game meaning he likes to take on his opposition number at full-back.

By comparison, Barnes only averaged 1.7 dribbles per game and was fouled on an average of 2.2 per game whilst Phillips, a current option for Bilic, recorded much lower on both with just an average of 1.6 dribbles per game and was fouled just 0.5 times a match.

Pereira made his debut in the Carabao Cup defeat to Millwall on Tuesday night, coming on as a substitute for just half an hour, giving the Baggies a glimpse into what he’s able to offer this season.

For a side that have lacked much penetration, the Brazilian could just give them a timely boost in that department.

His small cameo should give encouragement going forward especially as he, and the other late signings, gain much-needed match fitness and start to embed themselves amongst the first-team more.

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