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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 Tuttosport, Juventus forward Paulo Dybala would not turn down the opportunity to join Manchester United if he were to leave Turin this summer.

What’s the word?

The Argentina international endured a rather frustrating campaign in Italy last season, playing second fiddle to the arrival of former Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Now, the report claims that Dybala is deemed to be surplus to requirements at Juventus and is now seriously considering whether to leave the Serie A champions this summer.

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It adds that the Argentine would not reject a move to either United or French giants PSG.

Escaping Ronaldo’s shadows

Prior to Ronaldo’s arrival last summer, Dybala was regarded as the top dog at Juventus. The 25-year-old, valued at £76.5m by Transfermarkt, was both a goalscorer and creator, and was made to be the heart of the Italian side’s attack under Massimiliano Allegri.

However, as Allegri quite understandably opted to go with Ronaldo as his star man, Dybala’s influence waned dramatically, and in the 42 appearances he made last season, he registered just 10 goals and five assists; a far cry from the 26 strikes and seven lay-offs he had the previous campaign.

At Manchester United, Dybala could seamlessly fit into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side as the number ten in a 4-2-3-1 formation. The Argentine would bring some much-needed goals and creativity from behind the striker and ease the burden on the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard to score for the side.

Indeed, Dybala’s profile would also feel like the club had made a ‘blockbuster’ signing and that feel-good factor could propel them back to where they belong. Escaping Ronaldo’s shadows at Juventus to potentially create a new legacy at one of the Portuguese ace’s former clubs would feel like the start of a fresh beginning for Dybala.

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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…

According to Italian media outlet Tutto Mercato Web, Leeds United have had a €15m (£13.7m) offer for SPAL striker Andrea Petagna rejected, and a closer look at the 24-year-old last season suggests he shares one of current Whites striker Patrick Bamford’s worst habits.

Tutto Mercato Web report that the Yorkshire outfit will need to significantly raise their bid – to €25m (£22.8m) – if they are to have any chance of prising the centre-forward away from the side that only signed him this summer themselves from Atalanta.

While there is no doubting Petagna’s record in front of goal after he scored 16 goals in 36 Serie A matches last term – an impressive tally in one of Europe’s strongest leagues – a closer look at his statistics in 2018/19 shows that he has his shortcomings, too.

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Marcelo Bielsa’s men look to be in need of some competition or even an upgrade for the likes of Kemar Roofe and Patrick Bamford before the transfer window slams shut next Thursday, with the former also set to sit out the opening weeks of the campaign because of injury.

Leeds would be buying the Italian for his goal threat, but in many ways he seems to be similar to Bamford in terms of style of play – the duo contributed just three assists between them in 59 league appearances last time out for example.

One of the things that may frustrate the Elland Road faithful most about the man they signed from Middlesbrough is his carelessness on the ball, given he committed an average of 3 bad touches per outing in the Championship in 2018/19, while also being dispossessed on 1.2 occasions according to WhoScored.

Remarkably, Petagna’s record for the latter is actually exactly twice as bad, while he had 2.3 poor touches on average himself.

While he may be a proven goal-getter, it suggests that the Trieste-born striker would arrive at Elland Road with his fair share of potentially infuriating attributes as well.

Considering his reported price tag, Leeds would surely be better off looking elsewhere if they do want to strengthen their frontline before the deadline.

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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 to talkSPORT, former Liverpool player Joe Cole shared his thoughts on what the Reds need to do in the transfer market this summer.

Cole signed for the Merseysiders on a free transfer back in 2010 after leaving Chelsea, but received a red card on his league debut against Arsenal and the Anfield faithful never really saw the best of him – he spent time out on loan with Lille after just one season at Anfield.

Jurgen Klopp’s European Champions have signed just three players this summer, none of which seem likely to immediately influence the first-team, and Cole has spoken out on what he thinks is needed at his former club.

What did he say?

The former England international said: “You don’t win titles when it’s that tight with just your first XI; there will be games when Henderson has to come out the team, whether because of injury or suspension or something. So who is going to do Henderson’s role?

“If van Dijk was to come out the game for a few weeks. They just need someone who could come into the team and fill different roles.

“Someone like at Manchester United, who had John O’Shea. What a great player he was, playing at left-back, right-back, centre-half, central midfielder.”

James Milner?

Is Cole forgetting about one of the most important cogs in Klopp’s machine?

Milner is literally everything Cole has described above. The Liverpool No.7 can fill in at left-back and at right-back, all whilst performing admirably in his natural position of centre-midfield – he is Klopp’s go-to guy in terms of covering other areas.

It has even been reported that the former Borussia Dortmund boss is happy to go into the new season with just Milner and Joe Gomez as cover for Andy Robertson at left-back, signposting just how much confidence he has in his utility man.

It is quite baffling how Cole has glossed over a player who fits exactly into the type of figure that he thinks the club should sign.

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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…

Lewis Morgan has defended his Celtic teammate Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo after another disappointing display for the summer signing against Motherwell.

What’s he said?

The £3m signing hasn’t made the worst start to life in Glasgow, but fans have criticised some performances. It’s probably not helped that he’s replaced fan-favourite Kieran Tierney, who departed for £25m to Arsenal, but he has looked slightly raw so far.

The left-back had an erratic display against Motherwell too, which 67 Hail Hail described as: “An up and down day for the Hoops left-back. He seemed to struggle very badly at the start of the game, but grew into it as the match went on.”

This has led Morgan to defend his colleague, stating: “Boli’s got something to offer. We see it every day in training. He’s talented and first and foremost he works hard for the team.”

A united front

While Morgan is hardly going to come out and slam Bolingoli-Mbombo for what wasn’t an awful, match-costing display, it’s a nice touch. The winger could’ve easily ‘cliched’ his way around the question, but instead chose to step up on his teammate’s behalf.

He’s also not the first player to leap to his defence, with Hatem Abd Elhamed echoing Morgan’s statement that his fellow new signing will come good with time.

Their comments are even more impressive when you consider he could soon be nothing more than a squad player. It would make sense to protect a player who’s going to be nailed on for the rest of the season, yet with Rico Henry and Greg Taylor being linked to the club it would be no surprise to see him drop down the pecking order if either one arrives before the deadline.

The fact that two teammates are so quick to come out and defend what hasn’t exactly been a disastrous start for the full-back shows exactly the kind of mentality Neil Lennon is re-instilling at Parkhead.

In Lennon, Celtic clearly have a manager who’s passionate about the club, unlike the mercenary that was in before him, and it’s showing in his squad. It’s incredibly easy for players to say nothing at all, yet Elhamed and Morgan went against the grain and above their responsibilities to defend a colleague in what must be a difficult time for him personally, adjusting to a harder league and a different culture.

It might all sound rather corny in the sunshine, rainbows and lollipops kind of way, but Lennon getting his entire squad to fight for each other is just as important as getting them to fight for him and the fans.

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Manchester United were forced to settle for a draw at Molineux on Monday night, and the performance of Wolves’ Ruben Neves caught the eye of several Red Devils fans.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side did everything right for the most part. The defence looked solid again with Harry Maguire marshalling things, while Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford continued their great starts to the season, linking up together for the opening goal.

The game was controlled well and Paul Pogba was dictating the pace in midfield. Unfortunately though, sometimes you just get done by a little piece of sheer quality.

Neves struck a superb equaliser ten minutes after half-time, and fans are calling for the club to sign the Portugal international in the next transfer window.

The 22 year-old, who is valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, is in contract with Wolves until 2023.

Fans don’t care about that though, and are questioning why they didn’t move for the long-shot specialist this summer.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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It was a good day for Arsenal on Saturday as they beat Burnley 2-1 to take maximum points from their first two games in the Premier League.

And, for Matteo Guendouzi, it was an extra special day as he made his 50th appearance for the Gunners since joining from Ligue 1 outfit Lorient last summer, despite being just 20 years of age. He has had a fantastic start to the campaign so far, recording an average 7.46 WhoScored rating across those two most recent fixtures.

AFTV’s Robbie has his say on Arsenal’s owners in the video below…

The France U21 international has scored just once during that time, but he has been a key part of Unai Emery’s squad and looks like he could have a big future in the game.

Arsenal fans are clearly delighted with the midfielder so far – they have congratulated him upon reaching the milestone and have taken the opportunity to praise him.

You can see some of the best comments from the social media platform 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…

Harry Kane has expressed his disappointment at Tottenham Hotspur’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United, suggesting that it will now be incredibly difficult for the club to be major players in the title race, per The Daily Mirror.

What’s he said?

Mauricio Pochettino’s men dominated possession against Steve Bruce’s side, registering nearly 80% of possession, per WhoScored.

Kane was at the centre of a major penalty shout in north London, going down under the challenge of the Magpies defender Jamaal Lascelles, though referee Mike Dean opted against pointing to the spot, as did the subsequent VAR review.

Nevertheless, Kane is disappointed with both the performance and the result, as he believes Spurs have to be almost perfect to hope to match both Manchester City and Liverpool in the title race.

He said: “As you’re seeing from Manchester City and Liverpool there is no letting up from them.

“I said before the start of the season that if we could put a run together, get that momentum, maybe winning for two-three months on the spin without dropping any points, then that’s what it’s going to take. It’s a disappointing start but there is a long way to go.

“I said as much after the first weekend of the season. Liverpool won on the Friday night and then Manchester City won early on the Saturday.

“They set the standard with those results and I knew we had to keep up with them, make sure we win, especially at home. It is disappointing that we haven’t done that in only our second home game (losing at home to Newcastle).

“But there is still a long way to go, there are a lot of big games ahead of us. It just means we are going to have to pick up points in the big games, the tough games and try to improve on what we did against Newcastle.”

Little hope

Kane is naturally going to set his sights high at Spurs, especially having helped the club reach the Champions League final in 2018/19.

But to assume that Spurs can match perhaps the two best teams England has seen is a little bit too optimistic.

Liverpool lost just once last season; City lost four times. By comparison, Spurs tasted defeat 13 times. They finished the season with 71 points, 26 fewer than Liverpool and 27 fewer than Pep Guardiola’s side.

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If Spurs are to have any hope of making that number up, they will have to be almost perfect between now and the season’s end.

The chances are slim at best.

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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…

Giovani Lo Celso could be in action for Argentina when they take on Chile in an international friendly on Friday morning.

Tottenham’s Hotspur’s summer signing has yet to make his full Premier League debut for the club but he enjoyed an excellent cameo in the north London derby against Arsenal at the weekend.

Replacing Son Heung-min for the latter stages of the game, the attacking midfielder was a picture of calm in the derby chaos, even flummoxing Gunners star Dani Ceballos with an excellent piece of skill.

He could be included in Lionel Scaloni’s team for the upcoming friendly, having been named in the squad alongside the likes of Manuel Lanzini and Paulo Dybala.

Lo Celso has already won a total of 18 caps for his country, scoring two goals, and was included in the 2018 World Cup squad; he didn’t play a single minute in the tournament, however.

He was ever-present in the Copa America, though, playing six games, in a variety of positions; he was deployed on both flanks and in central midfield. Lo Celso scored in the 2-0 win over Venezuela in the quarter-finals and laid on an assist in the 2-1 win over Chile in the third-place play-off; Argentina lost their semi-final clash with Brazil 2-0.

It remains to be seen where he will be played by Scaloni, but he is most regularly played as an attacking midfielder and Spurs fans can hope to catch a glimpse of what he will bring to the club when he is fully fit.

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Indeed, he has thus far played a total of 44 minutes for Spurs, with his most notable display coming in the 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United, in which he played 28 minutes.

While the signs have been promising, he has yet to really make an impact, purely because he hasn’t had the chance to.

At international level, though, he has already shown what he can do and will be out to do the same again when Argentina take on first Chile and then Mexico.

Spurs fans will want to keep their eyes peeled.

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

Chris Smalling has suggested that he does not want to return to Manchester United next season, per The Mirror.

What’s the word?

The defender sealed a loan move to the Serie A club in the final days of the transfer window.

United, of course, signed Harry Maguire from Leicester City in a busy summer, while he is not a part of England manager Gareth Southgate’s plans, either, per the report.

And Smalling has suggested that he is open to the possibility of staying in Italy for the foreseeable future.

He said: “To be able to have the chance at a big club, and then if it prolongs and the club is happy, then I can definitely see a longer term future in Italy.

“I think this is an opportunity that came to me that I was very interested in and I’m very eager to come.

“It happened very quickly and I think if I focus on the next game, getting up to speed with training, in terms of the manager’s methods and then hopefully have a very good season, then see what happens.”

Music to United’s ears

Smalling doesn’t seem to fit in at United.

He was not included in the squad for any of their first three matches of the season and, really, he has already been replaced, with the club’s acquisition of Maguire.

If he can earn himself a permanent move to Roma, few in Manchester would really miss him.

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Indeed, per WhoScored, Smalling averaged just 1.3 tackles per game in 2018/19, while he also made just one block per game and a total of 4.4 clearances.

He is a not a front-foot defender who can step out and win the ball back in the same vein as Maguire; Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be hoping he takes to life in Italy.

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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, John Hartson revealed that Liverpool are the toughest team to play against away from home in world football.

What did he say?

The Reds have started the season in fine fashion, enjoying a 100% record in the Premier League as well as lifting the UEFA Super Cup, and Hartson believes the players will be raring to go upon their return from the international break.

Newcastle travel to Anfield on Saturday, and the visitors may feel quietly confident of their chances having picked up an impressive win in their last away fixture against Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Hartson believes Liverpool are a different proposition altogether and suggested they will have too much quality for the Magpies.

When asked about Liverpool’s clash with Newcastle this weekend, Hartson said: “Home win, a home win, Liverpool will come out flying from the international break, and Anfield is the toughest place to get a win in world football right now.

“I may slip up and end up with egg on my face but I can’t see Newcastle getting anything and Liverpool will win big.”

It is unlikely Hartson will be proven wrong as Newcastle haven’t taken three points home from Anfield since 1994, and considering the Magpies have just one win in four so far and scored just three goals, they are unlikely to pose a major threat to the Reds.

Fortress

After losing just one game in the Premier League last season, it is clear Liverpool are very difficult to beat, but their home form is really quite astonishing.

In the Premier League they have now gone 40 games unbeaten at Anfield, a record which stretches back to the 23rd of May 2017 when Sam Allardyce’s Crystal Palace earned a 2-1 win thanks to a double from Christian Benteke.

By comparison, Liverpool’s unbeaten run at home is the longest in the Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A, per Forbes.

More to the point, Liverpool’s front-three are on top form currently, with a combined total of nine goals and six assists from six fixtures in all competitions so far, while they are unbeaten in five matches against Newcastle.

Steve Bruce will likely look to contain the Liverpool attack in a similar style to how he operated against Tottenham, but the Reds showed against Arsenal that they can break down narrow sides looking to play on the counter, so they should have too much for their opponents once again.