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

Liverpool are looking to add another talented young coach to their ranks, according to The Evening Standard.

What’s the story?

The report claims the Reds are set to appoint Vitor Matos to a role linking the youth sides with the first-team.

Currently at Porto, Matos will be tasked with smoothing the path from the academy to Melwood, a position formerly filled by Pepijn Lijnders prior to his promotion to assistant coach.

Matos has worked with Lijnders at the Portuguese outfit, and has operated both as a scout and as an assistant manager for the Primeira Liga champions’ B team, through which many of their players progress before playing for the senior side.

The report claims his switch to Merseyside is “close” to being finalised.

More youthful exuberance

You only need to look at Porto’s transfer history in the last decade or so to see they certainly know how to produce and curate top-tier young talent.

The likes of James Rodriguez, Andre Silva, Diogo Dalot and Ruben Neves have all risen through the ranks at the Estádio do Dragão before being sold for big money, and looking further back we see names like Falcao, Pepe and Ricardo Carvalho.

At Liverpool, there are many young players who could be looking to burst into the first-team picture, but top of the pile is surely Harvey Elliott.

The 16 year-old stunned fans with his performance in the Carabao Cup at MK Dons last week, forcing Jurgen Klopp to say he is ready for Premier League action, and the arrival of Matos, who has worked closely with the likes of Neves, can only mean good things for the former Fulham teenager.

Regardless of Elliott’s clear talent, making and maintaining an impact in the first-team at such a young age is always difficult, so bringing in the coach who helped produce the youngest player ever to captain his side in the Champions League will surely help.

With 36 year-old Lijnders in the assistant manager’s seat and now potentially a 31 year-old in the shape of Matos helping youngsters into the first-team, the youthful exuberance of a relatively young coaching staff should set up the perfect environment for players like Elliott to thrive.

Perhaps he could have chosen his words a little differently.

Speaking after the game, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa spoke about how even though the scoreline might not reflect it, his side were the better team on the day:

“Each time we lose always I find few logical reasons to justify it. For me, it’s always a shame to explain why we lost. I think with 10 men we were better than them.”

Leeds fans were not having any of it, however.

They tore into the Argentinian for his comments, with many of them placing the blame for the defeat at his feet rather than that of the referee for sending off Gaetano Berardi in the first half.

One fan was annoyed with Bielsa’s excuses while he was also branded a lier by a further supporter. Another individual took issue with the possession-based game the Argentine insists on playing.

It’s been no secret that Leeds have struggled to put teams away this year either.

Even in victory, there have been occasions where they have multiple chances but only manage to get the one goal, such as the game against West Bromwich Albion, so these outbursts aren’t simply as a result of the loss to Millwall.

This sort of response has been coming for a long time, especially considering some of the angst he’s already taken in recent times.

Here’s what fans have been saying most recently.

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…

BBC Sport commentator Noel Whelan has claimed Everton striker Moise Kean is yet to show “anything special” in Royal Blue since swapping Turin for Merseyside in the summer, and doubts whether the Italian youngster can be their long-sought-after 20-goals-a-season centre-forward.

What’s he said?

Kean joined Everton from Juventus in the summer for a potential £27.5million, but has not yet managed to score under Marco Silva.

Who is your club’s best player? Thogden picks his from all 20 Premier League teams in the video below…

He had struck an impressive six goals in 536 minutes of Serie A football last season for a hit rate of one every 89.3 minutes, per WhoScored, despite rarely starting under Massimiliano Allegri.

Of his nine shots on goal for the Toffees, thus far, five came against Sheffield United when his side were beaten 2-0 at home. He also recorded four unsuccessful touches against the Blades.

The Italian youngster has not been able to solidify his claim to the starting role in Silva’s plans since leaving Turin, either, with the Portuguese head coach instead returning to his previously favoured Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Whelan feels Kean’s underwhelming form has been key to Everton’s struggles and is hesitant to praise the 19-year-old.

Speaking with Football Insider, the former Leeds United forward said:

“They’ve got a lot of flair in midfield and down the wings, but they’re lacking that potent striker. And if they had sorted that out [in the summer], they probably wouldn’t be in the position they are now because Kean to me looks average.

“He hasn’t shown anything special to me, yet, to suggest he’s their number nine, he’s their main striker that can get 20-goals-a-season.”

Potential is still to be unlocked

Kean was billed as a rising star of Italian football before his move to Everton in the summer for a reason, and it was because he was seen as one of the most exciting young players around through his powerful and skilful talents that were starting to come to the fore in senior football.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He has now played 50 first-team games across his spells with the Toffees, the Old Lady and a loan stint with Hellas Verona, but it is clear that Kean still has potential to be unlocked, and Silva is struggling to do so.

The Portuguese used Calvert-Lewin more as a target man toward the end of last season, with the former England U21 international’s physicality called upon to shield the ball until Gylfi Sigurdsson and Richarlison were in positions to cause havoc.

This style is not necessarily a match for that of Kean’s, whose pace remains a more fundamental asset. Silva must find a way to merge the two for the striker’s transfer to be a success and Whelan’s fears to ease.

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…

Since arriving on the south coast, Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl has earned a reputation for giving young, talented players a chance to prove themselves at first-team level, and another beneficiary of the Austrian’s footballing philosophy regarding youth could be defender Kevin Danso.

Danso, 21, arrived on loan at the club in the summer transfer window from Augsburg, and has started two league games for the Saints in the 2019/20 campaign.

Although Hasenhüttl did opt to give the Austria U21 international an opportunity in the first-team, Danso received a red card in his side’s defeat to Manchester United and has since been restricted to just 45 minutes of first-team action in the Premier League.

Despite the fact Danso was sent off against the Red Devils, the 2019/20 campaign presents the perfect opportunity for this highly promising defensive prospect to make his name on English soil, if he is afforded ample opportunity to prove himself.

A battling defender with the ability to contribute in the final-third – as his assist for Jannik Vestergaard’s equaliser against United illuminated – Danso’s profile as an attacking defender will have been attractive to Hasenhüttl in his bid to construct a balanced Saints side in his first full season in charge on the south coast, and despite his youthful age, Danso has had his fair share of experience. 

With 10 appearances for Austria’s U21 side as well as over 40 appearances for Augsburg’s first-team, Danso possesses a respectable level of first-team experience that should assist in impressing during his loan spell on the south coast.

Southampton currently sit 17th in the Premier League, hovering above the relegation zone by a slim margin, and therefore it may be difficult for their Austrian coach to turn to youthful yet promising prospects as opposed to experienced top-flight players with history of battling in a Premier League relegation battle, such as Nathan Redmond, Oriol Romeu and Ryan Bertrand.

Although his arrival with the Saints may not have raised any eyebrows given the low-profile nature of the transfer, if Hasenhüttl can find the faith to give Danso an extended run in the first-team, this could be a player with the ability to handsomely reward his manager’s faith in the 2019/20 campaign.

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…

Barcelona and their Champions League exploits are by now a well-known love story.

The Catalans have been chasing the coveted cup for years now, failing in extraordinary fashion ever since the 2014/15 season when they clinched the trophy for the last time.

First came Juventus, who smashed the Catalans in Turin, then Roma at the Stadio Olimpico and finally Liverpool at Anfield and every single time they were outclassed, outgunned and quite frankly – embarrassed.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Needless to say, the whole team constantly underperformed and while it’s difficult to point towards a single player for those disasters, Luis Suarez comes really close to taking the prize by himself.

After all, the Uruguayan has been sub-par for quite a while now and interestingly enough, his last away goal for the club in the Champions League was four years ago as he failed to rattle the net in the last 19 games.

To be more precise, since his last successful strike, he attempted 59 shots and none have ended up beating the opposition goalkeeper.

Of course, with Suarez disappearing in crucial games on the road, it isn’t a surprise that Barcelona were largely outgunned when it mattered most.

Not to mention that a similar thing happened just the other night when the Catalans travelled away to Slavia Prague and just barely got away with a narrow 2-1 victory.

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

Despite having five shots on the night, Suarez was nowhere near his best, failing to make simple passes work and losing possession. As a direct result of that he tallied a disappointing 64% passing accuracy, one big chance missed and lost possession 15 times.

Of course, he has been quite effective in the domestic league, tallying five goals already in La Liga, but those goals just paper over the cracks that are starting to show repeatedly.

The occasional wonder goal shouldn’t be enough for the 32-year-old to be constantly picked and Valverde’s blind trust in the Uruguayan will sooner or later catch up with him once again.

His performance against Slavia Prague was nowhere near an isolated case as we’ve seen a similar thing happen against Borussia Dortmund in Europe or even against Granada and Villarreal in La Liga, just to name a few.

This is slowly but surely turning into a horrible trend for the Uruguayan and the time has finally come for Valverde to make a bold decision and drop the star who’s clearly past his prime.

Let’s see if he musters the courage to do so.

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…

A major setback, but not a disaster.

Marcelo Bielsa revealed in his press conference ahead of Preston North End a few days ago that Pablo Hernandez is set to be out a little while longer having sustained a new injury.

After spending the past few weeks recovering from a calf problem, it appears as though he has now injured his hamstring.

Given the start to the season that he had with two goals and two assists in the first eight league games, this injury wasn’t exactly ideal for Leeds. As a result, the Whites have been given a little taste of what life is going to be like without him, and given that his contract expires at the end of the season, that time could come sooner rather than later.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

We have spoken before on FFC about the players that could potentially replace Hernandez on the wing for Leeds, but so far the likes of Jack Harrison and Helder Costa are yet to play up to scratch, amassing just one goal between them in the league heading into the clash against Preston.

The fact that Hernandez is proving so crucial to the team at the age of 34 quite frankly should be a sign of desperation for Leeds that the team are struggling so hard to replace him.

This period of time shouldn’t just be about getting points for this league season, it should also be about getting the side prepared for what they are likely to look like next term and beyond.

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

If the current inconsistent form Leeds are having is anything to go by, there really needs to be a kick up the backside for the wide men that are in contention to be the long-term replacement for the Spaniard.

Leeds have been granted a perfect opportunity to take a glimpse into their future, but at the moment their future doesn’t look all that promising.

At the rate the likes of Helder Costa and Jack Harrison are going, they may find themselves on the outside looking in when Bielsa is drawing up his plans for next season – especially as the pair of them can both sign permanently next summer

But if they still find themselves being kept out of the team by a will be 35-year-old, if they do decide to renew his contract, that should really get alarm bells ringing.

He certainly is proving to be the golden boy at St Andrew’s isn’t he?

Jude Bellingham announced himself with his two goals this season against Stoke City and Charlton Athletic, and now he’s managed to get himself into a position where he can command a place in the starting eleven on a regular basis, despite only being 16-years-old.

So after he posted on Twitter following the victory against Luton, fans were quick to jump in and give him the praise that he so richly deserved for his efforts and contributions not just on the weekend, but throughout the season so far.

It’s a bit of a cliché, but it’s always true. Blues supporters better not praise him too much, or it might just alert a couple more of the bigger clubs to his presence.

With the likes of Bayern Munich and Liverpool both reportedly after him, his days in the second city might become numbered sooner than fans might be comfortable with.

Unless of course, this is some kind of ploy by the Birmingham crowd to get as much out of any potential deal that they possibly can. What a nice conspiracy theory that would be.

Watch Birmingham City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

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

According to Football Insider, West Ham are interested in making a January swoop for Olivier Giroud.

What’s the word?

The France international has been starved of first-team football this season under Frank Lampard at Chelsea, and has played just 120 minutes of Premier League football all season.

Both Tammy Abraham and Michy Batshuayi appear to be ahead of the 33-year-old in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, and Football Insider now claim the striker is “growing frustrated with his fringe role” at the club.

The report adds Manuel Pellegrini is keen to strengthen his attack in January, and that Giroud is a firm target for the club when the transfer window finally opens in a couple of months.

Revival

Whether Giroud will ever be recognised as one of the Premier League’s finest strikers is up for debate. But what cannot be questioned is that he has been a reliable goal-scorer in the top-flight for a number of years now. In his time with Arsenal and Chelsea, he has scored 78 goals and provided 32 assists in 224 appearances in the highest level of English football, and despite being 33, could still represent a valuable signing for the Hammers.

With EURO 2020 coming up next summer, Giroud will be desperate to be on the France plane heading for the tournament. His chances will not be helped by rotting away on the Stamford Bridge bench. Heading to West Ham would give him greater opportunities to start, and perhaps more importantly for Pellegrini, he would come with a point to prove.

Indeed, not only would he be hell-bent on proving Lampard’s side wrong, the 6 foot 4 man will also be keen on showing he still has what it takes to be a French international ahead of a major competition – and that’s exactly the kind of motivation that makes a possible swoop for the veteran very exciting.

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…

Sadio Mane has told France Football that Mohamed Salah is an “exceptional player” and, even though they have had their differences, it is a “pleasure” to play alongside him for Liverpool.

What’s the story?

Many Reds fans will remember the Senegal international’s frustration when he wasn’t passed the ball by Salah against Burnley in August.

Watch the moment Adam Lallana broke United hearts at Old Trafford in the video below…

Speaking to France Football, the former Southampton man has admitted that although the two have not always seen eye-to-eye, he still enjoys playing alongside the Egypt international. He said of his teammate: “A crazy goalscorer. And an exceptional player who knows how to do everything. We have had our differences, but it remains a great pleasure to evolve with him because I have the feeling that we speak the same football.”

They bring the best out of each other

27-year-old Salah will have known that he should have squared the ball for what would have been an easy tap-in at Turf Moor, but in the end, it didn’t effect the final result as the Anfield outfit prevailed 3-0.

Mane did score that day, whilst the former Chelsea man was unable to get himself on the scoresheet.

The 61-cap star was visibly frustrated by Salah’s perceived selfishness, but in the long run it will do the pair a huge favour in their quest to become the best they can possibly be.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The incident showed one thing in particular: both players are desperate to score as much as humanly possible. This season, it is Mane who leads the way, with 1o goals in all competitions, but his fellow winger is just two behind with eight. Last season, they were joint-winners of the Premier League’s Golden Boot along with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, ending the season with 22 strikes apiece.

Manchester City have a similar situation, with Gabriel Jesus and Sergio Aguero fighting for a starting spot at the Etihad Stadium. The former has even said that the rivalry between the two has made him a better player. And although they weren’t playing for the same team, Cristiano Ronaldo recently said that his rivalry with Lionel Messi during his time at Real Madrid made both of them better.

The two Liverpool stars are in the same boat. Since they started playing together, they have been amongst the top marksmen in England’s top-tier.

The competition and desire for goals is pushing them to new heights and, although there will be moments of frustration as one looks to out-do the other, it shows they have the fire and desire to be the best.

Above all, the big winners are Liverpool, as the Premier League table currently shows.

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

Jonjo Shelvey has staked a strong claim for a permanent starting berth in the Newcastle team since Sean Longstaff got sent off against Wolves, and Steve Bruce has a rather big decision to make as a result.

On the chalkboard

The Magpies boss has experimented with the albeit limited options he has at his disposal in central midfield, though often he has been forced to turn to alternatives, as Isaac Hayden has also picked up a suspension this term.

Hayden has been ever-present in Bruce’s side when available though, and his tough-tackling nature – averaging 2.9 tackles per game – means he is needed in the middle, with the Magpies often operating with a ball-player alongside him.

That’s where Shelvey and Longstaff come into the mix, but with only one place available Bruce has the decision of whether to opt with experience, or allow the latter to continue his development.

Longstaff has become a bit of a fan favourite at St James’ Park, due in part to his Geordie heritage, but the progress he made last season was clear, and led him to be a reported target of interest from Manchester United.

Bruce, however, isn’t completely won over. He believes the 22-year-old still needs to prove why he should be one of the club’s highest earners, with his main concerns surrounding his fitness, having started only seven games this campaign.

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Experience vs youth

The Magpies boss has showed that he isn’t afraid to deploy youngsters this season and the Longstaff brothers have been of good service to him already.

That means that it would be unsurprising to see them both continue to feature, but given Bruce has to win over the Newcastle faithful, he may be more likely to go with a more reliable and consistent performer in Shelvey in order to win more games.

It is little coincidence that Shelvey’s return to the starting line-up has coincided with Newcastle’s first consecutive victories of the campaign, as having him in the middle is important to Bruce’s style.

As his stats from WhoScored show, he averages more than double the amount of long passes per game than Longstaff, allowing him to find the likes of Miguel Almiron and Allan Saint-Maximin – making him perfect for the counter-attack.

That is an area where Longstaff needs to improve, but given he keeps possession of the ball more efficiently than his teammate, as per WhoScored, Bruce may be inclined to pick him.

He has more tackles too, but with Hayden fulfilling the role of the ball winner that is probably less important to his manager, and if Shelvey continues his current run of form it is difficult to envisage him being left out of the side.