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West Bromwich Albion continued their promotion push at the top of the Championship table with a resilient display over Hull City on Saturday afternoon.

The Baggies remain two points clear of both Preston North End and Leeds United as the international break takes centre stage for the third time this season.

When they return in a couple of weeks, manager Slaven Bilic will be without his integral midfield pairing of Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore as they both picked up their fifth bookings of the season, meaning they now face a one-game suspension.

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Meanwhile, Filip Krovinovic has emerged as a potential candidate to fill in for them in their absence after his cameo performance against Hull, at least according to some sections of the Hawthorns faithful.

One supporter said that the Croatian playmaker reminded him of Robert Koren, who played for the west Midlands club for just over three years a decade ago, while another compared him to Lionel Messi.

‘Different gravy’ and ‘class’ were two other words used to describe the 24-year-old while one more said that Krovinovic is an obvious replacement for the Sheffield Wednesday game as he is the best ‘possession cycler’ along with Sawyers.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

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

Manuel Pellegrini has a selection dilemma in defence ahead of West Ham United’s game against Tottenham Hotspur, with Angelo Ogbonna and Fabian Balbuena to choose from.

On the chalkboard

There has been plenty of discussion about whether West Ham will have Roberto in goal against Tottenham Hotspur, as David Martin could make his first Hammers appearance.

However, Pellegrini also has a decision to make about who will partner Issa Diop at centre-back – with Harry Kane likely to be leading the Spurs line, this could turn out to be an important decision.

Ogbonna has played more games than Balbuena this campaign, but it is the Paraguayan who has started all of West Ham’s last three matches in the draw against Sheffield United and losses at the hands of Newcastle United and Burnley.

The numbers

So far this season, Ogbonna has edged Balbuena out in terms of tackles made per game, while he has completely blown the Paraguayan out of the water in terms of clearances and blocks made.

The only defensive action Balbuena has completed with greater regularity than the Italian is interceptions per game, as shown below.

It is Balbuena who comes out on top in terms of aerial duels won, averaging 5.2 per game, compared to 3.4 from Ogbonna, while the Italian completes 4% more of the passes he attempts.

So far this season, Kane has played 11 Premier League games, scoring 6 goals and making 1 assist, while averaging 2.3 aerial duels won and 1 key pass per game.

This indicates how complete a performance the striker can give and the challenge West Ham’s centre-backs will face.

The decision regarding who to use will likely be a tough one for Pellegrini, but he should go for Ogbonna judging by the statistics.

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

West Ham United came close to signing Barcelona wonderkid Ansu Fati during the summer, as reported by Bleacher Report.

What’s the story?

The 17-year-old has made 4 starts and 6 substitute appearances for Barcelona across La Liga and the Champions League this season, scoring 2 goals and getting 1 assist.

He has been a revelation despite this short period of time in the team, even being nominated for the Golden Boy award for 2019.

However, things could have been very different for him as he didn’t see a route into the Barcelona first-team at the beginning of the summer.

This led to various clubs showing an interest in signing him, with West Ham among them and the Hammers even managed to strike up a deal with his family.

The Catalan giants were helpless in this because Fati had not signed a new contract, but an issue with the youngster getting a Spanish passport eventually allowed Barcelona to step in and prevent the deal from happening.

Ambitious targets

West Ham have a history of making ambitious transfer attempts under the stewardship of David Gold and Sullivan.

Perhaps the most high profile of these targets came at the beginning of their tenure, as in 2010, the year they took over, West Ham made a £16m move for Neymar, then at Santos, as reported by The Daily Mail at the time.

However, the Brazilian side were unwilling to let the then-18-year-old leave for anything less than his £28.4m release clause.

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It can be argued that their move in 2012 was even more outrageous, as they attempted to sign Fernando Torres and Carlos Tevez on loan from Chelsea and Manchester City respectively, while in the Championship.

Speaking to West Ham Till I Die, via The Daily Mail, David Sullivan admitted: “We tried to get Torres from Chelsea.

“If he couldn’t score in the Premier League, he could come along with us for a month, we might fire him up. They just said, “Not at this moment in time”.”

He then followed that up by speaking about Tevez: “Three times we asked. Three times they said, “No chance”.”

The West Ham owners’ ambitions don’t stop on the pitch though, as they also made an attempt to recruit Carlo Ancelotti in 2015, as reported by The Telegraph.

Fati may not be on par with these names yet, but the fact that he is already making waves at Barcelona indicates that he deserves a place on the growing list of ambitious transfer targets the Hammers have missed out on.

Perhaps next time Gold & Sullivan’s ambition will translate to a genuine transfer coup.

Leeds United fans are loving their versatile midfielder Stuart Dallas even more after footage of him banging a few goals in emerged on the club’s official Twitter feed.

The 28-year-old has been a frequent presence at Elland Road ever since joining in the summer of 2015 from league rivals Brentford, linking up with his former boss Uwe Rosler.

Hilariously obscure Premier League players – Can you name them all?

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He’s gone on to feature 184 times, playing in every role you could imagine from his trademark central midfield position to both right and left-back, too.

Dallas may have only netted 17 times for the Whites, but there are enough corkers for a showreel as seen below.

It has led to some supporters eyeing him up to claim the ‘Player of the Season’ award whilst others in west Yorkshire have just been left drooling over his exploits.

There were even comparisons made to ex-youth product and now Champions League winner James Milner as well as the Irishman being a better finisher than his teammate and top goalscorer, Patrick Bamford.

Here’s what has been said…

AND in other news, Hay details the CRUCIAL role Liam Cooper plays at Leeds…

Leeds United fans have heaped praise on former striker Mark Viduka with some wondering how much he would be worth if he played now.

The Australian goalscorer originally began his career in his homeland with Melbourne Knights before making a move to European football with Dinamo Zagreb.

Performing well in Croatia, Viduka spent three seasons with the club before attracting the attention of Scottish Premiership side Celtic.

After scoring 35 goals in 48 games for the Bhoys, the striker gained a move to Leeds, where he is fondly remembered by most for his excellent goalscoring ratio in English football.

Netting 72 goals over four seasons at Elland Road, Viduka would make a real name for himself in Yorkshire and his efforts are fondly remembered by fans of the club.

Following his time at Leeds, the cousin of Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric enjoyed spells with Middlesbrough and Newcastle United before calling time on his playing career with the latter.

Looking back on his goals at the club, Twitter account @LUFCHistory looked specifically at the striker’s goal against Aston Villa at Villa Park in 2002.

Responding to the footage of Viduka’s goal, fans heaped praise on the striker before wondering how much he would be worth if he played now.

Missing football!? There’s still plenty of Leeds discussion going on in the Vital Leeds Forum! Click here to get involved!

When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was given the task of replacing Jose Mourinho as Manchester United manager, there may have been one or two eyebrows raised.

After all, the Norwegian’s previous experience as a manager in English football’s top-flight was to see him relegated whilst at the helm of Cardiff.

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But in the end, Solskjaer enjoyed an impressive run of form to start of his managerial career at United, and at the time of football’s postponement, had left the Red Devils in fifth place and just three points off the all-important top-four.

And now, Nemanja Matic has waxed lyrical about his manager, saying: “Ole is a great manager. I think he has improved a lot since he came to United, and he is different now. I’m sure he has a great future here, and he will win us trophies.”

After hearing what the midfielder had to say, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts.

One United fan however felt that Matic is simply being cynical, and that praising Solskjaer would be a guaranteed way of getting a new contract at the club.

Clearly, Solskjaer’s reputation is growing amongst United’s players.

With the likes of Mourinho, Van Gaal and Moyes all enjoying years of managerial experience, Solskjaer came in at United as a relative novice.

But in his first full season in charge, he has got the Red Devils within touching distance of reclaiming a place in the Champions League, and that would be a great starting block to build from.

Newcastle United’s imminent takeover deal is still not yet complete, and it could still be a few more days before the official word comes from all parties involved.

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Many Magpies fans appear desperate to sever ties with their infamous chairman Mike Ashley as a Saudi-backed consortium lead by Amanda Staveley is edging ever closer to landing the club in a reported £300m deal.

The Athletic’s George Caulkin spoke about the latest in response to a fan on Wednesday. He claims that even after Premier League approval, the transferal of money would take ‘a number of days’ and thus, the chances of any official competition should too.

He tweeted:

It’ll soon be the dawn of a new era in the northeast – maybe, just maybe Newcastle will be back playing in Europe before too long.

AND in other news,ÂNewcastle fans go berserk over this managerial news…

Tottenham Hotspur have a new saga emerging this week after Lille sporting director Luis Campos requested to leave the Ligue 1 outfit early, according to reports in France.

Many supporters are desperate to see the talent-spotter link up with Jose Mourinho again but a fresh update from the reliable Fabrizio Romano fails to provide much encouragement.

The Italian football journalist responded to one fan’s question on Twitter with the following news…

And it has led to many reacting on social media.

Campos is the man responsible for unearthing stars such as Kylian Mbappe, Anthony Martial, Fabinho and Nicolas Pepe. He also worked as a scout under Mourinho at Real Madrid several years ago.

The fellow Portuguese is known for finding gems at a low cost, which could be ideal for Spurs given the Evening Standard claiming that the north Londoners will only be able to operate in the free transfer and swap deal market this summer.

Spot the fact from the fib: Are these Premier League records true or false?

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Mourinho already poached an assistant manager and goalkeeping coach from Lille, could he do the same with Campos? Much of the Spurs fanbase hope so.

Here’s what has been said…

AND in other news, Spurs fans unleash fury as Serge Aurier breaks lockdown…

Since it was announced that AFC Bournemouth winger Jordon Ibe would be leaving the club when his contract expires this summer, Celtic have been heavily linked, and Danny Mills believes he has a lot to prove, which could be ideal for the Hoops.

Ibe’s career has not exactly gone the way that many expected as he emerged into the Liverpool side, but was then sold to the Cherries for a reported £16.20m. He has struggled to live up to that price tag whilst at the club though and has only managed to score five goals in 92 appearances, per Transfermarkt. However Neil Lennon has been an admirer of the player and looked to sign him last summer, via the Express.

Speaking to Football Insider about the winger and his future, Mills said, “His career has gone backwards. A £16million move and he has had a handful of appearances. A lot of clubs were after him at the time.

“Why has a player of that quality and that value not been able to get into the Bournemouth side? You wonder if it is his attitude or perhaps he is just not good enough. He needs to sort himself out. He needs to be playing regular football as quick as possible. A player that is still young with a lot of quality but he has a point to prove.

“Young players often get too much too soon, think they have made it and they do not keeping pushing. They think they have hit the big time but very quickly it can be snatched away from you.”

It is very true what Mills says here, Ibe’s career in England has probably seen him go through a rollercoaster of emotions and at the age of 24, it feels like the next step in his career will define how he is remembered and he will also want to prove that he can do well on the big stage.

There is no better place to do that than Celtic, and Football Insider revealed in March that the winger would be willing to take a cut on his £40k-a-week wages to Neil Lennon’s men this summer.

At Celtic he will be given the chance to prove himself and be given more consistent appearances, as it looks like he could be the Hoops alternative option to last season’s loanee Mohammed Elyounoussi as it was recently reported they would not pay the price tag that Southampton want for him.

The Ibe transfer looks to please all parties, with Celtic being able to acquire him on a free whilst the Englishman gets another chance to be at a big club.

Would Ibe be a good alternative to Elyounoussi? Comment below!

Plenty of Everton fans have been reacting to some comments made by Carlo Ancelotti as he revealed the three players at the Merseyside club that he feels have what it takes to become managers and therefore could possibly succeed him at Goodison Park one day.

Speaking via the Liverpool Echo, the Italian boss named Leighton Baines, Seamus Coleman and Gylfi Sigurdsson to have the same traits as what he identified in current Chelsea coach Frank Lampard before he became manager of at Stamford Bridge and implied that they could possibly succeed him at the Toffees when he eventually leaves his post.

“Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman have all the qualities to be good managers, Sigurdsson could also be a good manager,” Ancelotti said. “They all have strong football knowledge and good tactical understanding.”

Coleman is the current captain of the football club and so a leader on the pitch, so it is perhaps not a surprise that Ancelotti has named the 31-year old to be a future boss one day.

Baines has a wealth of experience to his name being 35 years of age and has shown great loyalty to the Blues, having made a rather impressive 418 appearances in 13 consecutive seasons in his EFC career so far, according to Transfermarkt.

Sigurdsson is arguably the most left-field option of Ancelotti’s, but the attacking midfield player has at times led by example on the pitch with his 22 goals and 14 assists in 105 games in all competitions over the past three campaigns for Everton, as the Icelandic international has also played in 74 senior matches for his country, as per the website.

These supporters reacted to Ancelotti’s comments:

Evertonians, how long will Ancelotti stay at the club? Comment below!