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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 The Daily Mail, former chief managing director of Juventus, Luciano Moggi, has suggested Massimiliano Allegri would win the Premier League within two years at Manchester United.

What did he say?

As speculation continues to mount over the long-term future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, reports in recent weeks had suggested the Red Devils are in touch with Allegri over potentially taking over the reins at Old Trafford.

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

Now, Moggi has thrown his backing behind a potential move, and insisted he is quite simply far better than some of the managers the club have previously had at the helm.

He said: “Allegri is the best possible option for United. With all due respect to Moyes and Solskjaer, Allegri is better than both. He will bring United back to winning the championship and competing against Juventus, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Liverpool.

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“I’m sure that in two years, United would be triumphant in the Premier League with him on the bench.

Don’t be fooled

Much like the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Moggi’s comments are designed to act as a tempting lure for a side craving for some success. United are still some way away from competing for the Champions League places this season – they are already seven points behind fourth – and to use one of Paul Merson’s favourite sayings, a ‘million miles’ away from making a Premier League title challenge.

Whether it’s Allegri, or perhaps even Sir Alex Ferguson, the Red Devils are in a difficult transition period that will take years and numerous transfer windows to fix. The much-talked about problems at centre-forward for instance would take some considerable action to solve.

But the way Moggi talks about it, it feels like Allegri would simply come in, wave his magic wand, and get United to where they used to belong. Sadly, football is a bit more pragmatic than that.

Tottenham Hotspur’s frustrating start to the 2019/20 season went from bad to worse as they were thrashed 7-2 on their own patch by Bayern Munich on Tuesday night.

A Champions League clash against the Bundesliga giants in their new stadium should have been an occasion to remember for the club, but it turned into a nightmare in the second half as the north London outfit collapsed and conceded three goals in five minutes in the latter stages of the contest.

While Jan Vertonghen started in defence, Christian Eriksen only had the chance to make a difference from the substitutes’ bench when he replaced Tanguy Ndombele – one of the only players on the night to receive any credit from Spurs supporters – in the 64th minute, but he failed to do so.

Both players looked dejected and had looks of anguish on their faces as they left the pitch at full-time, and you wonder whether the result could have an impact on their respective futures.

Vertonghen is reported to be in talks with Tottenham over a new contract with his current one due to expire next summer, although the north London outfit are seemingly unwilling to offer the 32-year-old more than a 12-month extension.

Meanwhile, Eriksen is in a similar boat to his Belgian teammate in terms of his deal expiring, but he appears determined to make his exit either in January or at the end of the season given he has rejected every offer he has had from Daniel Levy, as per Marca.

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…

England may have lost to the Czech Republic on Friday but Charlie Nicholas believes they are all but through to Euro 2020 and, as a result, he expects to see changes to the side.

What did he say?

England have looked almost faultless for the majority of Gareth Southgate’s tenure but it is fair to say they are still recovering from a disappointing UEFA Nations League defeat to the Netherlands in the summer.

Since then, they have won three out of four games but have conceded five times in that period, including three against Kosovo.

Nicholas, though, is not too worried about the defence and instead believes that Southgate needs to begin experimenting before the Euros come around, in order to be prepared for a scenario in which players like Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling are unavailable.

In his England vs Bulgaria prediction for Sky Sports, he wrote: “England are through, so Gareth Southgate would like to introduce Tammy Abraham and Mason Mount to these situations and so you will see a change in the England set-up, in case players are ever out with injury or illness.”

From his comments, it appears that he believes the Chelsea pair could start against Bulgaria, but given Harry Kane’s SofaScore rating of 7.1 was the second-highest rating in the England side against the Czechs, it would be a bold decision for Southgate to bring in Abraham.

Accommodating Abraham

With captain Kane unlikely to be benched, the only scenario in which Nicholas’ prediction could come true is if the England boss decides to alter his set-up.

However, it is very possible he will seek to change things tactically, admitting that he may go back to using three centre-backs, a system that could allow the Chelsea man to partner Kane up-front, with Raheem Sterling playing just behind them.

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Abraham is bang in form in the Premier League with eight goals and eight games, and will likely feel frustrated at only getting five minutes against the Czech Republic, but could use that drive to his advantage if he gets the nod against Bulgaria.

A change in system would help England in terms of flexibility and as Nicholas alludes to it would be vital to preparing for an eventuality where Kane can’t play, with Callum Wilson and Marcus Rashford rarely starting matches under Southgate.

Although he has watched him play, Southgate will need to build up his understanding of Abraham’s game, and he will only learn the positives and negatives about him if he plays him, and that could influence his selection against Bulgaria.

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Scotland lost their second European Championships qualifier in a row on Monday night, managing to hold out against Belgium for just nine minutes before capitulating in an abysmal first half display.

Despite the fact Scotland lost 4-0, much like Friday’s 2-1 defeat to Russia it was the lone striker that was the target of some Scotland fans’ ire. Oli McBurnie was maybe grateful to be on the bench for this one.

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Matt Phillips, of West Brom, was played centrally and had the sizeable task of occupying Thomas Vermaelan, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen – better strikers have tried and failed.

And some Scotland fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration at the Baggies front man. It’s safe to say he isn’t rated as highly by them as he is by his club manager Slaven Bilic.

However, to those that follow either West Brom or the English Championship, you will know that Phillips isn’t deployed by Bilic as a centre forward. Two goals in six games from midfield so far is a decent return – but this doesn’t equate to being enough to punish a Belgian side that has conceded one goal in six qualifiers as a central striker. A few Scotland fans seemed to believe that Phillips was being hung out to dry by Scotland boss Steve Clarke and that he should never have been played in that role in the first place.

Phillips didn’t have a great night up front for Scotland scoring just 3/10 on the BBC Sport website. It can’t be ignored that he was playing out of position against three centre halves with nearly 300 caps between them though, more than the entire Scotland squad put together.

How’s that for perspective?

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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…

After his low-key arrival on a free transfer this summer – having been let go by League One side Rotherham – one certainly would not blame you for wondering why QPR signed Dominic Ball.

However, Mark Warburton’s use of the player has been simply fantastic.

How has he used Ball?

As per the R’s official announcement of the signing of the 24-year-old, Ball can play in a variety of positions.

The article states that he can play at right-back, centre-back and at defensive-midfield, while Ball has also worked alongside Warburton at Watford and Rangers.

The former Brentford boss has been using the 6 foot man in front of his back five in a defensive midfield position, adopting a 5-3-2 formation and to some effect – the Londoners have won their last four league games on the bounce.

Ball’s form has helped Eberechi Eze and Ilias Chair to flourish 

With Ball lining up in front of the backline, he practically patrols the midfield on his own and allows those ahead of him to flourish – some QPR fans were impressed with the player’s performance against Millwall, with one labelling him a “destroyer”.

Ball averages 2.3 tackles and 2.3 successful aerial duels per game, and his effective defensive work behind Chair and Eze is proving beneficial to the duo.

In Eze’s case, the 21-year-old earned his first call-up to the England Under-21 squad this season, and has three goals and two assists in eight Championship starts – the former Millwall man has also won three WhoScored Man-of-the-Match awards in that time.

With Chair, the Morocco Under-23 international recently signed a new contract with the R’s and has been showing some fine form in midfield alongside Eze – he records 1.9 key passes and two shots per game and is seemingly benefiting from having less defensive work to do with Ball behind him.

Warburton could have played Ball in any of his three positions, but the R’s manager’s use of him ahead of the backline is proving beneficial to Chair and Eze above all.

According to The Liverpool Echo, Liverpool Academy director Alex Inglethorpe has said that 22-year-old Ryan Kent is worthy of a call-up to the first team. 

Kent is currently on loan with Steven Gerrard’s Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, where he is turning a lot of heads at Ibrox. The winger has bagged four goals and two assists in 14 appearances this season, and is proving to be one of The Gers’ most dangerous players down the flank.

He has certainly been impressive this season, and there is no doubt that he will get his chance with Liverpool at some point, but he may need to wait a while.

In all honesty, neither Jürgen Klopp or the Liverpool fans would want to start tinkering with their squad and trying out new players at this stage of the season. Sadio Mané seems to have his place secure on the left flank at Anfield, and Xherdan Shaqiri is an able replacement should anything happen to the Senegalese forward.

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With Liverpool in their best position to win their first ever Premier League title, it would be nothing short of madness to start throwing new players into the mix, particularly as they are out of the FA Cup and League Cup. This would also entail recalling the player from his loan in Scotland, which creates further complications.

However, next season may offer Kent the chance to feature for The Reds, however, it is still unclear whether he would be able to make the sizeable step up. Unfortunately for him, he has a very tough task of trying to break into this Liverpool team.

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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…

Former Republic of Ireland international Richie Sadlier has shared his views on Shane Long’s exclusion from Mick McCarthy’s most recent squad.

The former Reading forward finds himself behind Danny Ings, Che Adams and even 19-year-old Michael Obafemi under Ralph Hasenhuttl at St Mary’s, and McCarthy cited Long’s lack of game time as the reason for him not being called up.

Following Long’s exclusion, Sadlier – who made 103 first-team appearances for Millwall and scored 34 goals – had some harsh words for the Saints striker.

What did he say?

Speaking on RTE Sport, Sadlier said: “I think it’s an indication of where Mick sees him in the pecking order.

“It’s been a while, I don’t hear many people clamouring for Shane Long to be included. It’s been a long time since I’ve looked at an Irish squad with Shane Long in it and thought, this is a goal threat.”

Comments should act as a wake-up call for Long

Long has been on the wrong trail for a while now.

He made just 12 Premier League starts last season, scoring five goals, and has only made a single substitute appearance so far this term in the league – academy graduate Obafemi also started ahead of him in the Carabao Cup game against Fulham.

One thing that hasn’t been taken away from him as a result, until now of course, was his place in the Republic of Ireland squad, although the fact that he has now been withdrawn should act as a wake-up call for the 32-year-old alongside Sadlier’s comments.

Whether that means he works even harder to impress Hasenhuttl and try to get a bit more game time, or asks for a move to get his career back on track, Long must do something in order to solve this sticky situation he finds himself in for the sake of his own career.

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According to a report by L’Equipe (via Sport Witness), it ‘seems clear’ that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy ‘intends to separate’ from Tanguy Ndombele.

The Lowdown: A failed transfer

In the summer of 2019, Lyon playmaker Ndombele joined Spurs in a £55m deal, making him the North London club’s record signing. However, since his arrival, the midfielder has suffered a disappointing tenure under various managers.

When Antonio Conte joined the club, fans hoped that the Italian could revive the Frenchman’s Tottenham career. However, this has not been the case; the 52-year-old has given Ndombele just 80 minutes of Premier League football, using him as a substitute in two out of his three appearances.

The Latest: Levy wants Ndombele gone

According to a report by L’Equipe (translated by Sport Witness), Tottenham chief Levy has made his decision regarding Ndombele’s future: he wants him gone.

L’Equipe report that the Spurs’ ‘decision seems clear today’, as ‘Levy intends to separate’ the Frenchman from the club. As a result, Ndombele has even been made to train alone since last Wednesday.

The French outlet reveal AS Roma and Napoli have come forward in recent days, with former manager Jose Mourinho said to have maintained a ‘close relationship’ with the France international.

The Verdict: Difficult to find a solution

With the January transfer deadline looming, it is becoming worryingly possible that Ndombele will remain at Spurs for the rest of the season, soaking up wages without contributing on the pitch.

The report details how his salary has become a major stumbling block – his £120,000 per week would put him immediately at the top of Roma’s wage structure, for example.

Levy would surely jump at a loan-to-buy deal if one presented itself, but an official offer has yet to be made.

The Spurs chairman will be hoping that Mourinho ramps up his approach for the player, with the Roma boss having previously hailed the Frenchman as ‘magnificent’ – perhaps he will be Spurs’ saviour on this occasion.

West Ham could make a late window swoop for Fenerbahce defender Attila Szalai amid Pete O’Rourke’s transfer claim.

What’s the story?

David Moyes will be desperate to make some additions to his squad ahead of the deadline next week, and transfer insider O’Rourke has claimed that Szalai figures prominently on the Hammers’ short-list.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “A talented player and it seems like he’s on the list of quite a few Premier League clubs. Chelsea, Newcastle, and West Ham, I’m sure, will definitely be in there. He’s well on their list.”

Premier League ready

Dubbed as “exemplary” and with the “loudest voice in training” by former Fenerbahce boss Emre Belozoglu, Szalai possesses all the raw physical attributes to become a real force in the Premier League.

Standing at an imposing 6 foot 4, Szalai boasts an intimidating presence and given how quickly he has hit the ground running at Fenerbahce, West Ham should feel more confident of his ability to adapt to another high-profile move so early in his career.

The centre-back has been a consistent performer for Fenerbahce this season, averaging 1.3 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game in the Turkish Super Lig, while his numbers fare just as well when considering his displays in the Europa League – he averages 1.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions in the competition.

To put that into context, both his tackling and interception numbers are significantly better than any West Ham centre-back this season in the Premier League.

With the Hammers still seemingly playing a waiting game when it comes to January signings, sealing a deal for the 24-year-old would be a very welcome addition before the end of the window and have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, West Ham have made their “first offer” for this Ligue 1 striker…

A crucial transfer claim has been made as Rangers plot their second signing of the January transfer window…

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell, the Gers are in a ‘strong position’ to sign Vitesse Arnhem defender Danilho Doekhi on a pre-contract agreement this month.

His deal with the Eredivisie outfit expires in the summer and Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side are leading the interest in his services.

Fans will be buzzing

Rangers fans will surely be buzzing with this news, as it suggests that the club have a great chance of landing the centre-back at the end of the season. The Gers could be set to bring him in on a free transfer, which would be a coup for Ross Wilson as it would free up funds to strengthen in other areas instead of needing to splash out on a big transfer fee for a defensive signing.

James Sands has already joined the club on loan from New York City FC and this deal for Doekhi could be Van Bronckhorst’s second signing of the month, although he would need to wait until the summer to line up for the Scottish giants.

Last year, his current boss Thomas Letsch lauded his ability, saying: “Danilho is extremely important. He is one of the best center-backs of the Eredivisie.

“Of course there is more talk about Oussama Tannane, Riechedly Bazoer and the attacking players. But it is very important for the team that you are stable and prevent goals. Everyone is responsible for that, but Doekhi, Jacob Rasmussen and also Tomas Hajek do a super job.

“He already played fantastic last year and this season he has performed at the highest level in every game. Danilho makes almost no mistakes and is an absolute team player, a very calm player. flat developed. He coaches other players very well. He is calmer than other players and perhaps that makes him less noticeable, but he is the reserve captain for a reason.”

This highlights the Dutchman’s qualities as a defender and illustrates why Van Bronckhorst will be buzzing over this telling update from Campbell. The ex-Feyenoord coach will surely love to have a centre-back who makes ‘almost no mistakes’ and, at the age of 23, has potential to improve even further.

It is now over to Wilson to ensure that he can get a deal over the line for the defender in the coming weeks by pinning him down to a pre-contract agreement.

AND in other news, Chris Jack reveals Rangers swoop for “wonderful” 6 ft 1 beast, fans will be buzzing…