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In one of the more dramatic games of the Premier League this season, Manchester United thought they had clinched a remarkable victory against Sheffield United on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils found themselves 2-0 down, before a second-half rally saw them go 3-2 in front. However, having thought they had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat, the Blades equalised in the dying moments of the game.

Speaking after the match, Marcus Rashford delivered an encouraging verdict on his side’s comeback, he said: “The manager knows when we play on front foot we’re a good team. The three goals is the response we managed to give. We have to keep pushing though – if we kept going then perhaps we would have got the win.”

After hearing the England international’s comments, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the forward.

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Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted that Rashford would make for a better manager than Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and that he is slyly taking a dig at the Norwegian.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford has delivered an ominous warning to the rest of the Premier League about his potential.

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

Arsenal are set to use Granit Xhaka as bait to sign Denis Zakaria from Borussia Monchengladbach, as reported by The Mirror.

What’s the story?

Xhaka has not played for Arsenal in the three games since he reacted to being booed by Gunners fans when being substituted against Crystal Palace.

Having been stripped of the club captaincy and replaced by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the 27-year-old put in a masterclass performance for Switzerland against Georgia, however, that won’t bother many at the Emirates, as he is unlikely to represent the club again.

Use has now been found for the Switzerland international, as the Gunners are looking to utilise him as bait to bring countryman Zakaria to north London. Any deal would depend on Arsenal having first refusal on the midfielder if the German outfit decide to cash in next summer.

Good deal all round

Xhaka would likely be very pleased with this deal, as it would allow him to go back to a club he has already played for 140 times for.

From Monchengladbach’s point of view, they are currently top of the Bundesliga table, so will be looking for players they know can be relied upon to help maintain that position, with Xhaka surely fitting this profile, having already represented them so many times.

In addition, they would not be losing Zakaria this season as part of the deal, so the 22-year-old would be able to continue leading their charge from midfield.

The Gunners would also do well to get the Switzerland international out of the deal, as he has averaged 2.4 tackles, 1.5 interceptions and 2.1 dribbles per game, completing 84.2% of his attempted passes – indicating how useful he can be both on and off the ball.

Zakaria could be seen as a beneficiary of this deal as well, as it would allow him to take the step up to the Premier League.

If the deal does come off, it could see all parties involved in it come out better off.

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…

West Bromwich Albion’s performances under Slaven Bilic this season have quite rightly earned its plaudits.

They sit top of the Championship table after 16 matches as we head into a hectic festive period, but they should be buoyed by the fact that they are on course to achieve automatic promotion, based on their current points per game rate at least.

The Baggies could surpass 92 points, other factors excluding, which has been enough for a top-flight berth in four of the last five campaigns.

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However, with such impressive exploits comes interest in the protagonists involved in making such headlines – Grady Diangana could well be recalled to cause scenes similar to being Harvey Barnes 2.0, Matheus Pereira has been linked to none other than Manchester United while Nathan Ferguson has been a reported target of many an elite club with Tottenham Hotspur’s interest just not going away.

The Daily Mail claim Albion fear having to cash in on the 19-year-old this January as Spurs and Crystal Palace are expected to make bids for the versatile defender.

Ferguson’s contract expires at the end of the season so West Brom are faced with the possibility of losing him for a nominal fee in the summer or selling him for more money in the winter window.

There are no doubts that the Baggies academy graduate has been a big part of their season to date, averaging 2.4 tackles and 1.8 clearances per game, via WhoScored, but unlike Pereira, he isn’t indispensable.

Recent weeks have proven that Bilic has more than viable options to call upon that are just as good – Conor Townsend has stepped up in his absence at left-back while summer signing Darnell Furlong has started to make that right-back spot his own having played 12 straight in the league.

Luke Dowling and co will rue losing him effectively for free in the summer, so they might as well get what they can for him now – provided he isn’t going to sign a new contract.

Losing the England U20 international isn’t going to be the most catastrophic thing the team faces as they look to continue their attempt at returning to the Premier League.

It remains to be seen how much West Brom would rake in for Ferguson with Transfermarkt currently valuing him at £1.8m.

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

According to Corriere Bergamo, Wolverhampton Wanderers are one of several clubs chasing Atalanta starlet Dejan Kulusevski, and he is a player that would absolutely delight manager Nuno Santo.

What’s the word?

Reports in Italy suggest the 19-year-old is rather unlikely to return to his parent club as his impressive outings for Serie A rivals Parma have attracted interest from across Europe.

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Inter Milan, Manchester United and Southampton are just three teams the west Midlands club will have to compete with in order to clinch the Swedish prospect.

A fee between €17-18m (£14.6-£15.4m) is touted to be enough to secure Kulusevski with Atalanta willing to listen to offers as soon as January despite his loan deal lasting until the summer.

This week he is in line for his first senior international bow after being called up to the Swedish squad for their Euro 2020 qualifiers against Romania and the Faroe Islands.

Perfect player

It is well known that Wolves are chasing reinforcements in January as BirminghamLive revealed that both a central defender and a central midfielder are high on their wishlist, and that was even before Willy Boly went down with a serious injury.

Kulusevski is an attacking midfielder that can play in the centre or on either wing – this campaign he has played the majority on the right-hand side of midfield, scoring twice and assisting five goals per Transfermarkt.

The Swedish prodigy offers a physical presence at 6 foot 1 with his passing and dribbling being noted as his key attributes in the final third, aside from clearly being a goal threat.

Goal.com also claims that his defensive upbringing, which includes playing five-a-side football, has enabled him the intelligence and knowledge to drop back and help out the team – mainly when he’s playing alongside former Arsenal winger Gervinho.

This very aspect of his game would make him the perfect addition at Molineux as Wolves sometimes deploy a 3-4-3 formation with either wide forward operating the half-spaces behind Raul Jimenez.

Nuno must push the boat out in a couple of months to clinch this dream option.

As if Manchester United fans needed a further cause to despise Ed Woodward, the glorified accountant has handed his loyal band of haters further frustration with a bow on top in a recent interview.

We’re not yet clear on what Woodward’s objective was when he decided to go public. Did he think he’d rally support by suggesting that it’s a “myth” that non-football people (that’ll be him) at the club are making football decisions and that it’s “insulting to the brilliant people who work on the football side in this club?”

Or maybe that he believes “Ole’s vision maps exactly to the core three football objectives we [United] have.” Just to clarify that’s winning trophies, playing attacking football, and giving a youth a chance. United currently sit in 12th and could drop into the relegation zone if they lose this weekend; they’ve scored an average 0.7 goals per game since the opening day of the season, and youth have been forced into the squad because of injuries and poor recruitment.

Best of all, Woodward claimed that it’s “important” that the “commercial side is never allowed to take priority over the football side.” United have signed big names like Angel di Maria, Radamel Falcao, Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez since Woodward took control of transfer dealings, most of whom arguably didn’t fit the ‘United mould’ – they weren’t young, hungry and passionate. Only Pogba is currently still playing for the club, for the time being at least.

Understandably, the Old Trafford faithful were somewhat miffed at Woodward’s self-defence and took particular issue with the 47-year-old’s comments about recruitment…

Former boss Louis van Gaal hit out at Woodward earlier this year for having, and we quote, “zero understanding of football.”

He continued: “It cannot be a good thing when a club is run solely from a commercially-driven perspective.”

Here’s what supporters have had to say…

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…

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Tanguy Ndombele has had a mixed start to his career with the north London outfit with some decent performance and some average ones, but he played a major part in their 2-1 win against Southampton at the weekend.

The £63m man arrived at Spurs full of promise having made a name for himself with Lyon in Ligue 1, and a goal on his debut against Aston Villa understandably left fans excited at what was to come from the 22-year-old as he started to show signs of living up to his price tag.

However, having suffered an injury he then looked a little off the pace on his return to the starting XI, especially against Olympiacos in the Champions League and then the subsequent fixture against Leicester City, where he earned a 5/10 rating from Football London and was described as “ineffective”.

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The Frenchman did play a pivotal role in his side beating Saints with 10 men on Saturday though, scoring the first goal when he smashed the ball past Angus Gunn from inside the penalty area.

It was a dominant and influential display that you would expect given his price tag, and you could certainly say that he grabbed a difficult situation by the scruff of the neck and helped the hosts when it came to taking the ball forward and winning fouls – he totalled six of the latter against the south coast outfit.

That said, there is still one weakness to his game that needs to be rectified if he is to make it as a really top, top Premier League player – his lack of concentration.

The trait is listed as his only weak one on stats-based website WhoScored, and it’s no surprise why when you look at his game in certain aspects.

For example, he has averaged committing 1.2 fouls per appearance in the English top flight this term, while he has the exactly the same number for dispossessions in his five Premier League outings.

Perhaps the thing that sums up the weakness most of all is the bad control he encounters per outing – 2.2 times on average every game.

His concentration let him down in the 7-2 loss against Bayern Munich on Tuesday too, where he wasn’t quick enough to react in defensive situations.

Ndombele is beginning to look like the player Tottenham paid such a big amount for though, but he needs to improve .

[ad_pod ]Some Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to slam Patrick van Aanholt, after he turned in a terrible performance against Tottenham on Saturday.The Dutchman was part of a shaky-looking backline who had conceded four goals before the first-half had even finished, and whilst Spurs didn’t extend their lead in the second half, the damage was already done as Palace lost 4-0.

Van Aanholt finished the game with a 5.26 match rating on WhoScored – the lowest out of any player on the pitch – having scored an own goal, as well as having one unsuccessful touch and suffering one dispossession.

He failed to deal with a number of long balls that came his way, and could not contain Spurs’ marauding right-back Serge Aurier, who grabbed an assist.

One fan said that he hopes the former Chelsea man “retires tonight”, while another would drop the 29-year-old for Jeffrey Schlupp until January.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction…

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Manchester United have reportedly stepped up their interest in AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie as the club’s hierarchy searches for Paul Pogba’s potential successor.

What’s the story?

According to Italian publication La Gazzetta dello Sport (as relayed by Daily Mail), the Red Devils have identified the Ivory Coast international as a possible replacement for Pogba should he decide to depart next summer.

Kessie is in a similar situation to United’s World Cup winner as his current contract at San Siro is set to expire in under 12 months time, meaning he’s free to negotiate with non-Italian clubs from January.

Previous reports have claimed that the 24-year-old wants an €8m (£6.8m) yearly salary – around £132,000-a-week – but Milan are only offering €6.5m (£5.5m), meaning an imminent exit could be on the cards.

Fans will be delighted

With Pogba continuing to be linked with a move to either Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, supporters of the Old Trafford outfit will surely be delighted to learn that the club’s chiefs have a solid contingency plan in the event of his departure.

Kessie has established himself as one of Serie A’s most dominant engine room operators in recent years, playing a pivotal part in Milan’s second-place finish last season.

As per WhoScored, only Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored more than the Ivorian’s 13 league goals for the Rossoneri throughout 2020/21, whilst he also averaged 1.4 tackles, 1.2 interceptions and 1.2 dribbles per top-flight fixture.

The box-to-box dynamo’s ability in both defence and attack would, therefore, be invaluable to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s charges as the Norwegian tactician aims to find a balance in the middle of the park.

Although a holding midfielder appears to be the priority for the Old Trafford outfit as they plan for further midfield additions in the upcoming windows, Kessie’s arrival on English shores would be a significant coup.

It remains to be seen if football director John Murtough makes a concrete offer for the Ivorian, but many supporters will be hoping he can get this deal over the line. After all, he feels like the perfect heir to Pogba in the middle of the park.

If the Frenchman leaves, supporters won’t be pleased but this signing could help counteract an angsty feeling at Old Trafford.

And, in other news…Man Utd suffer potential blow in pursuit of “excellent” £60m gem, fans will be gutted

Everton midfielder Dele Alli was spotted at London Fashion Week alongside girlfriend Cindy Kimberly, Bukayo Saka and Son Heung-min.

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• Dele spotted at London Fashion Week alongside girlfriend
• Did not attend Everton's match against Crystal Palace
• Saka, Son and Odegaard also went to Burberry event

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Dele, who recently picked up a fresh injury that has extended his time away from the Toffees squad, was spotted at the Burberry Show alongside girlfriend Kimberly at London Fashion Week. He missed catching Everton taking on Crystal Palace in a crucial Premier League encounter to attend the event.

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• THE GOSSIP

  It was a star-studded affair at the Fashion Week as Premier League stars like Saka, Son, Ben Chilwell, and Martin Odegaard were also in attendance. Real Madrid legend Gareth Bale was also spotted at the event as he continues to enjoy his retirement. Spurs star Son looked sharp in an all-black outfit while Arsenal talisman Saka posed for the cameras in a coat similar to one which late great commentator John Motson used to wear, as the two forwards pressed pause on their club rivalry.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Since leaving Tottenham in January 2022, English midfielder Dele has seen his career go downhill as he endured several issues on and off the field. Dele last played a competitive game for Besiktas – where he was on loan from Everton – in February 2023 and is yet to take the field for the Toffees since returning from his loan spell ahead of the 2023-24 season.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR DELE ALLI?

  After his latest injury setback, it is unlikely that the 27-year-old will feature again for the Merseyside club in the ongoing season. Recently Sean Dyche spoke about the player's condition and said that he does not expect Dele to return to action anytime soon.

Lauren James netted a hat-trick and provided a sublime assist as Chelsea demolished Liverpool in WSL.

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• James bagged hat-trick in 5-1 win
• Also provided sublime cross for Beever-Jones' goal
• Youngest in WSL history to have four goal involvements

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The England and Chelsea star had an afternoon to remember against Liverpool on Saturday. She opened the scoring inside 11 minutes after receiving a pass from Sophie Ingle on the left side before going past Gemma Bonner with a body feint inside the box and then slotting home into the net.

  In the 24th minute, James produced a brilliant assist as she found Aggie Beever-Jones inside the box with a pinpoint cross from the left flank to make it 2-1 to Chelsea. The Lionesses forward then scored a second as she arrowed in a shot into the corner of the net with her left foot before completing her hat-trick with a first-time finish from close range in the 64th minute.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It was a tricky summer for James, with the Lionesses star having been left out of the starting XI for the World Cup final defeat to Spain, which undoubtedly would've hurt. She's come back to Chelsea with exactly the right attitude, however, and has scored four goals in the opening six matches of the WSL season to prove how vital she is to Emma Hayes' trophy-chasing Blues.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

  Hayes' team are scheduled to face Paris FC next in the Women's Champions League on November 23 before taking on Leicester City in the WSL three days later.