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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…

Of course, they would never say so publicly but it is hard to believe that Manchester City are not presently ruing their decision this summer to abstain in replacing their departed leader Vincent Kompany.

An early chasing of Harry Maguire eventually led to the Premier League champions baulking at the firmly-set price tag and while many observers expected subsequent targets to follow none were forthcoming. Instead City seemed content – or at least amenable – to going into the new season with what they already had.

There was Aymeric Laporte, a magnificent Rolls Royce of a defender. There was Nicolas Otamendi, an erratic loose cannon who only applied himself well when tethered to the calming presence of either Kompany or Laporte. There was John Stones, injury-prone and infuriatingly either imperious or a complete liability. And, for a fourth option, Fernandinho could be converted from a midfield 6 to centre-back in the same manner that Mascherano was reimagined under Guardiola at Barcelona.

A seismic long-term lay off for Laporte endured against Brighton in September changed everything, and since the loss of their most effective stopper City have been all at sea.

A calamitous defensive showing at Norwich resulted in a costly defeat while Otamendi’s shortcomings were ruthlessly exposed by Wolves at home. So far this term City have conceded 13 league goals, eight more than at this stage last year and the word is out that the formerly formidable Blues are decidedly shaky at the back.

It is not a crisis – not yet – but it’s certainly in the same postcode and a feeling persists that unless something is done about it City could very well slip from contention in the Premier League.

Here are three possible solutions to the growing crisis…

Sign Nathan Ake

A further complication to add to Pep Guardiola’s woes lies in the fact that the construct of his squad means that unless a ‘home-grown’ defender is sought it would require the selling of a ‘foreign’ player from his present contingent.

Having come through the Chelsea ranks, Nathan Ake qualifies as home-grown despite being a Holland international and with the club having already recently taken a keen interest in the Bournemouth star he is clearly someone who Guardiola admires.

The 24-year-old who boasts several years of top flight experience ticks every box but he comes at a price – a whopping £75m is what Bournemouth value him at, per Sky Sports.

Develop Eric Garcia

An alternative to a January transfer lies in the emergence of City’s teenage prodigy Eric Garcia. The accomplished La Masia graduate may only be 18 but his accomplished trio of first team performances have had City fans drooling over what is to come.

His innate reading of danger and excellent use of the ball has seen him compared to Gerard Pique and though his age unquestionably makes any fast-tracking a significant risk, would he be any less of a gamble than playing the unpredictable Otamendi?

Back three with Kyle Walker

Given the ease at which City cruised past Crystal Palace without fielding a single recognised central defender during a 2-0 win at Selhurst Park last month, it’s unlikely that Guardiola will be feeling compelled to make any drastic changes to his lineup. Fernandinho and Rodri marshalled the defensive unit with genuine authority while simultaneously allowing City to exert a frightening territorial advantage over the hosts.

But Palace’s meek resistance is not what City have to worry about and their most recent fixture against Liverpool laid bare some of their defensive frailties. Perhaps the solution, at least in away fixtures against some of the best sides in the division, is to revert to a system that incorporates three central defenders, with Kyle Walker dropping in to offer his physical prowess and previous experience.

The full-back thrived in a similar role during England’s route to the semi-final of the 2018 World Cup, and his familiarity with what’s required could help Guardiola implement a new system.

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…

Leeds United are apparently interested in signing Rhian Brewster on loan this January.

Landing the Liverpool man could be a good piece of business as Leeds currently only have two senior strikers in their squad, and Brewster has a brilliant record at youth level, contributing to 23 goals in 28 appearances for the Reds’ U23 side.

It seems as if Brewster could be a good signing for Leeds, but his arrival would give Marcelo Bielsa something of a selection headache, and perhaps not the one you’d immediately think of.

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Of course, it leaves the Argentine having to pick between Brewster, Patrick Bamford and Nketiah on a weekly basis, but it also may have repercussions on other players in the squad.

Leeds currently have six loan players on the books, and with the EFL limiting the number of loanees a Championship team can have in the matchday squad to five, one man misses out each week.

If Brewster arrives that means that two players would have to miss out in each game.

It may seem like a simple solution to just drop Jack Clarke and Illan Meslier as they have just one league appearance between them this season, but Kiko Casilla’s impending potential ban may make that rather tricky.

It’d be very tough for Bielsa to rotate his squad in a way to keep seven loanees happy when he has to leave two of them out of the matchday squad each week.

Whether or not Brewster joins the Elland Road outfit remains to be seen, but if he does then Bielsa will have a tough job on his hands in order to ensure all of his players’ needs are catered for.

In other news, Leeds fans are worried about one Championship team creeping up on them.

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

Leeds United face Luton Town this weekend, and the Whites are once again looking at a rather lengthy injury list.

The likes of Liam Cooper, Ezgjan Alioski and Adam Forshaw are all expected to be unavailable against the Hatters, and that means that Bielsa’s choices will be limited in one position.

Likely formation

With Luton more often than not opting to use a two-striker formation, it’s likely that Bielsa will opt to use a three-at-the-back tactic.

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With Liam Cooper out injured, the most likely scenario would see Luke Ayling step in as the third centre-back alongside Gaetano Berardi and Ben White, something that’s already occurred this season.

That move would probably mean that Stuart Dallas will play right wing-back on Saturday, which leaves Bielsa with a big call to make on the left side.

Bielsa’s big call

We spoke last week on FFC about how Marcelo Bielsa has a tough task on his hand juggling his left-backs, and this weekend will give us a good indication of what the pecking order is in that position.

With Dallas looking likely to play on the other side, the only candidates to play at left wing-back are Barry Douglas and Leif Davis.

Davis hasn’t started a game for Leeds yet this season, but he’s been given chances off the bench in recent weeks, while Douglas is seemingly out of favour at Elland Road at the moment.

If Bielsa chooses Davis over Douglas it will say a lot about the £3m signing’s current position in the Argentine’s plans as well as potentially being damning for his future at the club.

After all, the fact that the Scottish defender has been neglected in recent weeks already says a lot. Opting for this formation and ignoring Douglas would be a big statement.

Sunderland returned to winning ways with a victory over Southend on Saturday, and the performance of fans favourite Luke O’Nien has excited quite a few.

He was played further forward than usual by Phil Parkinson and his typical industrious nature was important to his team, but one moment of quality in particular has stuck out for some supporters.

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With the ball approaching O’Nien on the touchline he cleverly passed it through the legs of the left-back with a backheeled flick, sending his side on the attack in a moment where he could easily have lost the ball.

The 24-year-old also took his goal brilliantly, meeting Denver Hume’s cross with a diving header which bounced into the far corner – a goal which proved to be the winner.

He has shown his effectiveness in both attack and defence this season by contributing directly to five goals and making an average of 1.2 tackles per game, and moments like those against Southend he could become one of Parkinson’s more important players.

Here is some of the reaction to O’Nien’s skilful moment, which has seen a lot of adoration for the versatile player.

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…

Let’s just pump the brakes here.

Whilst Odin Bailey may have got the winner against Middlesbrough a few weeks ago, there is no doubting who the ‘golden boy’ currently is at Birmingham City, and that’s Jude Bellingham.

According to one member of the squad, he’s already starting to look like he could go on to be a success despite making less than ten appearances this season.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Lee Camp compared the progress that the 16-year-old was making to one of his former teammates, someone that has gone on to have a very long career so far.

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Camp said: “I was at Derby when Tom Huddlestone came out of school at 15 or 16 and went straight into Derby’s first team and had two years there and played 80 odd games. Jude is as good as Tom and may even have a better career than Tom, and Tom’s had a fantastic career.

“His composure and maturity is fantastic. Overall what a fantastic kid. He’s a great guy and he’s fitted into the group well. He’s the captain for his age group with England. There are all these rumours about different clubs. He’s a great lad and comes in and works his socks off every day.”

Whilst Bellingham is clearly making waves at St Andrew’s, it should be worth noting that he is still very much in his infancy as a footballer, and it could be incredibly dangerous talking him up in this way and making comparisons like this.

Whilst those associated with the Blues will want him to go on and have a great career, whether it be with them or another club, it is just worth noting that we need to see if this success is going to be sustained over a period of time before we start projecting what he can do over the course of his career.

He has scored twice already this term but at the age of 16, it’s incredibly important that he keeps his feet grounded and doesn’t get bogged down by the inevitable hype – his club have to help him in all aspects of life.

For every player that was bigged up as a teenager and had success like Wayne Rooney, there will be a Freddy Adu that goes into obscurity, and it’s far too early to judge which way Bellingham’s career is going to go.

Supporters and teammates need to keep their expectations low and hope that he can go on to exceed them, rather than set them too high and end up disappointed when he doesn’t meet them.

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

Newcastle are interested in signing Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall and could make a move for him in January, report The Sun.

What’s the latest?

The centre-back is in fine form this season and has gained praise from fans and manager alike, and at 22 he has years ahead of him to improve and develop into a top-level player.

According to The Sun, Steve Bruce is eager to add reinforcements to a defence which has underwhelmed so far, conceding 13 goals from eight in total, including five in one match against Leicester.

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The former Aston Villa boss made two additions to his defence over the summer in Jetro Willems and Emil Krafth, but could be after a central player that would suit a back five, which Bruce has used often since taking over.

However, it is believed that the player is keen on staying at the City Ground, with the club where he came through the academy and supported growing up, particularly as Sabri Lamouchi’s side are on a ten-match unbeaten run and sit second in the Championship.

Suits the club

The Magpies have had success previously in signing centre-backs from Nottingham Forest, with Jamaal Lascelles now captain of the side after arriving five years ago.

Worrall is in a similar position to where Lascelles was when he made the move. Interestingly, the 22-year-old’s 67 appearances mean he has played twice more for Forest than the 25-year-old did, and therefore he could be ready for the step up.

He also spent a year on loan at Rangers so has already experienced the pressure of playing for a big club and dealing with the expectation from fans, which is huge at Newcastle.

With a more traditional style, he could also suit Bruce’s style and impress fans with his no-nonsense attitude, whilst his leadership qualities led Steven Gerrard to suggest previously that “he will be a captain of whichever club he plays for”.

He has averaged 5.5 clearances per games this season and his dominance in that area could be very useful in a team which deals with a lot of crosses into their box, with an average of 22 per game – the second-highest in the Premier League.

If he can learn and adapt quickly then he could fit into Bruce’s system from the get-go and possibly earn himself a permanent place in the side for years to come.

After agreeing a £410m sponsorship deal with Manchester United back in 2012, Chevrolet may have been hoping for some massive success on the pitch at Old Trafford.

Their seven-year agreement with the club came into effect in 2014, and as the Red Devils’ fan-base will testify, there have been no Premier League or Champions League titles to show for it.

Now, The Daily Mail claim Chevrolet are highly unlikely to renew their deal with United, and that they have been “thoroughly unimpressed” with the level of performances the club have produced.

The report adds Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have already begun their search for a new sponsorship partner, and that they have already had “expressions of interest from a number of leading brands”.

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After hearing the news, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the developing situation.

Many supporters of the Manchester side appeared to be relieved that their time with Chevrolet is coming to an end, with one fan in particular claiming the “curse is almost over”.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

When does a loss of form become something more substantial? Perhaps even something definitive? At what point is a temporary malaise no longer put forward as a valid reason to explain why a player isn’t as good as he used to be? Instead it’s simply acknowledged and accepted that the player isn’t as good as he used to be.Whatever the answer is to that rather gloomy thought it’s hard to shake off the feeling that Tottenham’s Dele Alli and Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard are slowly and inexorably revealing it to us by virtue of being shadows of their former selves over a long duration of time. They’re case studies in a way.Indeed, so long have they each been off the boil and ineffective to the point of being anonymous that it’s difficult to determine exactly when their downward trajectories began while recalling the days of them running the show in north London and at Old Trafford induces only nostalgia.Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

With Alli it’s possible to pinpoint the 2017/18 season as the start of his decline though precisely when is shrouded in debate. All we do know is that the attacking midfielder who emerged so complete and brilliant that he won back-to-back Young Player of the Year awards suffered a sustained dip to his usual high standards that year. His stats were down though still impressive. Teammates such as Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen began to overtake him in prominence.

Underwhelming outings for England during that summer’s World Cup saw his reputation dwindleÂand then the following campaign for Spurs brought injury after injury. A total of 22 games were missed last season due to thigh and hamstring problems. So poor was he in the other fixtures it’s hard to work out which games they were.

When Alli was hauled off against Bayern in Tottenham’s recent 7-2 disaster nobody batted an eyelid. Despite his fall from grace, he is still valued at £81m by Transfermarkt, but it would take a genuine masterclass from Daniel Levy to attract that type of offer for him given his current form.

With Lingard, his diminishing as a creative force was more of a creeper. When the staggering statistic emerged earlier this season that the 26-year-old hadn’t scored or made a single assist in 2019 – he has since at least added one assist to his name carving out a goal against Rochdale in the EFL Cup – people responded in the same manner as when a rather obvious twist is revealed in a film. They knew it. This whole time they knew it. They just didn’t articulate it for fear of ruining the surprise for others, that’s all.

Yet as Duncan Alexander illustrated in the damning tweet below, Lingard’s woes go back much further, hidden only by a successful December of last year.

In recent times he has been dropped by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer – and this despite United being entrenched in crisis and requiring every drop of experience right now – and on his return against Arsenal he was so insipid a local newspaper deemed him ‘invisible’ and a ‘liability’.

In recent times too Lingard – valued by Transfermarkt at a fee surely beyond his current worth at £36m – has found himself excluded from the England set-up and it’s apt and pertinent that the other player left out this week of Gareth Southgate’s squad was Alli. Their omissions were a surprise given how highly the coach rates them. Their omissions, to the general public, were long overdue.

When does a loss of form become something more substantial? With every passing week with this pair we’re beginning to find out.

While Mike Ashley certainly hasn’t done much good at Newcastle United – the numerous fan protests are a testament to that – the one thing he did get spot-on, was his sale of Ayoze Perez.

Having signed him from Tenerife for just £1.5m, there’s no questioning that Newcastle got their money’s worth from Perez.

The Spaniard arrived as a little-known youngster back in the summer of 2014, but then Magpies boss Alan Pardew wasn’t shy in waxing lyrical about his latest recruit.

He said: “We’re delighted to confirm our first signing of the summer and very pleased to have Ayoze at Newcastle United, as a number of other clubs were chasing his signature too.

“He had a terrific season in Spain last year and is a player who we hope to develop further on Tyneside. He’s only 20 but has a very good eye for goal and that’s a great asset for any young player to have.”

Perez ended up playing 195 times for the club, scoring 48 goals and providing a further 17 assists across all competitions. He made his biggest contribution for the club during Rafa Benitez’s stint as manager, making over 100 appearances for his fellow Spaniard.

The former Newcastle boss even said: “Ayoze is a player that is keen to learn and I am telling him all the time it is about staying consistent. He has given us a lot of things. But the main thing for me is he knows that he can improve and he is keen to learn.”

In the end, following Benitez’s departure from the club, Perez also followed suit. The Magpies got some big-money for the forward though, collecting a reported £30m from fellow Premier League side Leicester, thus making them an impressive £28.5m profit.

And since his move to the Foxes, the 28-year-old hasn’t shown much to justify the price tag, playing 79 times and scoring just 11 goals, struggling to break into the side on a consistent basis – not surprising when you consider he has Jamie Vardy in front of him.

In fact, according to CIES, his market value now just stands at a measly £6m – quite the significant drop-off from what the Foxes paid for him to bring him in from St James’ Park.

Given that some Newcastle fans were up in arms over the club selling Perez, it’s now clear to see that the Magpies and Ashley played a blinder by selling him for that much.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United could have their next breakout star from the academy…

West Ham United are considering cancelling Winston Reid’s contract after failing to offload him during the summer transfer window…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Football Insider, who claim that the Irons are thinking about offering the 33-year-old centre-back a pay-off to leave the club.

Reid still has two years to run on his current £70k-per-week contract, so the Hammers’ hierarchy are now ready to explore extreme measures to get him off the wage bill.

The New Zealand international would be owed around £7m but a final fee could fall just short of that.

Get rid!

Reid has not played for West Ham since March 2018, when he picked up a serious knee injury that has seemingly put pay to his career at an elite level.

Since then, he’s been shipped out on loan to MLS outfit Sporting Kansas and Brentford, who were promoted from the Championship last season, but a total of 23 appearances combined across those teams have failed to provide much encouragement.

It’s thought that the east Londoners struggled to find him another loan, even despite offering to pay the majority of his wages, so now David Moyes and co are left with a player that’s on a huge salary, yet is unlikely to feature at all this campaign.

The Irons continue to pay the price for the absurd decision to tie him down to a six-year deal in 2017 but after 223 appearances, he must not be allowed to make another and should be offloaded.

It has been 183 weeks since Reid last donned a claret and blue shirt and in that timeframe, he has earned a whopping £12.8m without kicking a ball in a competitive fixture for the club.

That could double if he’s allowed to see out his contract through to his 35th birthday, so to avoid a calamitous situation, it’s time to pay him off and move on.

Reid is stealing wage right from GSB’s pockets. It’s time to put an end to it.

AND in other news, Moyes may already have West Ham’s dream Declan Rice heir in 21 y/o “exciting talent”…