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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Arsenal striker turned pundit John Hartson believes that Tottenham Hotspur will be actively looking for new centre-backs.

As things stand, Spurs will lose out-of-contract duo Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen when they contracts expire in the summer, and potentially even in January if they are offered an acceptable fee by another club.

While there hasn’t really been a recent update on the situation with Alderweireld, The Daily Mail reports that the club is in talks with Vertonghen over an extension, although they are apprehensive about offering him more than just a further 12 months because he is 32 years of age.

It remains to be seen whether any compromise can be reached in that regard with the same report saying the Belgium international will use the fact that the 30-year-old Moussa Sissoko was handed a new four-year contract last week as a bargaining tool during discussions.

With Davinson Sanchez and Juan Foyth yet to really show consistently that they can be starting XI regulars for Tottenham, Hartson wouldn’t be surprised if the club’s scouts are hard at work right now given the situation with the Belgian duo.

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The Welshman said: “They’ll have to be proactive in the market because there will become a time in January when they can talk to clubs and leave on a free at the end of the season.

“They will be constantly looking for centre halves now with them two looking like they’ll let their contracts run down.”

Hartson is completely right, and it is looking more and more likely that a more serious rebuild is needed at Tottenham in 2020 given recent results and performances – Pochettino has even suggested as much himself.

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

Things might be looking a little bit brighter for Birmingham after their win against Middlesbrough.

However, there is one man who seems to find himself playing more as a passenger than a contributor, and that man is Alvaro Gimenez.

On the chalkboard

What is most concerning when it comes to Gimenez and his form is just how few chances he has managed to create for himself.

If you take a look at some of his statistics from WhoScored, he’s averaging only 1.1 shot per game. Compare that to someone like his teammate Lukas Jutkiewicz who is getting off almost three times that many efforts.

Whether or not the chances go in is a different matter, but it’s like that old saying ‘you can’t win the lottery if you don’t buy a ticket’ – if he isn’t getting any shots away, it’s no wonder that he’s struggling to find the net.

It’s not just his own chances that he’s struggling to create either, it’s the chances for other players that he is failing to string together as he is averaging 0.6 key passes per game.

Perhaps you can just put this down to a case of struggling to adapt to unnatural surroundings and that we are being too harsh on him. After all, he has only been there a few months.

However, there aren’t too many Birmingham players that are standing out at the moment. Jutkiewicz is their top scorer with just three so perhaps there is some argument for giving him the benefit of the doubt.

At the same time though, he has to start producing some tangible results if he wants to continue getting selected as part of the team.

Birmingham aren’t exactly blessed with a large number of centre-forwards right now and if Jutkiewicz gets injured, Gimenez could find himself incredibly exposed and under pressure at St Andrew’s.

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…

In an interview with The Daily Mail, Harry Redknapp believes that Tottenham will have underachieved if they fail to finish in the top three this season.

What did he say?

The former Spurs boss showed support for Mauricio Pochettino – stating that he won’t be sacked – whilst also praising the players available to him, making comparisons to the squads of Liverpool and Manchester City.

He thinks Spurs’ lack of form, which leaves them with three wins from 11 this term, can be solved by the Argentine, so still expects them to finish in the top three.

In an interview with The Daily Mail, he said: “They should be finishing in the top three with that squad, that’s where they should be, there’s no doubt about that in my opinion.

“At the start of the year I really thought Spurs would push Man City and Liverpool a lot, lot closer. Tottenham have got a great team, with Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Son – I thought this could be their year.

“But it’s been a disappointing start for them for sure and they need to turn it around quickly, but I still think they’ll finish third.”

To change Spurs’ fortunes, however, may not be an easy task, and Redknapp believes the solution lies not in tactical alterations, but in Pochettino getting into the heads of the players, building their confidence and a team spirit.

Changing the team’s fortunes

Having reached the Champions League qualification places in each of the previous four seasons, with many of those finishes inside the top three, it is fair to suggest that a failure to maintain that success would be an underachievement.

Considering the fact that top-four rivals Chelsea are in transition under a new manager, and Manchester United have got off to another poor start, it would be somewhat of a shock if Spurs dropped out, particularly if Pochettino fails to turn things around.

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With a few players in the squad seemingly unhappy and out of form, it is a question of the manager getting the best out of them and making them believe in themselves, and a failure to do so could mean Spurs don’t achieve their goals.

Redknapp was great at man-management throughout his career and if he can identify the problem, then Pochettino should too.

If he can get players like Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen back at their best and tighten a defence which has conceded 13 goals in five games then Spurs should begin to get back at their best, with the visit of Watford on Saturday the ideal opportunity to return to winning ways.

Normally when Juventus only win a game 2-1 against a side such as mid-table Bologna, an attacker who hasn’t registered a goal or an assist wouldn’t be worthy of being the ‘unsung hero’ of the week.

However, it was Gonzalo Higuain’s impressive performance that went under the radar.

The 31-year-old Argentinian is known for his great finishing ability, but he wasn’t able to convert any of the five shots he had in the game, with three being on target – the joint-most in the match – and the other two being blocked (WhoScored).

Higuain’s link-up play was also impressive. The forward made 34 passes overall with a success rate of 88 per cent, as well as making two key passes in the game, which helped contribute to Juve’s domination of the ball, with the Old Lady having 65% of possession (ESPN).

It wasn’t just WhoScored that recognised Higuain had a really polished match, with 90Min giving the forward a healthy 8/10 for his match against Bologna – only being matched by Gianluigi Buffon and Cristiano Ronaldo – while Miralem Pjanic went one better with 9/10 to win the outlet’s Man of the Match award.

While it is hard to imagine whether Juventus would have been better off starting Paulo Dybala after his good start to the season (with an average rating in Serie A of 7.1 so far this year from WhoScored), Higuain showed just why Maurizio Sarri is using him by putting in a well-rounded performance which helped his side win the three points.

It was far from a classic performance from the Argentinian, but he was still able to register a lot of shots and pop up in the right spaces, as well as make a lot of runs which created space for the other creative players within this Juve team.

Juventus fans, are Higuain’s performances going underrated? Let us know in the comments below!

Tottenham Hotspur failed to get their season back on track after drawing 1-1 draw with Watford on Saturday, and some of the club’s fanbase have been criticising manager Mauricio Pochettino after a tactical change from the Argentinian.

Spurs needed an 86th-minute equaliser from Dele Alli to take anything from the game against the Hornets, but it was Pochettino’s decision to take off Lucas Moura and bring on Erik Lamela that has agitated some of the club’s fanbase.

Given Moura’s previous goalscoring heroics for the club, including his hat-trick in last season’s Champions League semi-finals, his removal from the pitch by Pochettino could be considered surprising, especially given the fact Spurs were 1-0 down and in desperate need of an important goal.Â

Although Spurs were unable to get the result they needed against Quique Sánchez Flores’ side, these fans were quick to vent their frustration at Pochettino for bringing Moura off. Here are some of the best reactions from these Tottenham fans.

Charlton fans have taken to Twitter to reveal that they want to see Lyle Taylor and Macauley Bonne upfront together when the former returns from injury.

The south Londoners signed Bonne back in the summer, from what was then a Non-League side in Leyton Orient.

He was forced to bide his time on the sidelines as Taylor began the season up top in fantastic form, scoring five goals in six games before suffering an injury while on international duty with Montserrat.

In the 29-year-old’s absence, Bonne has netted five goals in six starts, scoring against some tough opponents along the way such as Leeds, Fulham and West Brom.

In Taylor’s case, the No.9 is now out of his knee brace and Lee Bowyer hopes to have his talisman back in the squad within the next couple of weeks.

However, it would be a real harsh move to drop Bonne after his recent heroics, so instead, Charlton fans on Twitter have been discussing the prospect of them up top together.

Let’s take a look at some of the tweets…

Leeds United fans on Twitter are far from happy after seeing a set of stats that show where exactly they’re scoring their goals from.

It seems that the fanbase aren’t happy with the club’s tendency to try and walk the ball in as they’ve scored just one goal from outside the area this season.

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Of course, this was United’s first goal of the campaign as Pablo Hernandez netted from range to open the scoring against Bristol City.

Since that strike, every single one of Leeds’ goals have come from inside the area, with the majority of them coming within the six-yard box.

This has seemingly had an effect on United’s ability to find the net as they’ve scored eight fewer goals than they had at this point last term.

Perhaps Leeds need to adopt a tactic that encourages them to shoot on sight more often rather than always trying to score the perfect goal.

A number of fans clearly agree with that sentiment and here is what they’ve been saying on Twitter…

Leeds United fans on Twitter have been lavishing praise upon Jack Harrison after he received two accolades after being named in the EFL Team of the Week as well as Quest’s Championship Player of the Weekend award.

The winger certainly deserves this nod as he scored and assisted in the Whites’ 2-0 win against QPR on Saturday.

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The Man City loanee has been excellent in recent weeks as he’s assisted four goals in his last five games for the Yorkshire club.

His good form has clearly pleased the fanbase as the reaction to him earning a couple of accolades has been largely positive, and of course, some fans have got carried away with their reactions.

One fan even went as far as to compare the 22-year-old to Lionel Messi, and while that comparison may be hyperbolic it shows just how highly-regarded he is amongst the fanbase right now.

Here’s what United fans have been saying on Twitter…

Arsenal head into Sunday’s clash against Leicester City having won just four of their first 11 league fixtures, and Unai Emery will be faced with a number of key decisions for the game against the Foxes. 

The Gunners have been hit with the news that Dani Ceballos is set to be out with a hamstring injury, and Emery will have to juggle his midfield to cope with the Spaniard’s absence.

The north London side will come up against Brendan Rodgers’ side just two weeks after they equalled the Premier League record for a winning margin, and on the basis of current form, Rodgers’ side will be heavy favourites for the encounter at the King Power.

With pressure mounting on Emery and reports surfacing of the Spaniard having just one month to save his job, this is a crucial game and this is a potential XI that could line up in the 5.30 pm kick-off on Saturday.

Emery is likely to start the central defensive pairing of David Luiz and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, whilst opting for the wing-backs of Kieran Tierney and Calum Chambers.

In Ceballos’ absence, Mesut Ozil could earn a start despite the ongoing distrust from his manager for him to deliver in certain types of games, with the 31-year-old likely to start alongside Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi.

Arsenal’s front three picks itself on the basis of Nicolas Pepe, Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s quality, and the Gunners attacking trio will be hoping to inflict damage on a Leicester backline who have conceded just eight league goals – the joint-lowest of any Premier League side so far this season.

This side sees as many as eight changes from the side that drew with Vitoria.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Newcastle’s marquee signing is yet to get firing this season, but his performance against Bournemouth did mean he began to show why his attributes appealed so much to the Newcastle hierarchy.

Joelinton’s winner against Tottenham remains his sole goal but his overall game, along with those of his two partners in attack, is beginning to improve.

There is a clear understanding building between Newcastle’s front three and each had chances to score against the Cherries on Saturday, and though their finishing boots continue to desert them, Steve Bruce will find the positives.

The Brazilian was more prolific last term in Germany with 11 goals in all competitions, but an important aspect of his style was the contribution he made in helping others excel, particuarly Andrej Kramaric at Hoffenheim.

This season he doesn’t have a strike partner and has thus been a little more isolated, and deprived of the ball with the Magpies averaging 38% possession, but against Bournemouth he showed that he has multiple uses.

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As per WhoScored, he increased his involvement in the final third quite drastically, with four shots compared to his season’s average of 1.7.

He seems as determined as ever to get back onto the scoresheet, too, working hard throughout with two interceptions. It is also good to see that his confidence and morale hasn’t dropped – taking a shot at goal in the first half when a pass to Miguel Almiron may have led to a better opportunity.

Despite failing to score, both the striker and his teammates becoming more active in threatening the opponent is a positive step, and the more the two wingers work off Joelinton, the better chance of success.

The £40m player made just one key pass against Bournemouth, the same as he has averaged per game so far, but if he can target it as an area to improve and find his teammates more often, Newcastle’s poor return of 11 goals in 12 league games and their reliance on defenders for goals will get better.

Joelinton should, therefore, take confidence from the game, and with the Magpies steadily improving, particuarly in attack with five goals in two games, then his chances to increase his goal tally will come more often.