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Aston Villa are in the hunt for a new manager after axing Steve Bruce and there is pressure on the board to make the right appointment.

Last season’s defeated play-off finalists are in danger of seeing their ambitions of a return to the Premier League going up in smoke after a woeful sequence of results has seen Villa win just one of their last ten in all competitions.

That poor run ultimately cost Bruce his job, and whoever takes charge at Villa Park will need to provide an instant improvement if the club are to get back on track in their charge for promotion this season.

Fans are desperate for the right appointment and many have expressed their discontent with reports that former Wolves boss Mick McCarthy is keen on speaking to the club about taking charge, as they hold out for a more inspiring appointment.

We have gathered some of the best reactions below.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”302265″ player=”12034″ title=”Rafa’s Pub Facts The Icelandic Coutinho & The Scottish Ronaldo”]

So far this season, deadline day signing Danny Ings has taken most of the plaudits at Southampton, and understandably so.

Ings has netted three goals in six Premier League appearances and, overall, has rejuvenated a very underwhelming Southampton attack.

But as well as the English striker, midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has also impressed during this campaign, a thought echoed by the Denmark head coach.

The Breakdown

In the Denmark national team set up, manager Age Hareide and Hojbjerg have endured a difficult relationship with each other.

However, that has not stopped the 65-year-old from singing the Southampton man’s praises, believing he has developed both into a better man and player in recent months.

Speaking to Ekstra Bladet on Hojbjerg (via Sport Witness), Hareide said: “Pierre Emile Højbjerg has managed to act for the team and not just for himself. he’s become a grown boy.

“Even when we had him inside the squad before the World Cup, I could see that he has grown both on and off the pitch.

“The time in Southampton has been a bit turbulent, but now he has recovered. He has added several dimensions to his game. I think he has been in a positive development over a long period of time.

“I really sense he wants to play on the national team, he has also expressed his wish to return.”

As alluded to by Hareide, despite arriving at Southampton from Bayern Munich back in 2016 with much expectation, Hojbjerg had not been able to influence matches in a way that supporters would have expected him to.

However, this season, the 23-year-old is starting to impose himself more on games. He scored a fantastic strike last month at St. Mary’s in the Saints’ 2-2 draw with Brighton, while his passing and dribbling ability has definitely been an asset for the team.

In the south coast, Hojbjerg is finally starting to deliver after all the hype around his name during his time in the Bundesliga, and that will come as a massive boost to manager Mark Hughes and Southampton.

Scott Hogan, who is with the Republic of Ireland squad, uploaded a picture of him in training and battling for the ball.

The striker has yet to feature for Aston Villa this season, having spent the time out on the sidelines trying to recover from a groin injury.

The Verdict:

Hogan’s post to Instagram will have many at Aston Villa pleased to see that he is back and hard at work.

The Villans have not necessarily struggled to score goals this season, although his additional firepower will be welcomed as they can not seem to keep them out of their own net.

Smith and Hogan have previously worked together during their time at Brentford and the manager got the best out of the striker then, so many will be eager to see that partnership flourish once again.

Aston Villa fans – thoughts?

Everton supporters have been in fine voice in recent times after seeing their side record a third successive Premier League victory at the weekend.

Marco Silva’s men went into their encounter with Crystal Palace off the back of wins over Fulham and Leicester City just prior to the international break, and thus full of confidence ahead of the visit of Roy Hodgson’s lowly Eagles. Yet it took the Toffees until three minutes from time to break the deadlock at Goodison Park, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading home before Cenk Tosun added a second soon after to seal a 2-0 success for the home side, in turn moving them up to eighth place in the Premier League table.

Thus, there have been many delighted Evertonians up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have been looking back at the excellent substitutions made by manager Silva, what with Calvert-Lewin and Tosun coming on to score, and Ademola Lookman providing the cross for the former to head home.

As such, if Sunday taught us anything about where Everton are at presently, it’s that manager Silva desperately needs to axe Theo Walcott from his starting line-up.

Ultimately, the England international has made a bright start to life at Goodison Park since his move from Arsenal back in January of this year, scoring three goals and laying on three assists in 13 Premier League appearances for the Toffees in the second half of last season.

And he started this season quickly as well with goals against Southampton and Bournemouth back in August, yet things have since tailed off for the 29-year-old to suggest that his place in the side should be under threat.

Since that strike in the 2-2 draw at Bournemouth back on August 25, Walcott has failed to score in six league starts and in that time has managed to lay on just one assist – and in a side that were scoring goals for fun during pre-season, that simply isn’t good enough.

What’s more, summer signing Bernard is slowly but surely beginning to find his feet in English football to give Silva another option down the flanks, while Tosun’s second goal in three games could prompt the Everton boss to move Richarlison back out wide having tried him in the number nine position in the last few weeks.

Add in the fact that Lookman did more in his short eight-minute cameo against Palace than Walcott did in the preceding 82, and the latter must surely be vulnerable to losing his starting position against Manchester United next weekend.

Yes, it must be noted that right back Seamus Coleman didn’t help Walcott out too readily over the course of the match, but on the whole the 29-year-old found it difficult to create anything meaningful and really struggled to get into the game.

And his second half miss with the score at 0-0 probably summed up Walcott’s performance, as the winger had just Wayne Hennessey to beat, and probably would have done so a few weeks ago, only to strike it straight at the goalkeeper – it was a strike that lacked conviction.

Thus, while Toffees fans will rightly be praising a fine performance from their side, the sheer fact that it took Silva’s three substitutes to change the game underlines that those that started simply didn’t do enough, with £18 million-rated Walcott (as per Transfermarkt) probably the biggest example of that.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

It was a huge summer of change for West Ham as the board heavily invested into the squad while also bringing in former Premier League winner Manuel Pellegrini.

With so many new players joining the club, it was always going to take time for the team to bed in and begin to play in Pellegrini’s style. Despite their recent losses, it had looked as though the team had begun to play well after the first international break as West Ham had beaten Man U and Everton while also holding Chelsea to a draw.

Central to that form has been the performances of Marko Arnautovic and in what will come as terrible news to West Ham fans, Chelsea are considering a move for the Austrian.

With that in mind, West Ham must look to offer Arnautovic a new deal or risk dropping into the relegation places.

The Breakdown

Since being converted into a striker last season, the West Ham man has been in superb form as he scored 11 in the last year and has already scored four this season. At 29, he’s still in his prime and needs to be kept at West Ham for the foreseeable future as he’s the club’s best player and one that could take them to the top eight.

If the Hammers don’t offer him a new deal, the allure of Chelsea could well be too great. If they lose him, there’s no doubt that the club will be heading towards the relegation zone.

Thoughts West Ham fans? 

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Arsenal will face their biggest test at the Emirates Stadium since the opening day defeat to Manchester City when Liverpool visit north London on Saturday, as both sides have unbeaten runs to protect.

The Gunners have not lost in their last 13 matches in all competitions under Unai Emery and look a totally different prospect to the often fragile Arsene Wenger sides of old. However, Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are unbeaten in the league and will be looking to take all three points back to Merseyside in order to keep pace at the top with Manchester City and Chelsea.

Both of these sides love to play on the counter-attack, and in recent years there’s been a flood of goals when they have come together, so we’re hoping Saturday’s 5:30pm kick-off will be just as exciting. Here’s all you need to know ahead of the top-four clash…

What History Tells Us

Clearly, with Emery in his first season as Arsenal boss we cannot read too much into the history between the two sides. The Gunners will now be much more difficult to break down than Wenger’s sides were, something that clearly played into the hands of the attacking Liverpool sides of the last few years.

The Reds have 19 Premier League wins in this fixture compared to just 15 for Arsenal, and Saturday’s visitors have also netted 15 more goals than the Gunners. In the previous two league games between the sides at the Emirates though there were 13 goals scored, so we can surely expect an open game.

Player Head-to-Head

It certainly says something about the quality of a forward player when he nets five goals and provides three assists in his first ten league games of a new season, and people still claim he is out of form. That has been the case with Mohamed Salah this year after his monumental campaign last time out. The Egyptian star though has four goals and two assists in his last three starts, so Arsenal will be fully focused on stopping him getting into his stride.

The Liverpool defence will certainly have their hands full too. Gabonese international Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a clinical finisher and will take almost any chance he is given, which is proved by his tally of seven goals in 10 matches that have come with an average of just 1.9 shots per game. Four of those goals though have come in his two substitute appearances, so it will be interesting to see what he can do from the start against the Reds.

Referee Influence – Andre Marriner

The last time Andre Marriner refereed this fixture was in 2011, and if it’s anything like that day then neutral fans are in for a treat. Jamie Carragher’s head injury meant that an excessive amount of added time was played at the end of the game, and Marriner awarded a penalty to Arsenal in the 98th minute which Robin van Persie converted. However, in the 102nd minute of the game the now 47-year-old evened things up with a Liverpool penalty for Dirk Kuyt to level the scores.

This season Marriner is only 10th out of 17 Premier League referees for penalties awarded per game and 15th for fouls per game, so it should be a free-flowing contest, and his appointment looks to be a good one.

Team News

One of the main selection headaches for Emery in recent weeks has been at full-back, with Hector Bellerin, Sead Kolasinac and Nacho Monreal all having had time out through injury. According to Premier Injuries though all three will go through late fitness tests before the game against Liverpool and all have a chance of being passed fit.

In their absence, Granit Xhaka has been filling in at left-back, but expect the Swiss international to move back into midfield to replace the suspended Matteo Guendouzi, who was sent off in the Carabao Cup win over Blackpool in midweek.

Here at Football FanCast we’re also expecting Alex Iwobi to start ahead of Henrikh Mkhitaryan, as the 22-year-old Nigerian international’s hard work and mobility could be necessary to track the marauding runs of Liverpool left-back Andrew Robertson.

For Klopp’s side, midfielders Naby Keita and Jordan Henderson are ruled out with injury, meaning the increasingly impressive Fabinho should start just in front of the back four. The Brazilian was signed for £43m from Monaco in the summer and has had to wait patiently for his chance to break into the side, but in recent weeks his incisive forward passing and ability to break play up has made the Reds a far better outfit.

With the front-three picking themselves when fit, Liverpool will surely revert back to a 4-3-3 after playing 4-2-3-1 against Cardiff last weekend.

The only other question mark then should be in defence. We’re expecting Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk to partner each other once again, with Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, giving the Reds plenty of pace to deal with the threat of Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

Tottenham should be looking to strengthen their squad during the January transfer window to give them a welcome boost in the New Year.

Spurs have made a decent start to the Premier League season after failing to make a single transfer during the summer window. The Lilywhites remain near the top of the table but have endured a dismal Champions League campaign. Failure to beat PSV Eindhoven in mid-week leaves Mauricio Pochettino with a mountain to climb if they are to qualify for the knockout stages.

To maintain the pace with the league leaders and get their European campaign back on track, Pochettino needs to open his chequebook when the window reopens in January. One man the Argentine should attempt to sign is Paris St Germain superstar – Angel di Maria.

Valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, the Argentina international has been a mainstay for the French champions after joining from Manchester United. The former Real Madrid man never really hit the heights expected of him at Old Trafford but has shown precisely what the Red Devils missed out on in Ligue 1. With seven goals and five assists to his name already this season – Spurs should give him a second chance in the Premier League.

Despite his increasing importance to the first-team in France, the 30-year-old has less than one year remaining on his contract meaning Spurs could secure themselves a bargain in the New Year. With tremendous pace and expert dribbling ability, di Maria’s arrival would lessen the creative burden on Christian Eriksen. Capable of unlocking a defence and scoring spectacular goals, the Argentine could thrive under his countryman’s leadership.

If the price is right, Spurs should definitely attempt to lure him to the Premier League

Tottenham fans, thoughts?

Newcastle fans will be delighted to see Jamaal Lascelles commit his long-term future to the club.

The Newcastle captain put pen to paper on a new six-year contract at St. James Park with rumours circulating that Chelsea and Tottenham were keeping tabs on his situation. Lascelles has been a crucial player for the Magpies since joining from Nottingham Forest but had just six months remaining on his deal. Lascelles will now stay on Tyneside for the foreseeable future which will no doubt please their fans.

After extending his stay at the club, the defender admitted the squad needed to be strengthened. Newcastle remain in relegation trouble despite finally picking up their first win of the campaign. Indeed, with Rafael Benitez’s side struggling for goals, the Spaniard would be wise to target a new forward in January.

One man who should be on his shortlist is Roma superstar – Edin Dzeko. Valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, the Bosnian is no stranger to life in the Premier League after spending a few seasons with Manchester City. Dzeko racked up an impressive scoring record in England, lifting the Premier League title twice, before joining Roma after sliding down the pecking order on Eastlands.

The 32-year-old remains an important player for the Italian side and has already found the back of the net seven times this season. However, reports emerged that Dzeko was keen on a return to the Premier League – Newcastle should do everything in their power to bring him to St. James Park.

Dzeko is a world-class forward with expert movement and fantastic finishing ability. The Bosnia international is capable of leading the line and would slot seamlessly into Benitez’s 4-2-3-1 system. His ability to create chances and score goals out of nothing could be crucial as the Magpies look to steer away from the relegation zone.

If Benitez could convince the striker to move to Tyneside – Newcastle’s chances of survival would increase tenfold.

Newcastle fans, thoughts?

With Chelsea’s season continuing to progress nicely, plenty of fans are Stamford Bridge will be hoping that the club can wrestle the Premier League title back from Man City.

Some excellent football so far has seen the Blues position themselves right in the promotion picture, and despite a draw with Everton last weekend, it’s still looking likely to be a successful campaign for Sarri’s men.

However, with questions continuing to circle over futures of the likes of Eden Hazard, it would be wise for the club to keep their eye on the transfer market and identify any potential replacements for the Belgian.

And one man we at the Tavern think could fit the mould is former Liverpool attacking midfielder Suso, who has been in superb nick for AC Milan so far this season.

The Spaniard, valued at a hefty but not too expensive £36m by Transfermarkt, has been rewarded for his fine form with a call up to the Spanish squad.

Since leaving Liverpool some years back, Suso has turned himself into one of the finest attacking midfielders in the game on his day, and he would surely relish another shot at the Premier League, especially in a team playing free flowing football like Chelsea.

Skilful, tricky, and capable of getting among the goals, Suso would represent a superb capture for the Blues.

Chelsea fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!

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Swansea City boss Graham Potter should look to sign Manchester United wonderkid Tahith Chong on loan if Leeds secure a deal for Daniel James.

What’s the situation?

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has given the green light to Andrea Radrizzani and the Leeds hierarchy for them to pursue the signing of James in January.

The initial report stated that the 21-year-old Welshman would be out of contract at the Liberty Stadium come the end of this season, but this has been rebuffed by WalesOnline, who revealed that the youngster is actually under contract until the summer of 2020.

However with his performances so far this season, which include four assists in 11 appearances, it is no surprise that there is interest in James. If he does look to move away in January though, the Swans should target Manchester United’s young winger Chong as a temporary replacement.

Huge talent

Chong is an 18-year-old winger who has yet to make his debut for the Manchester giants, but he has netted five goals and provided two assists in 11 games for the U23 side so far this season.

Watch Playmaker FC’s Thogden react to England’s dramatic second-half comeback against Croatia in the video below…

Despite his young years and the quality in the United squad though, Chong has been included on the bench for the first-team by Mourinho this season, most notably in the home clash with Juventus in the Champions League.

The Dutchman was signed from the Feyenoord academy on a free transfer in the summer of 2016 and has represented his country at every stage between the U15 and U19 sides.

So, Swansea fans, would you consider a loan move for Chong to be an adequate replacement if James does leave, or would you prefer Potter to target a player with more pedigree? Have your say by voting in the poll below.