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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 exclusively to Football FanCast, John Hartson has suggested Pep Guardiola has “big plans” for Phil Foden and expects Manchester City will need him over the course of the season.

The England U21 international has struggled for game-time in the first-team this season, making just four appearances across all competitions, leading to questions over whether he would be suited to a loan move away.

How much money could you make busking for a week as a freestyle footballer? Find out in the video below…

Now, Hartson has insisted Guardiola will be aware of Foden’s desire to play, and suggested City could do with a player of his ability in the squad.

He said: “If Foden gets fed up or really feels he’s good enough to play then that’s a conversation he needs to have with his manager. 

“But I do think that Guardiola has big plans for Foden. Going out on loan is something that’s worked for other players but Man City could need him.

“Guardiola might be thinking why should I send him out on loan when I could do with him in the squad at City.”

With injuries already sustained by a handful of key players – including Aymeric Laporte, John Stones and Kevin De Bruyne – Guardiola will be acutely aware of the need for a big squad.

Hartson went on to add: “He clearly really rates him. It could really give a club a boost if they manage to sign him on loan because he’s different class for his age.

“I think in Foden’s case that he will play a lot more this season than he has in previous seasons.

“Guardiola will understand that the boy will be frustrated and he does want to play games just like everybody else. That’s how footballers should be – they shouldn’t be happy on the bench.”

At just 19-years-old, Foden still has the world at his feet, and has plenty of room for growth. Working under a coach like Guardiola brings him a set of resources he wouldn’t be able to find anywhere else.

The Spaniard has worked with some of the greatest players of the modern era, and has coached them to become even better than they are – just look at Raheem Sterling.

So whilst the English prospect may find more regular first-team opportunities elsewhere, there simply isn’t a replica of the kind of coaching Guardiola could give him on a day-to-day basis. His goal against Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League showed he is ready to step up to the plate and, as Hartson suggests, City would do well to recognise that he has plenty to offer this season.

On Tuesday night, Serge Gnabry slalomed his way through the Tottenham Hotspur defence and scored four goals as Bayern Munich won 7-2 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That scoreline bears repeating: 7-2.Indeed, it doesn’t tell the story of the match. Spurs actually led through Heung-min Son and could have scored three in the first half an hour, but Joshua Kimmich equalised and then Robert Lewandowski scored a sensational goal on the turn just before half-time.Spurs’ heads dropped and Gnabry, so devastating, so efficient, scored twice in two minutes and they were 4-1 down. Harry Kane scored from the penalty spot and then the embarrassment came, the humiliation, the downright disgraceful final 10 minutes.Gnabry scored in the 83rd minute, Lewandowski in the 87th and then the former Arsenal man struck again on 88.By the time the final goal hit the back of the net, the stadium was nearly empty, save for the gloating horde of Bayern fans. Who could blame them?At the same time, a number of Arsenal fans were taking to Twitter to express their joy at Gnabry’s performance. Of course, the man himself tweeted afterwards that “north London is Redâ€.

The supporters, though, ought to think twice as they were handed a glimpse of what they could have won.

Gnabry left Arsenal to join Werder Bremen in 2016 and swiftly earned his move to Bayern, where he has already won the Bundesliga.

He has 18 goals and 13 assists in 50 appearances for the club and last night was his coming out party, his explosion on the European scene and, while Gunners fans revelled in the performance at their rivals’ expense, they ought to look at their own squad list.

They currently have Nicolas Pepe, signed for £72m from Lille in the summer, and it is hard to know whether or not he’s actually any good.

He’s scored once, from the penalty spot, and has two assists in all competitions but there is a suspicion that he really is just very fast and doesn’t offer a lot else.

Indeed, one has to say that Gnabry is already streets ahead of Pepe in his development in the attacking third and here’s the kicker: they’re both 24.

They both have five league starts so that’s where we’ll examine their statistics.

While Pepe has one goal and one assist, Gnabry has one goal and two assists. Chalk that one up for the former Gunners ace.

Pepe averages 2.9 shots per game, per WhoScored, while Gnabry has three. The latter has 1.8 key passes to the former’s 1.6, too, but his dribbling is nowhere near that of Pepe’s. The Ivorian has 3.3 per game; Gnabry has 1.6. But when the latter’s output is better, why does it matter?

Pepe also has a worse pass completion rate, while defensively, Gnabry has a higher tackle rate too.

Throughout their careers, Pepe has, of course, been excellent previously. In Ligue 1, he scored 35 goals across two seasons, while Gnabry has 31 in the Bundesliga across three full campaigns. One wonders if perhaps the Gunners star had found his level in France; he also has more assists across his campaigns with the club than Gnabry does in Germany.

This season, though, the roles are reversed, and one also has to consider international form. Whereas Gnabry has nine goals in 10 caps for Germany, Pepe has four in 11 for the Ivory Coast.

The stats, then, merely confirm what your eyes will have told you by watching the Bayern star rip Spurs to shreds.

He’s the better player, at least currently. And he certainly has better finishing boots than Pepe.

Of course, he is playing in a Bayern team blessed with the sparkling talents of Robert Lewandowski, Thiago Alcantara and Thomas Muller but, even still, he is standing out whereas Pepe is mired in uncertainty.

Arsenal fans naturally felt inclined to poke fun at their local rivals on Wednesday evening, but it was a bitter-sweet evening for a group of supporters who must have been left pondering what could have been.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In The Pipeline series, which takes a look at some of the most promising young talent either linked with clubs or emerging from their academies…

Wolves have seemingly found their feet at long last as they head into the international break on the back of three consecutive victories in all competitions.

Last time out, Nuno Santo’s men recorded the surprising scalp of reigning Premier League champions Manchester City to sink them further behind league leaders Liverpool.

While the west Midlands club themselves moved up to 11th in the table, so maybe the short interval from the domestic season comes at the worst possible time.

One Wolves fan thinks he’s pinpointed the moment when they went from EPL strugglers to “peak Barcelona 2011” in the video below…

Though, it does seem an excellent opportunity to delve into the club a little further to take a look at the next crop of youngsters that could stake a claim at Molineux in the future.

Just this week, the Guardian selected the ‘best young players’ at each club who were born between September 2002 and August 2003.

The ‘Generation Z’ talent they have picked for Wolves is Chem Campbell, who has been at the club since he was 12.

Campbell is a Wales youth international, having been capped three times for the U17s.

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The 16-year-old’s potential has certainly already caught the eye of the Portuguese boss as he was invited on the senior team’s pre-season training camp.

He is described as a ‘skilful, direct dribbler with a knack for bursting forward from central midfield’ which makes it easy to understand why Nuno wanted to take a look at him during the off-season.

Given the reports surrounding a potential exit for Ruben Neves this week, Wolves could well be in need of a midfield option, and even though it remains unlikely that someone of his age gets fast-tracked into the starting XI, movement from those above him in the pecking order could mean he is pushed closer to that chance.

There’s also the age of Joao Moutinho to consider too.

At 33 he is entering the twilight of his career, and it’s hard to predict how long he will last at the top of his game. While he may replicate the likes of Iniesta and Xavi in terms of playing on, he could quite easily be overrun by fitter and younger opposition as he gets even older.

Campbell edging towards the senior fold would even match the ambitions of the club’s owners Fosun, who want the club to start providing from within. That’s slowly starting to pay dividends as seen with Morgan Gibbs-White over the past 18 months, the midfielder has gone on to play 63 times for the old gold.

Having scored four times for the U18s and subsequently moved into the U23 squad since, the teenager could easily follow suit in due course, especially with potential gaps opening in midfield. It’s now over to Nuno to find room for him to get a chance.

Having played the full 90 minutes for the first time this season against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League, Brandon Williams must have thoughts of establishing himself as a first-team regular under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The 19-year-old produced an assured display against the Dutch side, leading to the United boss to hail his performance as “top notch” and one of the better full debuts he had seen.

Now, Williams has appeared to take that form and confidence into international duty with England’s U20s side, and in a clip on social media, really showcased a facet of his game that hasn’t really been seen to date in a United shirt.

The full-back is captured going off on an incredibly skilful run, showing impressive dribbling and technique for someone who is supposed to be a defender.

After seeing the footage, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the teenager’s act of brilliance.

Many supporters of the Manchester side hailed academy product, and insisted he is already far better than some of the club’s existing options at left-back like Luke Shaw and Ashley Young.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

A report has emerged from A Bola which suggests Tottenham are still interested in Bruno Fernandes, and fans certainly haven’t give up hope that the Portugal international may arrive in January after The Last Word on Spurs Twitter account looked at his stats this seasson.

The midfielder was heavily linked with a move to North London over the summer before Spurs eventually landed an attacking midfielder in Lo Celso.

However, with Christian Eriksen seemingly on the way out and Mauricio Pochettino’s side in need of a lift, some supporters want further additions to be made.

The 25-year-old would likely have a key impact too, having scored seven goals and assisted five in ten appearances this campaign.

Signing him could, therefore, allow Pochettino to replace the creativity that could be lost through the departure of the Denmark international, with Fernandes averaging 3.2 key passes per league game last season.

Whether it is a realistic target for Tottenham is a different matter, as his asking price is a reported £64m. Despite that, Spurs fans remain keen, and their reactions show they are keen for him to be brought in.

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…

So after falling to an embarrassing 1-0 defeat to Newcastle last time out, Manchester United restored their sense of pride with a hard-fought 1-1 draw with arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday afternoon.

It was the kind of performance that showed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side do have something promising to build upon, winning tackles, going into 50/50 challenges and stopping one of European football’s feared attacks from scoring until the 85th minute.

But once again, the Red Devils showed they simply can’t hold onto victories. It is quickly becoming an Achilles heel of theirs, and one key stat really puts things into perspective.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

According to OptaJoe, no side has dropped more points from winning positions than the eight United have given up this campaign – a tally only level with newly-promoted Aston Villa. Whilst of course the following is only hypothetical, had United converted all of those games into victories, then they would currently be lying only one point behind Manchester City.

Their inability to close out games is costing them precious points in a period where they simply need every last one. The Red Devils’ injury crisis means any win they can take would be hugely important, and failing to either shut the opposition out, or scoring that decisive goal themselves, is shooting them in the foot.

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If anything, it speaks to a mentality that shows they are lacking in confidence – an almost resignation that the other side will eventually get themselves back into the game. The more points they drop like this, the more encouragement it gives opposition teams that they can never rule themselves out from claiming a result against Solskjaer’s side.

Going too defensive as the United boss did in the second-half against Liverpool clearly isn’t the answer. It simply invites too much pressure on, and the Red Devils’ defence can’t cope. The onus therefore should be on trying to kill the game off by scoring a second or third, and forward-thinking substitutions and progressive in-game management will be the key to doing so.

If they can’t hang on to wins, they can kiss their chances of finishing in one of the European spots this season goodbye.

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… 

Aston Villa’s run of three Premier League matches without defeat came to a probable end at the weekend as reigning champions Manchester City eased to victory at the Etihad Stadium.

Dean Smith’s men went into the break with honours even, but within 20 seconds of the second half, Raheem Sterling handed the home side the lead before David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan rounded off a 3-0 victory.

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Though, City did finish the match with ten men as Fernandinho received a second yellow card with less than three minutes remaining.

Villa slipped down to 15th, but do have a three-point cushion from the relegation zone – but their afternoon could have been much worse.

If anything, Pep Guardiola’s side deserved more from the game, considering they registered a total of 26 shots and 63% possession.

And if that doesn’t tell you the scoreline was in favour of Villa, then it could quite easily have been at least 5-0, had City’s attackers made the most of Bjorn Engels’ errors at the back.

Per SofaScore, the summer signing failed to register a single tackle, won just one of his aerial duels, and lost possession eight times. It was a rare bad day at the office for the Belgian – or was it?

Understat’s xG model suggests that Villa should be third-last for goals conceded if teams had converted more chances against them, and given that the 25-year-old has featured in every game, he’s been part of the problem.

Aston Villa’s summer signings’ performances so far this season are rated in the video below…

Villa have leaked three goals against the three elite opposition they’ve faced this season, with Liverpool to come too – the opening day against Tottenham, against a ten-man Arsenal and last Saturday.

This suggests that Smith’s signings at the back, most namely Engels, have failed to struggle with the quality on offer in the Premier League, which is why he’s probably playing at Villa Park each week and not for his dream club (L’Equipe via the Daily Mirror), the Gunners, who could probably do with him themselves.

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…

During the summer, Barcelona finally sealed the deal to bring the young Dutchman, Frenkie de Jong, to the Catalan capital.

And with such a big talent slotting into their midfield, it was obvious someone had to drop out. Ivan Rakitic spoke to Mundo Deportivo back in May and he was convinced De Jong’s arrival wouldn’t affect his status in the slightest.

What did he say?

The changing of the guard is nothing unusual in football.

There comes a time in every professional player’s career when he has to accept that he’s past his prime and ready to hang up the boots. Rakitic, however, didn’t really feel like he was at that point in his career when news of De Jong’s arrival was rife in the media.

And granted, with 31 years on his back, he’s maybe not ready for retirement but thinking that De Jong’s acquisition would not affect his role in Barcelona was foolish, to say the least.

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When talking to Mundo Deporivo, the Croatian midfielder was confident nothing would change for him.

Here’s what he said back then:

“First of all, there is a young boy who is playing very well and I am glad that the club continues to strengthen. Every good player that can arrive, [I’m] delighted. But also everyone has their place,” he continued. “He arrives but I am convinced that he will not arrive for my position, my position is occupied.”

A fall from grace

Needless to say, those are the words Rakitic probably regrets saying to his day.

But seeing how the Croatian was indeed Ernesto Valverde’s most used player in the 2018/19 campaign, it’s not surprising that he would indeed say something like that.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

But not only did De Jong slot right into Barcelona’s starting XI but he also sent Rakitic packing onto the bench.

The difference is staggering, to say the least.

After nine matchdays in La Liga and three in the Champions League, the Dutchman has played a total of 978 minutes across all competitions for the Blaugrana, starting in 11 out of 12 games. The Croatian, on the other hand, can only boast with 203 minutes and just one start in eight games he played up until that point in time.

Needless to say, De Jong did end up coming exactly for his place and now, Rakitic might even be heading out of the club in the not so distant future with some reports suggesting Italy might be his next destination.

And it all seemed rather unlikely just a couple of months ago.

Life comes back at you fast, doesn’t it?

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

Lucas Torreira is set to hold a meeting with Arsenal regarding his future, as he is not happy about the role he has been playing under Unai Emery this season, according to Tuttomercatoweb.

What’s the word?

If the meeting does not go well, there is a chance that the Uruguayan midfielder could leave as soon as January.

The 23-year-old has only started 3 Premier League games this season, coming off the bench 5 times, with most of his time coming in the cups – he’s made 5 starts and 1 substitute appearance across the Europa League and Carabao Cup.

This gives a definite indication of the role Emery sees him fulfilling at the club for now, though the revelation of the meeting comes just a month after Torreira vowed to work his way back into the team, as reported by The Daily Mail.

Potential outcry

Torreira is one Arsenal player who has shown up in big games, with an example being his standout performance in the 4-2 win against Tottenham Hotspur last season.

It is performances such as this that have seen the Uruguayan become a popular figure at the Emirates among many of the clubs’ fans.

His popularity skyrocketed during his first season with the club to the point in which the fans created a chant for him that was once reserved for Patrick Vieira.

Therefore, if the popular midfielder was to leave the club due to issues linked with Unai Emery and his team selections, it could make the manager an even less popular figure at Arsenal than he is already.

He is far from a fan favourite as it is, with many regularly showing discontent about having the Spaniard in charge of their club.

With this in mind, Emery will likely be hoping that he can persuade Torreira to stay when the pair have their meeting.

If he fails to do so, his reputation could take a turn for the worse.

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 Blackburn Rovers this weekend, and that represents a real chance for United to get back into the top two as the Lancashire club are deeply rooted in the bottom half of the Championship table.

However, the former Premier League champions can be a dangerous side as shown in their last two fixtures as they went 2-0 up against Preston before throwing away their lead, while this past weekend they beat Sheffield Wednesday.

The aforementioned teams have both drawn with Leeds in the past few of weeks, so the Whites need to be prepared if they’re to beat Blackburn this weekend, and that means doing their best to stifle one man.

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Blackburn’s talisman

Now, we don’t like to call any side a one-man team, but the Rovers are the closest thing you’ll get to that in the Championship.

Indeed, Bradley Dack is undoubtedly Tony Mowbray’s most important player, he’s their top scorer this season – just as he was last term, and his performances often decide whether or not Blackburn win or lose.

Marcelo Bielsa must be wary of the threat that Dack poses, and there is one way that he can prepare for playing against him this weekend.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

Three at the back

Bielsa usually only employs a three at the back formation against teams that are operating with two strikers, but perhaps he should stray away from that concept so that his side are better equipped to deal with Dack.

United have kept two clean sheets in a row while using a three at the back formation, including one against QPR, a team that possesses another attacking midfielder in the mould of Dack in Eberechi Eze.

A similar player, he’s scored six times and grabbed four assists from a combination of central and wider roles.

Having three centre-backs behind Kalvin Phillips alleviated some of the defensive responsibilities that the midfielder usually has, which in turn, allowed him to focus completely on limiting what Eze could do in that game.

Leeds should treat Dack with that same level of respect, because if they can take him out of the game their chances of winning drastically increase.