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

According to The Daily Record, QPR are weighing up a £1.5m January bid for Hearts wonderkid Aaron Hickey.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the R’s are reportedly keeping tabs on the 17-year-old who is making excellent progress with the Scottish Premiership side.

Hickey became the youngest ever player to start a Scottish Cup final when he lined up at left-back against Celtic at the end of last season, and his fine performances have attracted the interest of Scottish giants Rangers.

Back-to-back Premier League champions Manchester City are also looking at the teenager, who has one league goal in seven appearances so far this season.

Preparing for life without Ryan Manning

Another left-back who has been putting in some consistently fine performances of late is QPR’s very own Ryan Manning.

The 23-year-old has scored one goal and registered three assists in 12 Championship appearances this season, playing every minute of the campaign so far under Warburton.

However, his excellent showings have attracted the interest of Premier League side Southampton, who are reportedly keen to take advantage of the Irishman’s contract situation at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium – the Saints believe that they can get him for a cut-price fee with Manning’s contract set to expire next summer.

Newcastle are also interested in the left-back, and it remains to be seen whether or not Manning is tempted by his top-flight admirers.

You might argue that a 17-year-old isn’t yet capable of walking into a Championship XI and replacing one of the best players in that side, although Hickey’s excellent progress with Hearts and the pedigree of the sides who are interested in him suggests he has something special about him.

Manning remains a QPR player, while Hickey is still contracted to Hearts, but QPR’s interest in the latter at a time when Premier League sides are sniffing around the former is certainly interesting.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have disagreed over the club’s chances in the coming weeks as they prepare for a tricky looking run of fixtures.Following their 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday, Spurs will play Everton away from home and then face Sheffield United, West Ham United, AFC Bournemouth, Manchester United and Burnley.

Thus far this season, Mauricio Pochettino’s men have struggled, winning just three of their first 10 Premier League games. Those victories came over Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Southampton.

Spurs have also been thumped 3-0 by Brighton & Hove Albion, though they did record draws against both Manchester City and Arsenal.

And fans are somewhat split on how they see their run of games going.

Indeed, some believe that there could be something of a renaissance, with Spurs potentially taking maximum points, while others have their glasses half-empty, and believe they will take less than five points from the six games.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

West Ham will look to end a run of five games without a win when they welcome Newcastle to the London Stadium on Saturday, and it is likely Manuel Pellegrini will look to improve on last week’s 1-1 draw rather than trying to reinvent the wheel.

That means his formation is unlikely to change and he will stick with the players who have served him well so far, so Robert Snodgrass should retain his place in the team after scoring last week.

The Hammers struggled to break down Sheffield United for large periods on Saturday – achieving only four shots on target – but they did have chances to win the match and should take confidence from that.

Find out why it’s not the football that has Newcastle fans dreading Saturday’s trip to the London Stadium in the video below…

While scoring has been somewhat of a problem for them with just 12 goals in 10 league games, they shouldn’t have to worry about the visitors’ attack – the Magpies have scored only six goals in the Premier League.

Regardless, Pellergini could still make changes to his backline by bringing in more regular names after adding Pablo Zabaleta, Fabian Balbuena and Aaron Cresswell to the occasion last time out, with Ryan Fredericks particularly important.

Here’s how West Ham will likely line-up against Steve Bruce’s side.

A settled back four is important for Roberto, but we are anticipating changes from last time out, with Angelo Ogbonna and Fredericks returning to the fold. In Fredericks and Aaron Cresswell, the Hammers have two full-backs who should be able to deal with the opposition’s threat, having averaged 2.8 and 1.8 tackles per game respectively this term.

Fredericks’ pace means he is better suited to dealing with Allan Saint-Maximin than Pablo Zabaleta, too, and if West Ham can keep him quiet then it boosts their chances of winning.

Speaking of the flanks, we are predicting Andriy Yarmolenko and Felipe Anderson will keep their places. The latter is out of form having failed to score or assist in October but remains West Ham’s best option from the left, while Yarmolenko provided the assist last time out.

Breaking down the opposition will ultimately rely on the front four. Snodgrass twice got into good goalscoring positions last week, finishing one of them, and showed more determination in that area than Lanzini has this season, having averaged just 1.2 shots per game so far.

As a result, the Scot is likely to be trusted once again, and if he can support Sebastien Haller and supply him with crosses, then Pellegrini’s side should take all three points.

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

West Ham have offered little threat in attack in recent games but providing Sebastien Haller with a striker partner could be the solution they need.

On the chalkboard

The Hammers’ lack of form in front of goal is no secret. Only Haller and Andriy Yarmolenko have found the target with any kind of consistency this campaign and that has resulted in just 12 goals from ten league games throughout the whole side.

Despite that, Manuel Pellegrini has refused to tweak his tactics, resorting instead to a frequent change of personnel, as well as criticising the striker he brought in for £45m.

Find out why it’s not the football that has Newcastle fans dreading Saturday’s trip to the London Stadium in the video below…

Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals and Robert Snodgrass have found themselves in and out of the team in recent games, and although the latter found a breakthrough against Sheffield United, the team looked lacklustre for large spells.

They had only four shots on target and were often nullified by the Blades’ effective five-at-the-back system, and with Newcastle likely to operate in the same fashion when they visit on Saturday, a change is needed.

Support for Haller

Some West Ham fans have been crying out for Haller to get more support, pointing out that the attacking midfielders are too frequently distanced from him, preventing any attacks developing or any service to him in the box.

That issue is even more likely to crop up against the Magpies who will sit deep, and therefore Pellegrini has to partner him up front with another striker.

The Chilean has often operated with a 4-2-3-1 in East London, though he did occasional pair Javier Hernandez with Marko Arnautovic last season.

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It is a formation that has only been seen four times in 2019, however, but given they have won only 12 times in 32 matches this year it could be a time for a change, especially since they’re without a win in five.

Furthermore, Haller flourished last year when partnered with Luka Jovic at Eintracht Frankfurt, helping himself to 20 goals and 12 assists in all competitions.

He has also averaged 7.1 aerial duels won in the league this term and therefore a poacher would be well-suited to playing off him, someone like Albian Ajeti who so far hasn’t been given a chance with just 20 minutes of league football played.

Newcastle have been relatively strong at the back this season with three clean sheets and only 15 goals conceded in 10 games – not bad considering they have just two wins – and therefore the Hammers will need more than just one striker trying to cause problems in the box.

The wait for Miguel Almiron goes on.

The 25-year-old has now turned out on 22 occasions for Newcastle United but is still waiting to find the back of the net, or register an assist for that matter.

Almiron showed at his previous club that he knew how to score – netting 22 times in 70 outings for Atlanta United before moving to the Premier League.

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The Paraguay international fired another blank against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon, but Newcastle still managed to collect all three points courtesy of goals from DeAndre Yedlin and Ciaran Clark.

And many of the club’s supporters have taken to social media to lavish praise on the 5 ft 9 attacker for his performance, even if it did not bring a goal.

According to WhoScored, Almiron had two shots, completed one dribble and boasted a pass success rate of 84% during an energetic display.

And the Newcastle fans have taken to social media to praise the January arrival, as shown by the tweets below:

Although Arsenal’s current predicament under Unai Emery may seem a far cry from previous eras of success at the club, these fans have been loving a video released regarding a former player’s final game in north London.

Patrick Vieira, who won three Premier League titles and three FA Cups during a nine-year spell at the club, wrote his name into the Gunners’ history books having made over 300 league appearances.

The Frenchman’s time with the club coincided with their most successful period in the modern era, and there can be no doubting that with Arsenal having won just four of their first 12 league fixtures in the 2019/20 campaign, these fans would love to see a return of their former captain in a bid to revitalise their domestic fortunes.

Following the release of a video showing Viera’s last game for the club, these fans have been singing his praises.

Here are some of the best reactions to the Frenchman’s finale in north London.

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

In a rather surprising turn of events, Paris Saint-Germain have taken an interest in Liverpool’s Adam Lallana, as per a report coming exclusively from The Mirror.

What’s the word, then?

The same source explains how Paris Saint-Germain seem to think Edinson Cavani will be moving away from the French capital to join LA Galaxy in the near future and they will need a replacement for him.

The Uruguayan forward is out of contract next summer and with him leaving, there would be a big void up front that would definitely need covering sooner rather than later.

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Lallana, whose contract expires in the summer as well, is one of their options at the moment but the Englishman is also wanted by clubs from China and the MLS, The Mirror reveals.

And looking at the deal as a whole, Paris Saint-Germain should really stay away from the Liverpool outcast.

A drop in quality

Without exaggerating too much, Cavani truly is still one of the best strikers on the planet.

Even though the Uruguayan is on the wrong side of his 30s, his output is still fairly impressive.

This season, PSG’s prolific forward has bagged two goals in six Ligue 1 games – which is slightly less than his usual tally – but we shouldn’t forget we’re talking about a man who managed to score 195 goals and assist further 40 in 287 games for the French giants.

If we crunch the numbers ourselves, that amounts to about 0.67 goals per game.

When we compare Lallana’s output with that of the Uruguayan, the difference is staggering, to say the least.

22 goals in 164 games or 0.13 goals per game is miles behind what Cavani does.

Not to mention it would be replacing a 32-year-old player with a 31-year-old player, which makes little sense to begin with from a long-term point of view.

Lallana is struggling for game time at Liverpool – seeing how he has only tallied 304 minutes in eight games so far – as it is and getting someone else’s outcast for their main striker, who also represents a drop in quality as per the aforementioned stats, shouldn’t be top of PSG’s priority list.

Not to mention that the Englishman’s £7million-a-season salary would put him ahead of the likes of Marco Verratti and Julian Draxler, who earn €7,175,000 (£6.15m) according to Capology, and that’s without taking into account the possibility of a raise were he to join the French club.

When everything is said and done, this is one deal PSG should not be chasing.

Sunderland held a fans’ forum on Thursday evening which gave supporters the opportunity to meet and talk face to face with their new manager, Phil Parkinson.

Charlie Methven was also in attendance and between them the pair answered questions relating to transfer recruitment, recent investment, and the pressure on players to perform.

One subject which generated quite a lot of discussion was Methven’s admission that the club would have a top-six Championship budget next term if the Black Cats win promotion.

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It is quite a claim considering the cut-back in spending last summer, with George Dobson the only player signed for money.

As a result many fans don’t believe his claim, and have learnt not to eat up his words after past disappointment and failure. This time around they will wait until the proof is in the pudding.

A good start for Methven would be to back the manager in the way he wants, with Parkinson stating at the meeting that there is a real need for “pace and power” in the squad, and that he is looking to improve that in January with new recruits.

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Should that happen fans may begin to turn back round to sympathising with Methven and the board, but at the moment many seem against him, as the following reactions show.

After salvaging a late point against Southampton on Saturday afternoon, it seems that Arsenal’s Lucas Torreira was in need of some downtime.

But this wasn’t simply a case of going for a stroll in north London or relaxing in his likely extravagant residency as he went much further afield in pursuit of mental clarity.

In a bid to rapidly put a nightmare team performance behind him, the diminutive midfielder jet off to Italy to see Sampdoria in action.

His former club hosted Udinese yesterday and managed to steal a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from Gaston Ramirez and Manolo Gabbiadini.

Clearly, the Saints have ended their feeder club relationship with Liverpool in favour of the Serie A outfit and their new partners are reaping the rewards.

And after making the journey to Italy, Torreira posted a message on Instagram expressing his enthusiasm for the club.

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No fear, Arsenal fans, the message posted in Italian roughly translates to “It’s always a pleasure to see you again” and not “please sign me up, old friend”.

And the admiration was reciprocated by his former club in a gushing reply to the original post.

There is clearly no love lost between the 23-year-old and the club who provided him with the platform from which to elevate his career.

And with rumours beginning to suggest AC Milan and Napoli are both interested in the South American midfielder, it may not be too long before Torreira steps foot on Italian soil again.

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

Southampton welcome fellow strugglers Watford to St Mary’s this Saturday for the Premier League’s late kick-off, and there is plenty on the line for both sides.

The Saints and the Hornets currently occupy 19th and 20th place in the Premier League respectively, with just a single point separating the pair – both teams have an unflattering goal difference of -18.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side have conceded the most goals in the Premier League this term with 31, whereas Watford have scored the least goals with just eight strikes to their name – this Saturday’s game will be a basement slug-out in every sense.

However, the Hornets do have some quality players – let’s take a look at two who could hurt the Saints..

Abdoulaye Doucoure

In midfield, Watford have a true powerhouse with the stamina to run all day long, while also possessing the quality to make opponents pay for their inability to deal with him – Abdoulaye Doucoure.

The Frenchman – who scored five goals and recorded six assists last term – has netted just once this season, although his presence at both ends of the pitch is undoubted.

Doucoure records an impressive 2.4 tackles per game in the Premier League this season, as well as 1.2 interceptions.

At the other end of the field, the 26-year-old makes 1.2 key passes, takes 1.8 shots and registers 1.5 dribbles per game.

Get French Football News once described the former Rennes man as a “midfield dynamo” and you can certainly see why.

Hasenhuttl’s midfield options in Stuart Armstrong, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oriol Romeu and James Ward-Prowse need to produce an effective showing collectively to contain Doucoure.

Gerard Deulofeu 

The tricky Spaniard can often blow hot and cold, but he is steadily finding a way to consistently pose the opponent some difficulty.

Deulofeu registered an impressive 15 Premier League goal involvements last term, and has already scored twice and assisted twice this term.

Furthermore, the 25-year-old take a significant 2.5 shots per game, while also completing 2.2 dribbles – the former Barcelona prospect also makes 1.8 key passes per 90 minutes.

Former Hornets boss Javi Gracia stated that the Spaniard had a “high quality” when discussing the forward back in May, and it’s hard to argue with that sentiment.

“But the most important thing is the quality of the player. Deulofeu, you know, has a high quality.”

His versatility is also a key feature. Deulofeu pops up all over the frontline, making six appearances as a centre-forward this term as well as two on the left and one on the right.

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Southampton must ensure that their leaky backline – the worst in the league – is switched on against these two stars.

In other news, this Southampton man is taking full advantage of his ‘last chance’…