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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…

Looks like we’re fully into transfer rumour season now.

And former player David Prutton believes that the great start Nottingham Forest have made this season can act as a building block when it comes to any deals they want to do in January.

What’s he said?

Speaking to Nottinghamshire Live ahead of the game against Wigan Athletic this weekend, the former Forest man said that if the club wanted to make a move in January they should be confident of getting players over the line.

He claimed the prospect of being so close to the Premier League will help them attract players to push them over the line:

“They’ll find themselves in a good position, and I’m not just being biased because I’ve played for the club. If Forest are in the top six and looking like they’re hunting down the top two in January, then with the stadium buzzing and the atmosphere being fantastic – it’s a great city, you’d be hard-pressed to not attract players of a certain standard to a situation like that.

“You’d come in and be playing in front of 30,000 people every other week at home, and it would just be (a great opportunity) to get that club into the Premier League.”

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Got to stay there though

Whilst Prutton may be right in believing that being so close will make them a tantalising commodity for any prospective player, it is now up to the Forest players and staff to make sure that they keep them there.

As the pundit suggests, doing so could just enable them to complete attractive signings, something that ultimately could propel them to the promised land of the Premier League.

Sabri Lamouchi recently stated that his main ambition this season is to stay in his job for one full season.

Whilst that may be the case, there is one way of making sure he stays in the job, and that’s to get promoted.

It’s something that makes these next couple of games so vitally important for Forest, not just in terms of this season and making sure they’re close to promotion, but also a long way in the future.

If they can bring in a couple of big names, not only will they be in a good position to contest this season, but if things don’t work, they’ll be in a great place to challenge next term as well.

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…

David Luiz insists he has no plans to leave Arsenal just yet, per ESPN Brasil via Sport Witness.

What’s the word?

The defender joined the Gunners in an £8m deal from Chelsea in the summer.

He has since made a total of eight appearances in the Premier League, even scoring the winner in a narrow 1-0 win over AFC Bournemouth.

And while he says he does not know what will happen in future, having been asked about a potential return to Brazil, he maintains that he has no desire to move away from north London.

He said: “I, today, have no such plan. I don’t have that as a goal. But we never know, football goes very fast.”

He added: “I’m sincere to say that today I don’t have this idea. I have a two-year contract with Arsenal. I have my ambitions and goals here with Arsenal, so I came here. But we never know in the future.”

Seasoned winner

One has to imagine that Luiz is hoping to win trophies with Arsenal, having hinted towards his “ambitions and goals”.

The defender has won trophies at Benfica, PSG and Chelsea, including the Primeira Liga, Ligue 1 and the Premier League, one Champions League trophy and two Europa Leagues.

He is exactly the kind of character that the Gunners need and bringing him into the club was a major step forward.

And with him insisting that he is planning on sticking around for some time, his influence will be felt by the youngsters such as Bukayo Saka, Emile Smith-Rowe and Gabriel Martinelli.

His words, then, will be a boost for those looking for the Gunners to continue improving under Emery.

Everton fans have expressed their frustration at Marco Silva for failing to give Anthony Gordon some minutes against Watford in the League Cup.

The Toffees may have won the game but it does seem as if many fans left Goodison Park slightly irritated that Silva did not use the chance to field some youngsters.

Gordon has been in great form for the U23s this season, scoring six times in eight games for David Unsworth’s young stars.

Some fans have said it was a “wasted opportunity” not to play the academy goal machine, whilst one fan has warned the club to “tread carefully” on his future. Indeed, should he not find many minutes this season, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility to suggest the 18-year-old may consider leaving to find game time elsewhere.

Gordon himself did take to Twitter after the game, which suggests he imagined he would have been handed a start against the Hornets.

His message read “patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while waiting”.

Certainly, with Everton’s poor form this season, it would have been a great time to field the youngster. The Blues have only bagged 10 times in the Premier League and Silva is clearly desperate for goals this season.

This was a chance to allow Gordon some valuable first-team action, and he may not get many more chances to do so.

Here’s what some fans have had to say…

Having completed a permanent move from Barcelona earlier in the summer, Andre Gomes has been a regular feature in Marco Silva’s Everton side this season.

The Portugal international has featured in seven Premier League games, but has yet to provide a single goal or assist. On Saturday afternoon, the 26-year-old put in an incredibly disappointing display as the Toffees fell to a late 3-2 defeat to Brighton courtesy of an own goal from Lucas Digne.

As per Sofascore, the midfielder lost all eight of his duels, was dribbled past five times, and ended up with a 5.7 overall match rating – the joint-worst of any player on the pitch.

After seeing his poor performance, Everton fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the man that cost them £22m to sign.

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Many supporters of the Merseyside club insisted he simply didn’t offer anything, with one fan in particular claiming that Gomes essentially typified a Silva side.

Some Toffees fans couldn’t quite believe how the 6 foot 2 man went from putting in an impressive display last week, into being an “absolute joke” this time around.

Check out some of the reaction of Everton fans below:

Former Premier League footballer Danny Mills has likened the up-and-down form of Marcus Rashford and some of his Manchester United teammates to Theo Walcott – saying the striker has a mild form of ‘Theo Walcott Syndrome’.

Rashford had scored in United’s three games prior to their weekend defeat at Bournemouth, following the 22-year-old’s goals against Liverpool and Norwich City as well as his match-winning double at Chelsea in midweek.

But as United drew a blank on the south coast on Saturday lunchtime, Mills compared the extreme highs and lows of Rashford’s form to that of Everton winger Walcott, claiming a lot of United players are suffering from similar disparities within their performances.

He told TalkSPORT: “One minute he’s a world-beater and the next you are going, ‘what’s happened? He’s gone?’

“It’s not quite as dramatic, but it’s almost like ‘Theo Walcott Syndrome’. He’d score a hat-trick and you’d think, ‘oh my goodness, he’s arrived! That’s it, he is going to kick on’.

“But then he went missing for the next five or six games.

“I think a lot of United’s players are like that.”

Mills’ harsh critique of Rashford makes it hard not to feel sorry for the England international, here. It is as if Mills expects Rashford to keep scoring game after game, without considering the weight of pressure he must be feeling having been left to lead the line for an underachieving United side.

Even so, he has notched seven times for the club this season already.

That he has managed to score four in his previous four starts for the club – as well as getting on the scoresheet for England recently, too – is a sure sign of the youngster’s promise, with Rashford already racking up 50 goals in United colours having turned 22 last week, making the timing of Mills’ comments all the more bizarre.

Meanwhile, Mills is also arguably harsh on Walcott, who but for a career stacked with injuries, could have got even more than the 108 Arsenal goals, three FA Cups and 47 England caps he has earned throughout his career to date.

However, that may leave Rashford well-placed to usurp the achievements of Walcott in the years to come, and prove Mills wrong – especially if he is tasked with spearheading United’s attack as he has done so far this season.

United fans, do you agree with Mills’ comments? How far can Rashford go at the club? Join the discussion in the comments below!

Leeds United fans on Twitter have been crying out for Leif Davis to start against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, despite Marcelo Bielsa confirming that Barry Douglas is fit and available in his press conference on Tuesday.

Davis is yet to start a league match for the Whites, but his seven-minute cameo against QPR last weekend was enough to convince some supporters that he should be starting in their next match.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

To be fair, Davis was incredibly impressive when he came on against the R’s, and his performance even drew comparisons to Gareth Bale’s famous performance against Inter Milan back in 2010.

He’s got a decent chance of starting as well, Ezgjan Alioski is out with injury and Douglas is only just back, so don’t be surprised if the Argentine goes for the youngster from the off on Saturday.

Whether or not Davis does start against the Rovers remains to be seen, but it’s clear to see that supporters think he should.

Here’s what the Elland Road faithful have been saying on Twitter…

Tottenham Hotspur fans don’t believe that the club will follow through on Mauricio Pochettino’s wishes to strengthen the squad in the January transfer window.

The Times reported on Monday that the Spurs manager would like to sign three defenders, a holding midfield player and two attackers, including a striker.

However, per the article, Spurs’ acquisition of Lucas Moura in January 2018 is the only player they have signed on a permanent basis in the winter transfer window across the past six seasons.

They did buy Tanguy Ndombele, Jack Clarke and Ryan Sessegnon, while striking a deal to bring Giovani Lo Celso in on an initial loan from Real Betis, in the summer but that flurry of activity came after two transfer windows without a signing.

And fans doubt that the club will dip their foot into the water when the window reopens in under two months.

Spurs are, however, currently 14th, 11 points behind the top four following their 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on Saturday.

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

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Expert Roundup feature, which provides three quotes from those in the know in order to illuminate fundamental strengths, weaknesses, quirks, stylistic comparisons and general observations of players, transfer targets and confirmed signings.

Manchester City’s Leroy Sane seemed destined to join Bayern Munich last summer until a serious injury sustained in the Community Shield put all transfer talk on hold.

With the German now well on the path to rehabilitation, the speculation has once again resumed that a mega-money deal is in the pipeline for next summer and accompanying this are numerous reports claiming to identify his successor on the City flanks.

Step forward Mikel Oyarzabal, 22 years of age and one of the brightest lights in La Liga since being handed his debut by none other than David Moyes in 2015 after emerging through the Real Sociedad academy.

A Spain international, boasting six caps, and less importantly nicknamed ‘Bigfoot’ due to his size 11 boots, Oyarzabal is presently enjoying a fine season with the Txuri-urdinak scoring four goals in 13 league appearances with four assists thrown in.

And even looking beyond such contributions, his impish trickery and intelligence movement would be a huge boon to any side.

Though lacking Sane’s directness and searing pace, Oyarzabal has technical ability to spare while his fondness for cutting in tallies with Pep Guardiola’s penchant for inverted wingers. Providing an aerial threat would also be a significant bonus for a team as small as the reigning champions.

With recent reports in mind, perhaps it’s now time to throw it over to those who know the Basque ballers best.

Evidently, they think the world of him.

Eusebio Sacristán, former Real Sociedad coach

The former Barcelona midfielder oversaw Oyarzabal’s development for three years at the Anoeta and though not naturally inclined to lavish praise on any of his players, here makes something of an exception, as per UEFA.com.

“I see him grow from day to day. Everything that he brings to the side is positive and as a coach I’m very happy with him.”

Robert Moreno, Spain assistant coach

A late third for La Roja against Sweden over the summer helped to further establish the winger as an international to be reckoned with, which is no mean feat given the nation’s attacking riches.

Post-match Moreno’s mention of the player’s work-rate is pertinent considering Guardiola’s infamously high demands, as per eldesmarque.com.

“He is a special player, who has a goal, something that is not easy. He does not get tired of running.”

Guillem Balague, Spanish football journalist

What Balague doesn’t know about La Liga can be written on a postage stamp and in 2017 the respected pundit was asked by Sky to name the five most promising talents set to make their mark.

The first name on his list was Oyarzabal, as per SkySports.com.

“Comparisons have already been made with Antoine Griezmann, a previous La Real superstar, and if he does eventually leave, it will certainly be for big money.”

Verdict

£68m is the rumoured release clause that would help lure this superstar-in-the-making to the Premier League.

In the event of Sane’s departure, City should pay it.

In seasons to come it will be viewed as a bargain.

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…

Glen Johnson has criticised Tottenham Hotspur’s handling of the contracts of their senior players after Danny Rose confirmed he would run his down, per The Debate via HITC.

What’s he said?

The England left-back told The London Evening Standard that he intended to leave the club only when his deal expired, the date of which will come at the end of next season.

Of course, Spurs have had this problem with a number of players. Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld all have deals that expire in the summer, while Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama have contracts that are up in 2021.

And Johnson believes that, while the strategy of handing youngsters long-term contracts is “clever”, it has come back to bite Spurs chairman Daniel Levy.

He said: “When they sign the young players they put them on six-year deals, which is clever because they don’t need to negotiate with the player every two years.

“They get to a point where they don’t perform as well as they first thought and they stay on that contract or they do outperform what they’re expecting, but they don’t need to give them a new deal because they’ve got four years left.

“But they seem to get in this position towards the end too often with their starting players.”

Payback time

This has been coming.

Spurs adhere to a strict wage policy and, per Spotrac, they only have six players who earn £100,000-per-week or more. Vertonghen is one of them, with Alderweireld on £80,000 and Eriksen is on £75,000. Rose earns £60,000-per-week.

Compare that to Manchester City and Liverpool; 25 players earn £100,000 per week or more in those two squads.

One has to imagine that the contract rebels at Spurs could, at least, double their salaries with a big move, and it is not a surprise that they are willing to run their deals down.

Not only will they receive a bigger wage packet, but they will also receive a signing-on bonus from moving as a free agent.

At a time in which Spurs are playing in a stadium that has cost £1bn, and they are starting to lavish more funds on signings such as Tanguy Ndombele, there is a legitimate question to be asked surrounding the lack of wage rises.

At the end of the day, Rose, Eriksen, Alderweireld and Vertonghen only have Levy to blame.

The Spurs chairman could have put his hand in his pocket but he has refused to do so and now the inevitable has happened, with players looking for pastures new.

He shouldn’t be surprised.

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

Conor Gallagher has been impressive since joining Charlton Athletic on loan from Chelsea, but there are still two aspects of his game that need to be improved.

On the Chalkboard

Gallagher has been a revelation for Charlton this campaign, starting 15 games and coming on as a substitute once, scoring 5 goals and adding an assist.

He has also shown a willingness to work defensively, making 1.9 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and 0.8 clearances per game.

In addition, he averages 0.7 key passes and 1.6 dribbles per game, with the aforementioned statistics showing how influential the teenager has been across the pitch for the Addicks.

He has even got himself into a position where he was able to make his full debut for England U21s, in which he scored to help secure a 3-0 win over Albania.

However, the idea behind him joining Lee Bowyer’s team will have been for him to develop as a player so that he can challenge for a place at Chelsea in the future.

Watch Charlton Athletic Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Room for improvement

Of the two areas he should be looking to improve, the first is the number of yellow cards he has been picking up.

The teenager’s willingness to work hard for the team is admirable, however, he needs to be more precise with his tackling, as pointed out by the fact he makes 1.7 fouls and is dribbled past 1.7 times per game.

His 4 cautions mean that he is already just 1 away from a suspension and it will be a blow for Charlton if he is to become unavailable, even if it is only for one match.

If he develops a bit more precision in his tackling then it should definitely help him in this respect.

The second area is that his pass success rate of 78.9% needs to be bettered if he is to reach the very highest echelons of the game.

Looking at some of Chelsea’s current midfielders, Mateo Kovacic completes 90.3% of his attempted passes, while Ross Barkley manages 86.6%.

It can’t be expected that he is going to be getting these numbers immediately on his first loan, but this is the type of accuracy he should be aiming for if he wishes to make the transition from Championship to Premier League football.

Gallagher has certainly been impressive since joining Charlton, but he needs to improve these two aspects to continue on his upward trajectory.