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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 Italian media outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Southampton are one of a number clubs keeping tabs on Sassuolo left-back Alessandro Tripaldelli, and they may have finally found their long-term Ryan Bertrand replacement in the process.

What’s the word, then?

Well, Tuttomercatoweb report that Saints, along with Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Levante, Valencia, Fiorentina, Bologna and Atalanta are all watching the 20-year-old, who has two-and-a-half years remaining on his contract with the Serie A outfit.

The report says that scouts from the south coast outfit have been spotted looking at the Italy U21 international, who is described as having the pace that would make him suitable for the Premier League.

Despite all of the interest, he has actually found first-team minutes hard to come by so far during the 2019/20 campaign, featuring for just 135 minutes in total and often having to settle for being an unused substitute.

Long-term Bertrand replacement?

Despite his lack of first-team minutes for Sassuolo this term, the fact that clubs of the stature of Manchester United and Valencia – as well as the fact that he has been capped at U21 level by his country – suggest that Tripaldelli has something about him.

The left-back position has become a real problem for Southampton in recent seasons, and while Bertrand has been a top performer for the club in the past, he certainly hasn’t been anywhere near as consistent or effective in more recent seasons as the club has battled relegation.

One of the reasons for that could well be complacency given he has had little competition for the spot, with Matt Targett obviously failing to convince Ralph Hasenhuttl of his ability having been sold to Aston Villa during the summer transfer window.

The Austrian manager has also preferred to use the likes of Cedric Soares, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Moussa Djenepo out of position at left-back and left wing-back rather than place faith in youngster Jake Vokins when Bertrand has been absent, which suggests that he also may not be up to the task of eventually replacing the former Chelsea man.

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That will need to happen sooner rather than later with the England international now 30 years of age and not having the ability to get up and down the pitch like he once did, and Tripaldelli’s pace in particular sounds promising in that respect.

A potentially promising deal for Saints, then.

In other Saints news, fans have been reacting after Gao’s January transfer plans were revealed…

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react following a report by The Evening Standard, which states that Dougie Freedman is interested in the vacant managerial position at Hearts.

Freedman – who is currently the Sporting Director at Selhurst Park – turned down the same opportunity back in 2017 upon agreeing to his current position, although the Scotsman is now believed to be interested in succeeding Craig Levein.

The former Palace striker – who scored 55 times for the south Londoners – has been pretty hit and miss in the role of Sporting Director in SE25.

Freedman has overseen some impressive deals, such as Vicente Guaita and Gary Cahill on free transfers, although he also signed the likes of Alexander Sorloth, who cost £9m and has scored just once in 20 games for the club.

While you may think it would be a blow for Palace to lose their Sporting Director just before the January window, it seems as if some supporters on Twitter don’t seem too upset about the possibility of Freedman departing.

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

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

Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld could all sign new contracts at Tottenham Hotspur following the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager, per The Daily Mirror.

What’s the word?

The three all have deals that expire at the end of the season and they all have the ability to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club in the January transfer window.

The Mirror, though, reports that the trio are open-minded about their futures and are all intrigued by the prospect of working under Mourinho.

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Football FanCast understands that this would represent a major shift in stance from Eriksen in particular, who has thus far refused to countenance the idea of signing the new contract that was on the table during the summer.

He also publicly declared his desire to take on a “new challenge” during the summer.

A major U-turn

This is horrific behaviour from Eriksen if it’s true.

The Dane has dipped in form this season – scoring just two goals and registering a sole assist in all competitions this season.

He has, along with Alderweireld and Vertonghen, remained in the team under Pochettino, but his head appears to have been dramatically turned by the prospect of a move and has been accused of effectively downing tools by the likes of Ray Parlour.

If he is now willing to put pen to paper and commit his future just because Pochettino has left, it proves that he had stopped playing for the former Southampton boss and was out to further his own agenda more than that of the club.

To that end, even if he does stay, there could well be a backlash against him from the supporters. And one has to believe that such a blowback would be completely justified.

Some Newcastle United fans took to social media to share their thoughts on Steve Bruce’s decision making after the Toon boss opted to start Jonjo Shelvey over Matty Longstaff against West Ham on Saturday.

Longstaff had started the Magpies’ previous three Premier League fixtures against Manchester United, Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers, but fell to the bench for his side’s trip to East London.

Shelvey, meanwhile, had not featured in the starting line-up since the North East outfit were held to a goalless draw by Brighton & Hove Albion, with his only outing since the Seagulls clash coming as a late substitute against Wolves.

Take a trip down memory lane to a time when Newcastle were giants on the European stage in the video below…

Bruce had to make changes to his midfield to face West Ham, though, as he was without Sean Longstaff after the 22-year-old was issued a three-game ban for his red card issued against Nuno Espirito Santo’s Molineux natives.

The returning Isaac Hayden, who had served a three-game ban for his red card shown against Leicester City, replaced the 22-year-old. Bruce also opting for Shelvey over the younger of the Longstaff brothers caused some uproar on social media, though.

Longstaff had been one of Newcastle’s better-performing players against Wolves last week, when the Toon product consistently called for the ball and picked out a couple of incisive passes, earning a 7/10 rating from Chronicle Live.

Shelvey, on the other hand, featured for just five minutes after drawing with Brighton.

So when Newcastle shared that Bruce had opted for a midfield partnership of Hayden and Shelvey against West Ham, these were some of the reactions…

Although Arsenal’s on-field form has been considerably suffering as of late – with the Gunners having won just four of their first 11 league fixtures – the milestone of 50 goals for Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang has led to a number of the club’s fanbase praising the Gabonese forward.

Aubameyang has scored eight Premier League goals so far in the current campaign to reach the 50-mark in all competitions for the north London side, with 40 league goals alongside nine in the Europa League and one in the FA Cup giving the former Borrusia Dortmund man his half-century.

Despite ongoing issues at the club – including Granit Xhaka’s confrontation with fans alongside reports of Unai Emery having just one month to save his job – the consistent form of Aubemayang will be seen as a source of huge relief to the club.

If the Gunners want to get their fortunes back on track, it is likely that the striker will be at the heart of any effort to revive their domestic form.

Here are some of the best reactions to Aubameyang’s goalscoring milestone for Arsenal.

On Tuesday afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur’s official Twitter account revealed that tickets for the club’s Champions League trip to Bayern Munich were now available.

Indeed, Spurs will visit the German champions on December 11 looking for some revenge following a 7-2 defeat to the same opponents on October 1.

However, the tweet has not gone down very well with the club’s supporters.

It is certainly a testing time to be a follower of Spurs with the capital giants struggling for results at the moment.

Indeed, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have only won one of their last five matches in all competitions – suffering three defeats in the process.

They have picked up four points from their three Champions League group fixtures thus far and will take on both Red Star Belgrade and Olympiacos for a second time before travelling to the Allianz Arena on December 11.

A selection of the Twitter reaction in relation to the announcement can be seen below:

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…

Juan Miranda left Barcelona in the last summer transfer window and he will be playing at Schalke on loan for two seasons. And recently, in an interview with Mundo Deportivo, the 19-year-old La Masia outcast talked about his possible stay at the Blaugrana in the near future.

What did he say?

Miranda is one of those La Masia talents who, despite their obvious qualities, couldn’t make it into the first-team.

Of course, the young Spaniard has already had a taste of the senior squad as he has played a total of four games for them so far.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Apart from that, however, he has only been an active member of the Barcelona B squad, tallying 30 appearances for the young crop of Blaugrana players, scoring three times and assisting a further two in the process.

With the arrival of Junior Firpo last summer, Miranda decided to go on loan in order to get some game time under his belt. But that also posed the question whether there even is a place for him back in Catalonia.

Speaking to Mundo Deportivo, the plan is pretty clear.

“Yeah right. If Barça love me, returning is the best decision. It is the best club in the world and this is our idea.”

One for the future

Even though his place under the Catalan sun was under question, Miranda’s mind seems to be set – if Barcelona want him, he will definitely return.

And looking at their choices in the left-back department, that might actually be a smart move for both sides.

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

The 19-year-old can get all the experience he needs to develop in Germany and then, once Jordi Alba comes to the latter stages of his career, the young Spaniard can take over.

With Firpo on the sidelines as well, the Blaugrana seem to be set for the future.

Not to mention that Alba is already 30 years of age and is slowly but surely leaving his best years behind him.

And then when that happens – enter Miranda.

[ad_pod ]It’s an art, taking corners.Will you swing it in or out? Can you find the big man in the box with an inch-perfect howitzer? Can you remember the complex routine you learned in training? Can you tempt the goalkeeper off his line to make a catastrophic error? Or, for some of us, can you beat the first man?Corners are a Sunday league favourite; send the bruisers into the box and plonk the ball onto their heads and you’ve found a sure-fire way of collecting at least a goal or two a week, depending on the gut-size and baldness of your elected champions, of course.Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

While a well-calculated delivery from the corner spot may not be in tune with the direction of modern football, which tends to favour purer means of scoring goals, it still holds a position in the chambers of the sport. Hence the recent tweet from the UEFA Champions League account, which was followed by a suitable response from Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold registered 16 assists in all competitions last season and already has two in four games this term. Elite creator.

The club’s tweet is sure to bring back good memories for Reds fans, although we’re not so sure the Barcelona faithful will be happy to see a repeat of one of the cheekiest corners of all time.

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It’s good to see that the Spaniard isn’t willing to doubt the Wolves cause, especially after they finished an impressive seventh last season.

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is letting Wolves down this time around – although the added burden of Europa League football is surely a factor – but their best course of action is to continue doing what made them so successful last term.

Luckily it seems as if the players still fully believe in the way they’re trying to play and the club’s ethos, despite the poor results.

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

After his low-key arrival on a free transfer this summer – having been let go by League One side Rotherham – one certainly would not blame you for wondering why QPR signed Dominic Ball.

However, Mark Warburton’s use of the player has been simply fantastic.

How has he used Ball?

As per the R’s official announcement of the signing of the 24-year-old, Ball can play in a variety of positions.

The article states that he can play at right-back, centre-back and at defensive-midfield, while Ball has also worked alongside Warburton at Watford and Rangers.

The former Brentford boss has been using the 6 foot man in front of his back five in a defensive midfield position, adopting a 5-3-2 formation and to some effect – the Londoners have won their last four league games on the bounce.

Ball’s form has helped Eberechi Eze and Ilias Chair to flourish 

With Ball lining up in front of the backline, he practically patrols the midfield on his own and allows those ahead of him to flourish – some QPR fans were impressed with the player’s performance against Millwall, with one labelling him a “destroyer”.

Ball averages 2.3 tackles and 2.3 successful aerial duels per game, and his effective defensive work behind Chair and Eze is proving beneficial to the duo.

In Eze’s case, the 21-year-old earned his first call-up to the England Under-21 squad this season, and has three goals and two assists in eight Championship starts – the former Millwall man has also won three WhoScored Man-of-the-Match awards in that time.

With Chair, the Morocco Under-23 international recently signed a new contract with the R’s and has been showing some fine form in midfield alongside Eze – he records 1.9 key passes and two shots per game and is seemingly benefiting from having less defensive work to do with Ball behind him.

Warburton could have played Ball in any of his three positions, but the R’s manager’s use of him ahead of the backline is proving beneficial to Chair and Eze above all.