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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 Sun, Bayern Munich will reignite their interest in Manchester City winger Leroy Sane in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

The Germany international was the subject of intense transfer speculation earlier this summer amid a possible move to the Bundesliga.

However, the 23-year-old suffered a major blow when he fell victim to an ACL injury in the Community Shield clash against Liverpool.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Despite potentially being out until next spring, The Sun claim Bayern are intent on signing the German, and are hopeful City drop their reported £145m price tag due to his injury.

The report adds City are in “no mood” to let go him on the cheap, and that Pep Guardiola’s side have not given up hope of convincing Sane to sign a new long-term deal with the club.

Time to cash in

Prior to Sane’s injury, City were absolutely right in keeping hold of the flying German. After all, this is a man who racked up 16 goals and 18 assists across all competitions last season. But seeing him ruled out for the best part of this campaign, and with a big question mark hanging over him about whether he will return as the same player, Guardiola’s side should now lean into selling him.

If the Bavarian giants were to acquiesce to City’s demands of more than £100m for Sane, then that would represent excellent business. Guardiola has publicly admitted in recent weeks that they could not sign a new centre-back in the summer transfer window due to financial restraints. Cashing in on Sane for big money would give them more than enough ammunition to address that issue in the winter transfer window.

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

For all of Sane’s incredible numbers since his arrival at City, there have been occasions where it has appeared Guardiola and the winger haven’t seen eye to eye. The 23-year-old’s injury may be the catalyst in prompting the Etihad outfit to finally let him go.

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Everything looked to be in place for James Rodriguez’s big rebirth at Real Madrid this summer.After a loan spell at Bayern Munich, the little Colombian wizard returned to Santiago Bernabeu and was poised to finally make his mark, both with the fans and the coach.But unfortunately, more bad luck followed as he sustained an injury that is still keeping him sidelined and unable to perform.Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And recently, when speaking to El Chiringuito, he said that he was quite optimistic and that he believes this is indeed the season when everything finally falls into place.

The fans, upon seeing his words, felt extremely supportive and they quickly jumped to Twitter to voice their enthusiasm for the 28-year-old’s upcoming campaign with Los Blancos.

Many of them just seem to really like the Colombian and they want him to succeed in the Spanish capital.

You can see some of their reactions down in the collection of tweets below:

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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 time in the Premier League this season has been a struggle.

They’ve managed just one victory in five matches and their latest showing on Monday night showed there is still a lot of work to be done.

The Villans were held at home by West Ham United, who for the final 23 minutes had to play with just ten men – skipper Jack Grealish even claimed it “felt like a defeat.”

There was possibly one positive to take, though, as the club moved out of the relegation zone with the point at Villa Park.

A struggle in front of goal has seemingly been a recurring theme for manager Dean Smith, being the league’s joint-second lowest scorers, and this game was no different.

The west Midlands club managed ten shots at goal against the Hammers with only 50% of them being on target.

One player at fault was striker Wesley, who joined Villa for a club-record £22m in the summer.

He squandered a big chance to take the lead early in the match when he headed wide from close-range after Grealish’s pin-point cross.

The 22-year-old’s performance soon went downhill from there – managing just one other attempt at goal throughout the entire duration of the match.

Wesley also lost possession ten times, which no doubt aided the visitor’s ability to remain on top throughout the game – Manuel Pellegrini’s side had 53.3% possession and recorded three more shots than Villa.

The Brazilian was wholly ineffective and his failure to win any of his three aerial duels goes some way to attesting to that.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Football is a cutthroat business with jobs always on the line, but you’d imagine Smith’s position will remain pretty secure regardless of what happens this season considering he was the man to turn things around in B6.

Wesley will be doing everything he can to make amends for his poor recent performance but, based on the statistics presented above, he will have to improve to convince his manager that there is no need to delve into the market for another centre-forward.

It could be said that the summer recruit has just three months to prove his worth or his time at Villa Park could quickly be written off along with the many other failed strikers to lead the line in recent years.

At £22m, you don’t want to be mentioned in the conversation as Ross McCormack, that’s for sure.

In our Manchester City Loan Watch feature, the Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a selection of players from the club are doing whilst they are away from their home and provides a brief update regarding their progress.

Arijanet Muric

Unfortunately for City’s Muric, he was once again left on the substitutes’ bench for Nottingham Forest’s win over former league leaders Swansea City, as he went a third game without appearing for the Championship club.

The Kosovan stopper, who saved a penalty from Harry Kane during the international break, was unable to persuade Sabri Lamouchi to reinstall him to the starting lineup off the back of his heroics at St. Mary’s.

Muric was left to witness Forest come away from the Liberty Stadium with a win from the sidelines, as the club stretched their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions and rose to 10th in the Championship table.

Jack Harrison

Elsewhere, Leeds United’s Jack Harrison was fortunate enough to get some game time for the Championship’s new leaders, as he played the first 45 minutes of their 2-0 win over Barnsley on Sunday afternoon.

Harrison remained as a starter as he has done for each of Leeds’ games so far this season, though the winger has not scored since their opening day win at Bristol City.

Aleix Garcia

Meanwhile, 22-year-old midfielder Aleix Garcia enjoyed a goalscoring debut as he started his loan spell at Belgian side Mouscron.

The Spaniard was on the scoresheet as Mouscron defeated KV Kortrijk in the Belgian top flight, as his new side went within a point of the table’s summit on the same day that Vincent Kompany’s Anderlecht suffered a home defeat to Royal Antwerp.

[ad_pod ]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…Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino produced an eye-catching response when a journalist asked him if he could manage Real Madrid in the future on Monday night, and his comments only further signal his heart just isn’t in it at Spurs anymore.

What did he say?

Speaking at the FIFA Best Awards, Pochettino told Edu Aguirre of El Chiringuito TV when questioned about whether he would be interested in a potential role at Real Madrid: “Maybe some year.”

The comments came on the back of a tough week for the north London outfit, who saw their two-goal advantage ruled out away at Olympiacos in the Champions League as they returned to England with one point instead of three, while Leicester City came from behind to beat them in the Premier League on Saturday.

Pochettino’s heart isn’t in it

It was just the latest sign that the 47-year-old isn’t happy at Tottenham, and who could blame him?

He had already thrown some doubt on his future immediately after the club’s Champions League defeat when asked whether he was staying, as he said: “It is not moment now to talk too much, as it can be interpreted in different ways.”

With Christian Eriksen wanting out and the contracts of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen due to expire next summer with no sign of extensions being agreed as things stand, the Argentine manager is in danger of losing three key players from the team he has been building ever since he was appointed in 2014.

In addition Danny Rose, Serge Aurier and Victor Wanyama all featured against Leicester despite the club reportedly wanting to offload them during the summer.

Something is clearly wrong and even the fans are beginning to question him following recent results, while Pochettino himself accused his players of failing to respect the game-plan against Olympiacos – the type of outburst you don’t often see from the former Southampton chief.

The Daily Mail has reported that he had to hold clear-the-air talks with Daniel Levy following a deterioration of their relationship during the summer, which won’t have helped.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Pochettino could easily have side-stepped the Real Madrid question on Monday, but the fact that he didn’t probably tells you all you need to know – The Mirror also recently reported that he would be the La Liga giants’ first-choice should they choose to axe Zinedine Zidane.

It could be a bumpy few days and weeks if the poor run of form continues then.

The former Fulham man made it very clear that he was proud to be representing the team he has supported his whole life.

The teenager may have only been a Liverpool player for a few months, but he seemingly loves the club as much as anyone.

Based on this Instagram post he will want to be a Reds player for a long time, and if he fulfils his touted potential there’s no reason why he can’t become a club legend.

Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier has shared his verdict on Marco Silva’s tactics, after Everton were beaten 1-0 at Burnley thanks to a goal scored from a corner kick routine.

Defending set-pieces has been a regular plight of the Blues under the tenure of Silva, with the Toffees conceding a league-high 16 goals from dead-ball situations excluding penalties last season, per WhoScored data.

After eight games in the current campaign, things are looking uncomfortably similar for the Goodison Park natives, as Saturday’s trip to Turf Moor saw Everton once again beaten from a set-piece routine, when Jeff Hendrick fired home the only goal of the day in the 72nd minute to further punish Silva’s 10-man side.

It was the fifth goal Everton have seen hit their net this term from a free-kick or corner routine, which accounts for 38 per cent of the total strikes netted against Jordan Pickford thus far.

Losing at Burnley left Everton sat above the relegation zone come full-time, with one point all that is separating the Blues from last season’s Championship winners Norwich City, and a win for Newcastle United against Manchester United on Sunday will see that Everton end the weekend inside the bottom three.

For former Southampton star Le Tissier, the tactical shape favoured by Silva when defending corners is causing him particular concern, and leaves Everton in a worrisome position.

“This is a really worrying time for Everton,” Le Tissier stated on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday (October 5, 17:29). “I have never been a fan of zonal marking. I much prefer players to take responsibility, get a man and if that man scores, you know where to point the finger.

“I’m sure there’s lots of research been done as to why people do use zonal marking, but no manner of statistics will ever back up what I felt like on a football pitch.

“It was a simple corner, which they almost got done by in the first-half. Corner to the back post, Hendrick’s right ’round the back, no one marking him, nearly scored from it the first-half, [Everton] didn’t learn from it at all, second corner [of the] second-half and this time he volleys it into the roof of the net.”

While Le Tissier points to zonal marking being the route cause of Everton’s struggles, it is a system, perhaps, favoured by many sides around the world thanks to its structured nature of handing certain players, certain responsibilities and areas they must cover should an opposing player enter them.

It can be argued that this awards the attacking team an advantage as their players can get a run on a defender, and benefit from that should they be forced into an aerial battle for possession, but with Everton’s goal conceded at Burnley, the issue was more through players not tracking Hendrick’s run, which left the Clarets midfielder with space to operate in.

Had one of Silva’s preferred defenders kept track of the 27-year-old, or intercepted the ball while in flight, they may not have left Turf Moor empty-handed and mounted more pressure on their head coach’s position.

Everton fans, is Silva the man to turn things around, or will he not be favoured a second chance for a second season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…

Queens Park Rangers have experienced mixed domestic fortunes in the last six years, having been promoted to the Premier League and falling back to the Championship in 2014.

But the fans have taken their minds off the current first team and expressed their admiration for a former player, namely Clint Hill.

Hill, who was with the west London side for six years, is set to appear as a guest speaker at the club’s Championship clash against Brentford, and the former QPR captain has clearly still got the admiration of some of the club’s fanbase, with some celebrating his legendary status at Loftus Road.

The 6ft centre-back represents something of a stalwart at the club after playing 185 times during his spell, scoring five goals and providing nine assists.

Given the length of his spell and his contribution, it’s absolutely no surprise that the prospect of his return has given the fans on Twitter plenty to shout about.

Indeed, Hill sent a tweet to speak of his excitement ahead of his return, and it’s fair to say the response was one of gushing admiration.

Check out some of the best reaction below…

Some QPR fans have taken to Twitter to react after Nahki Wells spoke about potentially making his loan spell into a permanent stay at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium.

“Of course football is a business and there’s a lot more that goes into it than just me saying I’d like to stay here. But if it was possible I wouldn’t hesitate one bit.”

The 17-cap Bermuda international returned to the R’s back in the summer, once again joining on loan from Burnley after spending the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign on loan with the Londoners.

Wells has started the current campaign in fine form with six Championship goals to his name in just six league starts under Mark Warburton – the 29-year-old has made nine league appearances in total this term, and finds himself just two goals off top-scorer Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The former Bradford forward has also netted once in the Carabao Cup – he certainly seems to be enjoying his second stint at the club.

One fan below said that he actually loves the 5 foot 7 forward, while another said that it would be the best signing in a decade if QPR manage to capture Wells on a permanent deal.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction to Well’s comments…

In an article in The Daily Record, Chris Sutton has claimed that Celtic forward, Odsonne Edouard, is a better striker than Alfredo Morelos because he has a much stronger “all-round game”.

At the same time, Sutton is adamant that the Parkhead side shouldn’t consider selling Edouard for as high a fee as £50m and that he will eventually leave for more than the £19.7m Lyon paid for Moussa Dembele.

When reflecting on a potential Morelos v Edouard debate, Sutton said:

“There’s always a lot of debate in Glasgow about Edouard versus Morelos and I think both will command top money eventually, but the Celtic striker is more marketable for me, with a much stronger all-round game”.

“Edouard scores goals but is also instrumental in the scoring being spread around the side. His importance right now cannot be underestimated”.

“Celtic just need to look across the city and see the importance of two strikers who can both be relied on to plundering goals. I don’t think Alfredo Morelos is out of the woods just yet in terms of his discipline but it does look like he’s got the message and cleaned up his act”.

A quick look over the last two seasons would give you an indication of how far off Sutton is with his claim that Edouard has a “much stronger all round game”.

This season, Morelos has 14 goals and 5 assists to Edouard’s 9 goals and 5 assists and the Colombian has also played 300 fewer minutes. Indeed, last season Morelos scored 30 and provided 11 assists to Edouard’s 22 goals and 8 assists.

Morelos is providing better numbers, Sutton also makes a reference to his disciplinary record though, both players are on three yellow cards for the season thus far.

It’s also important to remember that, in these comparisons, that Edouard cost Celtic £9m (via Sky Sports) whereas Morelos was just £900k, per the BBC at the time.

With all that in mind, it’s hard to agree with Sutton here.

Is Sutton right? Join the discussion by commenting below…