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Newcastle United have made an offer for Malaysian wonder kid Luqman Hakim, according to Arena (via NUFC Blog).

According to The Guardian, the 18-year old was on the list of ‘top 60 young footballers of 2019’ last year and has been tipped to make the move to Europe in the upcoming summer transfer window.

Hakim secured a deal of five years with Belgian first division team K.V. Kortrijk last year, which is owned by Vincent Tan, who English football fans will also recall is the owner of Cardiff City.

He graduated from a football development programme in Malaysia and seemed to graduate with flying colours, and was going to be rewarded by being able to train with Cardiff until he turned 18 in March earlier in this year.

However, that arrangement was postponed, and thus he has been playing with Malaysian giants FA Selangor instead.

Lionel Foy is the agent of the prospect and has claimed there are lots of teams in the Premier League interested in securing the signature of the striker, however, it is not known yet if he would be allowed to be given a work permit first that would allow him to play in the English top flight.

Nevertheless, if the Magpies’ offer for Hakim is accepted by his club, then it could possibly be a sign that the proposed takeover at St. James’ Park will go through.

Given his strong connections in Asia with Malaysia, the youngster could attract more supporters from that part of the world, and could be an incentive for the Saudis especially to push through their £300 million bid.

Only time will tell whether their deal with Mike Ashley goes through, but if it does, Hakim could be a catalyst for that given his Asian connections.

Geordies, do you see any link between the Hakim offer and the Saudi takeover? Comment below!

According to Football Insider, Chris Hughton has told friends that he is set to take the hot-seat at Bristol City, meaning that Glasgow Rangers’ Steven Gerrard is all but out of the picture.

Gerrard, who has now been at Ibrox for two seasons, had been linked with a move to the English Championship side along with the former Brighton boss, with him emerging as a shock target for the club’s billionaire owner Steve Landsown. However, if Hughton’s reported latest words are anything to go by, the former Liverpool man will not be moving on from his current job any time soon.

There would have been plenty of reasons why a move to England would be appealing to Gerrard. After all, that is likely where he will want to end up in the long term, and the Championship is a very competitive league. Also, he would have more funds available to him – for example, last term the Ashton Gate outfit spent £29.39m, whilst the 54-time Scottish champions have not spent that much in the last two seasons combined.

Having said that, Gerrard still has unfinished business north of the border – he is still without a trophy at the Gers and, although there have been some positive signs, such as their progression to the Europa League round of 16, the only real success that will count, at the end of the day, is silverware.

As such, it is a big boost for the club that Gerrard looks as though he will be staying put – clearly, he is still hungry and believes that he may not be too far away from reaching his goals.

Let us know what you think 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…

Speaking to BBC Sport, Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo has hailed Adama Traore for his performance against Bournemouth.

What did he say?

The former Barcelona man has been an integral part of the Molineux side this season, racking up an impressive 20 appearances across all competitions, and scoring two goals and providing a further five assists.

And against Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League, the Spaniard was at his rampaging best, completing his two attempted dribbles, making two key passes and creating two big chances – all in all, it earned him an 8.0 match rating as per Sofascore, with only his teammate Joao Moutinho bettering it amongst Wolves players.

Speaking after the game, Nuno hailed the winger for his contributions, both offensively and defensively, but insisted he still has a lot of things to improve.

He said: “He’s a very important player. The idea is to create versatile players that can adjust, we have a very small squad so we need all the momentum that the players must have. Now Adama is doing well, but he has a lot of things to improve. He is exceptional. The way he helps the team, not only the offensive work that he does, the defensive side in keeping the shape and pressing and stealing balls is amazing.”

Vital

Make no mistake about it, where once before Traore may have been seen as a pace merchant, he is beginning to add a real end product to his game. It was no surprise therefore to see him pick up an assist in his side’s 2-1 victory over the Cherries on Saturday, whilst he also produced two successful crosses.

But as Nuno alludes to, the £13.5m-rated ace’s willingness to do the dirty work sets him apart, and ensures he is quickly becoming a trusted lieutenant for his Portuguese manager. If he continues to perform like he has been doing all season, then there is no reason why Wolves cannot replicate their mighty fine achievement of finishing in seventh place in the Premier League last year.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have hailed Heung-Min Son after the club commemorated his 200th appearance for the club.

The South Korea international brought up the anniversary during the club’s 2-1 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

During those appearances, the 27-year-old has netted 72 goals in total and also provided 39 assists; 44 of those goals came in the Premier League, from 138 outings.

And Spurs’ official Twitter account posted a tweet on Wednesday celebrating the attacker’s contribution since his move to north London.

Of course, he joined the club in 2015 after a two-year spell at Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, with the north London club paying a reported £22m for his signature.

And supporters have taken the chance to wax lyrical about Son, who has already been in fine form this term, netting five times and registering three assists in all competitions.

Take a look at the best of the reaction from fans on Twitter 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…

Following Wolves’ 1-1 draw on Sunday afternoon, opposition manager Steve Bruce has given his thoughts on a key moment during the match.

In the second half, Matty Longstaff received his marching orders for a dangerous tackle on Ruben Neves, but the Newcastle United boss’ comments show a worrying lack of sympathy.

What’s he said?

A well-placed close-range finish from left wing-back Jonny ensured that Wolves returned to the west Midlands with at least a point after his goal cancelled out Jamaal Lascelles’ 37th-minute header.

Newcastle ended the match with ten men after Longstaff went in late on Neves with what was a completely unnecessary challenge seven minutes from time.

In his post-game press conference, Bruce said:

“The behaviour of Neves… when they’re rolling around like that, you know they’re not hurt. If you’re hurt, you just stay motionless.

“He’s not in control of his foot, but how is he supposed to be when he’s just played the ball?

“In that respect I think it’s harsh on the boy (Longstaff), I really, really do.”

Outrageously outlandish

Firstly, Bruce is right to defend one of the most inexperienced and youthful members of his squad as he will likely face some sort of backlash from such a reckless tackle – even more so if it had cost them the match entirely.

But his comments are far too extreme to the point where you’re questioning if he’s even seen the incident correctly.

The 19-year-old has gone into the challenge with his studs showing, and instead of trying to evade Neves’ entire leg completely, his boots roll up his thigh.

It could have quite easily been a leg-breaker.

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The Portuguese midfielder was hardly rolling around either as you could audibly tell he was in a lot of pain, so Bruce is completely wrong on that front.

But to then go and say it was a harsh call… that’s simply outrageous. It was a horrible challenge.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Carles Alena has an agreement with Barcelona that the midfielder would be best off leaving the Spanish champions on loan in January.

The 21-year-old started Barca’s 2019/20 opener at Athletic Bilbao but was replaced at the interval and has not been seen in the first team since.

According to Mundo Deportivo, both parties feel that a loan move at the start of 2020 would make sense, and Tottenham are closely monitoring developments.

Despite being frozen out in recent months, Alena actually made 27 first-team appearances for the Catalan giants last season, including 17 La Liga outings.

A number of Tottenham fans have been on social media offering their views on the latest developments.

And it would be fair to say that the majority are not interested in a loan move for the midfielder, who has been capped on two occasions by Spain’s U21 side.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available below:

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

A setback, but not a disaster.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Samba Sow picked up a hamstring problem in the victory over Brentford before the international break.

Speaking on the injury, Forest boss Sabri f said they may lose him ‘for a bit’, although he couldn’t give a more accurate time frame.

Whilst the international break will take care of some of the time he’s going to be out, that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth talking about who could potentially replace him in the Forest line-up.

Just in case it is either worse than first imagined, or it is the type of problem that could end up being a recurring issue for Sow further down the road, let’s explore the options.

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On the chalkboard

The biggest factor in replacing Sow is working out who can replace him in terms of his defensive work. Sow is averaging 4.2 tackles per game, as well as 2.1 interceptions and 0.6 blocks.

As has been touched on in a previous edition of the Chalkboard series, Alfa Semedo has found game time rather hard to come by because of the impressive form of Sow.

Given that he has operated predominantly as a defensive midfielder throughout his career it wouldn’t be out of the realm to push him into that slot.

Although he’s going to have to show more of a willingness to put in a tackle, 1.3 per game isn’t going to do a lot of good.

Find out which stadiums fans have nominated for the worst atmosphere in football in the video below…

Another interesting figure that could come in handy is journeyman John Bostock.

The midfielder has bounced around a lot during his career, but he’ll have to return to the sort of form he was putting in when he was at Bursaspor when he averaged 2.5 tackles per game, which will put him ahead of Semedo when it comes to that department.

Perhaps the most intriguing option in all of this is Sow’s current partner in defensive midfield Ben Watson.

He has been putting in the most effort when it comes to the defensive side of the game, averaging 2.5 tackles per game and 1.5 interceptions, which puts him above both Bostock and Semedo. Therefore, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest he should just carry on what he’s doing.

Going with just Watson could require a change in formation from 4-2-3-1 to a 4-3-3 and although Watson has worked well in a partnership, at the age of 34 it can be argued that he wouldn’t have the legs to hold down the fort all on his own.

Consequently, that would make it tough for Lamouch to replace Sow.

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… 

Some Liverpool fans have been critical of Mohamed Salah’s recent performances, but his statistics against Leicester tell a different story.

Salah has become a victim of his own success. The Egypt international scored a ridiculous 44 goals in his first season at Anfield, and has racked up 77 goals and 32 assists in all competitions for the club since his arrival.

Because of that insane production level, the 27 year-old is now criticised any time he doesn’t get on the score-sheet or provide a goal, and some Reds fans have bashed his recent form.

However, Liverpool’s Egyptian King actually put in a very good display when the Foxes came to town this weekend, racking up a 7.2 rating on Sofascore, which was only bettered by four players on the pitch.

Per Sofascore, Salah completed every dribble he attempted, carving out opportunities for himself and mustering five shots at goal, although three of those were blocked. He was fouled the most of anyone on the pitch (four) – the defenders just couldn’t deal with him.

He was also a quality source of chances for his teammates, completing 75% of his passes despite attempting mostly forward, incisive balls, including three key passes, one of which was a lovely piece of link-up play that ended with Sadio Mane shooting just wide.

The £34m man didn’t stop there though, harassing the visiting defenders constantly, winning eight out of 12 duels. To put that into perspective, Mane won eight out of 17, Roberto Firmino won just four out of nine, while Virgil van Dijk won eight out of ten.

Salah did lose possession 13 times, but that is a completely reasonable number for an attacking player. Mane surrendered the ball 14 times, Firmino 12, while full-backs Andy Robertson and Trent Alexander Arnold combined for a whopping 71 losses of possession.

So, if Salah was “abysmal” and “wasteful” then so were his strike partners, so were the famed Liverpool full-back duo, and so was pretty much every player on the pitch.

You’d be hard pushed to find another player who could rack up three key passes, three dribbles, five shots and eight duels in a match and receive calls to be benched.

This Saturday evening we have a real treat on the menu in La Liga. Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano and that clash just might be decided in the middle of the park.

On the chalkboard

Real Madrid will be making a short trip across the capital and meeting their city rivals, Atletico Madrid, in one of the first big derbies of the ongoing campaign.

As it currently stands, it will be a clash between first and third-placed teams in Spain and the victory for either would be huge at this point in the season.

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But looking at the personnel and the squad both giants have at their disposal, whoever wins the battle for supremacy in midfield just might go on to win the whole game.

With that in mind, Toni Kroos’ clash against Koke is looking likely to be a key battle come Saturday night.

The midfield generals

Real Madrid’s 29-year-old German maestro has really been blowing hot and cold so far this season.

Even though he was harshly criticised recently, Kroos managed a masterful performance against Osasuna which proved that when he’s on his best, not many can go toe to toe with him.

And Los Blancos will certainly need him to be at his best against Atletico Madrid’s own general in midfield – Koke.

The 27-year-old has so far tallied one assist in the ongoing campaign but has also registered 2.7 key passes and 0.5 shots per game in La Liga. Kroos is also not far behind. In fact, he edges Koke out in both with 3.3 key passes and 2.2 shots per game.

The Spaniard, however, makes more interceptions per game with his 1.5 outshining Kroos’ 0.8. As far as tackling goes, the situation is once again pretty close and there’s just a slight margin between the two midfielders.

Koke has averaged 1.3 tackles while Kroos is on two per game but the former is definitely harder to dribble past with that only happening once per game on average so far. The German, however, has been dribbled past 1.5 times per game.

Judging purely by the stats, it looks like Real Madrid just might have a small advantage going into the game but the venue should also not be disregarded.

Atletico Madrid’s home, the Wanda Metropolitano, is definitely not an easy fortress to conquer as Diego Simeone’s men are yet to be defeated there across all competitions in the 2019/20 season.

If, however, the Galacticos manage to dominate the middle of the park, they just might stand a chance of changing that.

Lots of Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was revealed that Gary Cahill had won the club’s Player of the Month award for September.

The 61-cap England international played every minute of the action last month, helping the Eagles pick up four points from games against Tottenham, Wolves and Norwich, keeping one clean sheet in the process.

Palace were moments away from making that two, although conceded a 95th minute equaliser against Wolves.

Cahill has shone since signing on a free transfer after leaving Chelsea, helping Palace take 11 points from their first seven games, just one point off 4th-place Arsenal – does a Champions League spot beckon for the south Londoners?

Probably not.

Nevertheless, Cahill has been brilliant and he deserves the award.

One fan doesn’t agree, however, saying that Vicente Guaita was “robbed”, although the rest of the responses are kinder to the 33-year-old.

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