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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

One man’s trash, could very well be Leeds United’s treasure.

Eddie Nketiah’s lack of minutes so far during his loan spell from Arsenal have been well documented and things nearly came to a head last week when the man at the centre of all the attention expressed his frustration at merely being a substitute.

However, Gunners boss Unai Emery has stated that he isn’t worried by the lack of minutes the 20-year-old is getting at Elland Road at the moment.

The Spaniard says that whilst he isn’t playing regularly, he will in the future because he is ‘going to deserve it’.

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So it would appear that Emery can really take or leave Nketiah’s development at Elland Road.

If the striker was really someone that he wanted to use in the future and potentially build a team around, he should be demanding that he play at every opportunity, because his development, and therefore usefulness to them in the future is at stake.

But the fact he appears to be so nonchalant right now strikes a tone of ‘If he makes it, he makes it. If he doesn’t, sell him on’.

A club like Arsenal will always be in a position to attract quality players. Consistently in European competitions, earning plenty of money along the way and in a major city like London, they’ll never be short of young talent available on their doorstep.

Leeds, however, are a long way away from where Arsenal are.

Whilst someone like Nketiah can come across as disposable to them, for a club like Leeds he could be a key player.

Emery’s words, therefore, should come as huge boost. Amid recent reports that the north Londoners may be willing to recall him, this suggests the opposite is, in fact, the case.

Since Patrick Bamford last found the net, Nketiah has scored eight times for club and country. It proves he’s the better goalscorer which makes the need to keep him even greater – especially for a side who sit top for shots per game but eleventh for goals scored in the division.

That’s why Leeds need to consider calling Arsenal’s bluff on the matter. Much in the same way they brought in Helder Costa in on a season-long loan in the summer before making the deal permanent in 2020, they might try to work out a similar deal for Nketiah down the line.

At least that way they’ll know what Arsenal’s real plans are. If they are willing to play ball it will give them the freedom to manage him more in their style. If they aren’t, they’ll know he won’t be their problem beyond next summer.

Either way, at least they’ll have their answer as to what Nketiah’s future, or lack thereof, is at Elland Road.

Watford have had an abysmal beginning to the season and some of the fans are starting to lose faith in the team after no wins in seven.

The club posted a video of the new manager dishing out instructions during training, but it wasn’t enough to give supporters the lift they need, with some suggesting they will need more than the organisation the Spaniard was commanding.

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However, greater cohesion in their defensive play would go a long way to helping Watford’s current predicament, given they have conceded 20 goals in only seven league games – the most of any side.

Their downbeat nature is understandable, therefore, and one fan believes it is time for the former Atletico Madrid manager to prove his worth, starting with the visit of Sheffield United on Saturday.

Should the Hornets pick up a win it could give their fanbase a much-needed boost and rid them of the pessimism they currently feel, as evidenced by the reactions below.

After the defeat to Burnley, Everton fans have erupted into a meltdown on Twitter, as their club dropped into the relegation zone, and taking much of this heat is the director of football Marcel Brands.

Two seasons prior to Brands’ takeover, the club were in the same league position to what they are now, as Ronaldo Koeman spent an incredible £259m during his time in charge of the Toffees but fought relegation early on in 2017-18.

Because of such a drastic net spend, yet poor results, Brands replaced Steve Walsh in the role to make the club “better and more equipped to challenge the top teams,” said Farhad Moshiri. Since then, the Dutchman has found the squad to be in a similar situation before he took over, having still splashed close to £200m.

Brands has indeed spent £197.73m and with Moshiri’s desire to play in the Champions League, the former PSV director of football has begun to take a lot of heat from the fans.

Back in his homeland, the 56-year-old has been successful in this role, winning three Eredivisie titles and one KNVB Cup during eight years at PSV Eindhoven, whilst helping win AZ Alkmaar’s second-ever league title in 2008 alongside Louis van Gaal.

In truth, the Dutchman has splashed the cash well, however, with Richarlison bagging 13 league goals last campaign, whilst Lucas Digne won the Player of the Year for the club. Although, despite this, the fans still believe there are major holes to be filled in the squad.

Here’s what they have had to say…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Moise Kean scored on his seventh appearance for Italy U21s on Tuesday and it could be just what he needs to have a successful season.

The 19-year-old arrived at Goodison Park in the summer with some expectation on his shoulders due to the £27.5m fee he cost Everton, as well as having a growing reputation of a striker who had performed well when called upon for Juventus.

It is possible that the pressure is weighing heavy as he is still yet to get off the mark for the Toffees, whilst the fact he made only six passes in his last match against Wolves shows he is yet to adjust to English football.

Despite that, he has proved useful to Everton on occasion and his impact from the bench, especially against Watford when he had two shots in 19 minutes, shows he could still be effective this year.

The striker may have been slightly frustrated by his limited game time and inability to score for his new club, and therefore to grab a goal for his country will be of huge relief, and help with his confidence.

He will be able to use that to spur him on in training and when he is given an opportunity to start by Marco Silva, who already seems to be impressed with his contribution, as Kean has started Everton’s last two matches.

Despite that, it is important he gets to grip with the Everton squad quickly in order to get off the mark for the Toffees. Failure to do so could see his confidence wane and with the likes of Cenk Tosun performing well on international duty there will be competition for places.

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It is possible that his manager will decide to utilise him alongside a strike partner, possibly Tosun, in order to get the best out of Kean, as that is a system which suits the Italian, with many of his Juventus goals coming when he had another striker to work with.

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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… 

Garry Monk’s barely been in charge for a couple of weeks, but he has already been tasked with several key decisions at Sheffield Wednesday.

What formation? He’ll be adaptable. Who will play in skipper Tom Lees’ absence? Dominic Iorfa. Where is Adam Reach’s best position? Out wide.

The next on the list is fitting Fernando Forestieri into the side as the forward comes to the end of his six-game ban for racial abuse.

With Steven Fletcher in a rich vein of goalscoring form, having bagged four this season, and Sam Winnall seemingly taking every opportunity after his winner against Huddersfield, it appears the Argentina-born Italian will have to fight his way in somehow.

On the Chalkboard

The Yorkshire Post stated that the 29-year-old is arguably one of the most gifted players amongst the Owls’ squad, yet he hasn’t lived up to such heights for a couple of seasons now.

His opening two seasons were rewarded with play-off runs, netting 15 in his first term as Wednesday’s top goalscorer and 12 in the next, per Transfermarkt.

Since then he’s managed just 11 combined and has struggled to maintain a place amongst the starting lineup – Forestieri has made only 21 starts across the last two campaigns combined which is less than any other season at the club.

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Monk’s recent comments about the forward bodes well for opportunity going by his recent return. The 48-year-old claimed that he “has shown a really good attitude and understands he needs to do the work.”

Forestieri has been given his own fitness plan to ensure he’s up to speed when the time calls and as mentioned, Monk sees Reach as a winger.

If you bear that in mind, there could well be a spot open in the number ten role or alongside Fletcher.

Those are two positions the former Italy youth international can play in and after scoring a thumping long-range effort from a central position last term, it would make sense to have him in one of those roles.

Once the forward does return to the side there’s a big decision to be made on whether he plays in midfield or as a striker.

Wednesday’s new manager has already got some important calls right so far so Forestieri could be his next success.

According to The Mirror, Serie A giants AC Milan are hoping to sign Everton youngster Ademola Lookman before the end of the January transfer window. 

However, The Toffees have so far insisted that the 21-year-old is not for sale, but will be bracing themselves for another bid from the Italian outfit.

The England under-21 international has struggled for game time so far this season under Marco Silva, managing only three starts in the Premier League. Two of those three starts have come this month, which gives the suggestion that senior figures at Everton were aware that the player was discontent. In order to placate him and avoid a move away, he has been granted game time. However, as they would have feared, there is growing interest in the winger.

Lookman had a wonderful spell at Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig last season, and has surely caught the attention of a number of clubs around Europe. Snapping up young English talent seems to be the in vogue thing to do around the continent currently, and Lookman may be another name on that list.

Everton can only really blame themselves for this as well. They have already shown an interest in a number of wingers this month, which would have made Lookman feel even more dejected, as Silva clearly does not see him as an option at the moment.

Everton will surely want to keep hold of Lookman, but from the player’s perspective, he must feel unwanted at Goodison Park, so a move to a club with such prestige that wants him would be right up his street.

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West Brom boss Slaven Bilic clearly likes to keep his options open after the latest news surrounding the club.

The Sun say that right-back Danny Simpson is training with the club as he looks for his next contract in professional football.

They claim that the free agent has been involved with the Baggies’ U23 squad after Bilic gave him permission to do so.

Albion added four players on deadline day and have since signed Ali Al-Habsi on a free transfer so Simpson could quite easily follow suit in a similar deal.

Several supporters have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts on the potential arrival.

One claimed Simpson would be a waste of a wage as the club already have two quality right-backs and another stated Darnell Furlong and Nathan Ferguson had been excellent.

The 32-year-old has been out of contract since his release from the King Power Stadium in May and has been linked with moves to both Crystal Palace and French outfit Amiens over the past month.

Another individual called him a decent player, but one that wasn’t needed with one fan believing the squad is big enough as it is.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

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Keith Downie has revealed that Diego Carlos is now ‘keen’ on signing for Newcastle United in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Talks underway

As per 90min journalist Graeme Bailey, the St. James’ Park faithful are ‘in talks’ with Sevilla to try and sign Carlos, although the La Liga outfit are trying to persuade him to sign a new deal in Spain.

Other names in the centre-back position have also been mentioned as potential targets, but Carlos seems to be the one that has the most legs.

However, given that the Brazilian is currently rated at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, it seems as if it could be an expensive deal to do.

The Latest: Carlos ‘keen’

Speaking to The Transfer Tavern, Sky Sports journalist Downie has revealed that Carlos is now personally ‘keen’ on a move to the North East, but has warned that Sevilla ‘hold the aces’ when it comes to whether they want to let him go this month:

“We’re hearing again from one source that the player would be keen on the move.

“But again, the club hold the aces when it comes to this.”

The Verdict: Worth it

Even though Carlos is likely to be an expensive deal, it would certainly be worth it from the Tyneside outfit’s point of view.

They have the second-worst defensive record in the top flight, and bringing in a commanding central defender would certainly help them concede fewer goals.

Nicknamed ‘The Beast‘, Carlos is exactly the kind of character that they need in the backline, and is already playing at the highest level in both the UEFA Champions League and La Liga.

Nonetheless, at 28 years of age, he is in his prime, and so he can help solve their problems straight away.

In other news, find out which two fresh targets have now been ‘discussed’ as potential NUFC signings here!

After falling to a disappointing 1-0 defeat against Newcastle United in their latest Premier League outing at Elland Road, it seems as though Leeds United and their fans will now be sweating on the fitness of one of their key players even after the current break in the season comes to a close.

What’s the latest?

Following on from the Newcastle defeat, Leeds journalist Phil Hay relayed comments from Bielsa on his official Twitter page revealing that striker Patrick Bamford may not be fit enough to return to action after the break when the Yorkshire club take on Aston Villa in their next Premier League match.

Bielsa’s words were: “A player who’s gone so long without playing it opens up a question mark about how long he needs to be able to maintain regularity.”

Bamford started Leeds’ first five Premier League games of the season where he managed to score one goal and provide two assists before staking his claim to be named as the unluckiest player in the league as a result of the constant fitness and injury issues he’s picked up since.

An ankle injury kept him out of action until he made a return in Leeds’ 2-2 draw against Brentford where he not only managed to score a late equaliser, but he then managed to injure his hamstring in the celebrations.

Fans will be fuming

Now that a potential return to action next month in time for Leeds’ match against Villa is looking uncertain, this will only add more frustration to Bamford, Bielsa and the Leeds supporters, who could really do with seeing the striker back in the team to help them pick up some positive results and move away from the relegation zone.

Having scored 17 goals in 38 Premier League appearances last season, Bamford not only showed how much of a danger he can be in front of goal but also how reliable he was for the team by appearing in all of their league games, highlighting how much of a different sort of campaign this one has unfortunately been for him.

As a result, to have the forward continuously not available, especially during the height of Leeds’ current injury crisis, will leave plenty of supporters rather upset and angry.

While it wouldn’t be wise to rush the Englishman back into action as the first chance of doing so, Leeds will need him in the team towards the end of the season if they want any chance of ending it on a high note.

In other news: “I understand..”: Insider drops worrying Leeds transfer claim, Bielsa will be fuming…

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves could be an excellent signing for Manchester United, according to Leeds United ambassador and pundit Noel Whelan.

The Lowdown: Neves linked with United move

The 24-year-old has continued to be a key man for Wanderers this season, excelling under the management of Bruno Lage at Molineux.

Neves has started 15 of his side’s Premier League matches, chipping in with a goal and assist apiece and averaging 2.1 tackles per match.

United have been linked with a move for the Portugal international next summer, as Ralf Rangnick looks to sign quality players in the middle of the park, where he is almost exclusively relying on Fred and Scott McTominay.

The Latest: Whelan talks up transfer

Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan, 46, claimed Neves could excel at Old Trafford:

“He’s a player who has been a real standout for Wolves. He’s got creativity, scores goals, set-piece taker, works hard off the ball, exciting on the ball – I think he would flourish at Man United.

“In the time he’s been in England and the Premier League, he’s really earned that big move. He’s one of three or four who have been so pivotal to Wolves’ success since they got promoted.

“He commands that respect, and you can definitely see why he’s a wanted man by clubs like Man United.”

The Verdict: Would be a massive loss

Neves has been such an integral part of Wolves’ success since they were in the Championship, making 194 appearances and counting. Former Wolves man Sylvain Deslandes admitted he and his teammates were ‘astounded’ by the former Porto captain’s ability when he joined.

The thought of losing the Portuguese talent is, therefore, hugely worrying, with his ability on the ball something that would be extremely difficult to replace.

Unfortunately, the lure of playing for a club of United’s stature could be too much to turn down, but with Neves’ contract not expiring until 2024, they would at least be able to get a huge amount for his services if a move did happen.

In an ideal world, he will continue to thrive at Molineux, however, with Lage building a team around him in the coming years.

In other news, Luke Hatfield has talked up Wolves signing a Premier League winner. Find out who it is here.