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As Father Time continues to catch up with Fernandinho, Manchester City’s desperate need for a new holding midfielder was perhaps never more important than this summer.

Pep Guardiola’s side eventually splashed the cash to bring Atletico Madrid star Rodri to the Etihad, and it’s fair to say the Spaniard has hit the ground running for his new club.

The 23-year-old notched his first goal for City in the defeat to Norwich in the Premier League, and delivered an impressive performance at the heart of midfield in the Champions League clash against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday night.

The Spain international managed four tackles, two interceptions and one clearance in a defensive masterclass, and the performance saw City fans flood to Twitter to share their thoughts on their summer signing.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Many supporters of the Manchester side hailed his “outstanding” display, with one fan in particular claiming he is undoubtedly the “best defensive midfielder in Europe”.

Some fans even compared him to Barcelona stalwart Sergio Busquets, and labelled Rodri as a “truly wonderful footballer”.

Check out some of the reaction of City fans below:

Milner’s teammates Andrew Robertson and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn’t help but share the moment…

Classic Milner indeed.

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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… 

Newcastle look set to wrap up a deal for Allan Saint-Maximin, and they now have perhaps the most brilliantly exciting, confusing and enigmatic front three in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie revealed on Thursday night that the Magpies are “on the verge” of completing a £16.5m deal for the OGC Nice winger.

The 22 year-old was then spotted on Tyneside on Friday, and it seems only a matter of time before he joins record signing Joelinton as the only arrivals so far this summer.

The deal could rise to £20m if add-ons and bonuses are met.

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On the chalkboard

For all the buzz and excitement around the January arrival of Miguel Almiron, he never really got going last season. Perhaps it was an adjustment period coming from the far inferior MLS, or perhaps it was because he didn’t have like-minded players alongside him.

Salomon Rondon and Ayoze Perez were popular with the Toon Army for a reason, and both enjoyed superb campaigns earning them big money moves to China and Leicester City respectively, but neither of them are the type of enigmatic, daring, make-something-out-of-nothing players that the Magpies now possess.

Almiron boasts an average of 2.9 shots, 1.8 key passes and 1.6 dribbles per game throughout the last few years, while he is also dispossessed 1.5 times and takes 2 unsuccessful touches each game, per Whoscored. However, he did not score once in ten Newcastle appearances last term, and averaged just 74.7% pass completion.

Similarly, Saint-Maximin’s last season with Nice produced 2.2 shots, 1.7 key passes and 4.2 dribbles per game, along with 2.4 dispossessions and a whopping 3.6 unsuccessful touches each game, per Whoscored. He only scored six times, and completed 76% of his passes.

Finally we have Joelinton, who scored only seven times in the Bundesliga last term, despite boasting 2 shots, 1.5 key passes and 1.7 dribbles per game. Again, he was dispossessed a lot (2.2) and took 2.9 unsuccessful touches per game, while he completed just 79% of his passes.

So how to put this nicely? Well, it is clear all three players have exceptional one-on-one ability, skill and the confidence to take defenders on, leaving them in the dust on their hands and knees, pondering the humiliation they just suffered.

They all shoot a lot, they all produce a lot of chances, both for themselves and others, and none of them are afraid to try and make something happen.

However, they also all struggle to find the back of the net, with the exception of Almiron’s final season with Atlanta United, and they all give the ball away at an alarming rate, while not being particularly tidy passers of the ball either.

Put simply, Newcastle’s front three is now boom or bust. One week they may embarrass defenders and rip teams to shreds, only to struggle to keep control of the ball or complete a pass the following week.

They are exhilarating, bold, skilful, frightening and impossibly unpredictable. They are also horrifically inefficient, wasteful and extremely raw… Should be run, right?

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

Per an article from The Sun, Manchester City have agreed an £8m deal to sign West Brom youngster Morgan Rogers.

What’s the word?

West Brom have already lost Craig Dawson in the transfer window whilst Jay Rodriguez has also walked out of the door too.

If that wasn’t enough, Ahmed Hegazi has also attracted the interest of Aston Villa this week.

It’s been a topsy-turvy start to the Slaven Bilic era but positive updates arrived in the form of Filip Krovinovic arriving on loan and Rekeem Harper signing a new deal.

However, more bad news is seemingly on the horizon after The Sun reported that Man City had agreed a fee with Albion to sign 16-year-old Rogers.

It’s a possible £8m transfer that would see him become the Premier League’s second most expensive player of that age after Theo Walcott joined Arsenal from Southampton in 2006.

Colossal loss

The Baggies have already seen one 16-year-old escape their clutches this summer after Louie Barry walked out of the Hawthorns with a move to Barcelona potentially on the cards.

He rejected a contract offer from West Brom but it now looks as though they’re going to lose Rogers too.

Yet, his departure could be felt even greater than Rodriguez’s.

The latter scored 22 goals for the senior team last term but at the age of 29, he isn’t getting any younger and it’s unlikely he will have stayed around for too long anyway.

Albion have been resigned to losing a number of talented youngsters in the past with Izzy Brown and Tyler Roberts two examples. However, this could be the biggest of them all.

Rogers is a player who the club could have built their future around and after already appearing for the first team in the FA Cup last term, seemed destined to stake his first-team claim in the not too distant future.

Having seen Harper and Kyle Edwards get their chance in 2018/19, there is a reason to believe he would have followed suit.

After all, this is a youngster who last season scored 18 times and claimed a further 11 assists in all competitions, cementing himself as one of the best players in the youth set-up.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

Despite Luke Dowling claiming he wouldn’t be surprised if Rodriguez stayed, the fact he had a release clause in his contract means they were arguably more prepared for a departure.

However, it’s unlikely they will be prepared to lose Rogers. This will be a mighty blow if he does indeed depart.

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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 would do wonders for their chances of survival next season by resigning Tyrone Mings.

The latest on his situation is that Villa are working on lowering his asking price, but it doesn’t appear as though there’s been a breakthrough in negotiations.

Mings was exceptional for Villa after signing on loan in January, significantly improving their defence as he helped them to go ten matches without dropping a point towards the back end of the campaign.

Playing 18 times, he lost just two matches after joining as he established a fine partnership alongside the likes of Kortney Hause and Axel Tuanzebe.

However, in the eventuality that he doesn’t sign, Adam Webster could well be on his way to the club in a £12m deal after The Sun reported that they were eyeing a move for the defender.

The centre-back stands at 6 ft 3, two inches smaller than Mings but he boasts a stat that may be somewhat surprising.

Despite Mings being taller, it is Webster who is better in the air, and it’s that trait which could make him a valuable asset if he does walk through the doors at Villa Park this summer.

In 2018/19, the Bristol City man won a massive 6.4 aerial duels per game, a tally that is streets ahead of Mings who only averaged three every 90 minutes.

The 24-year-old is nothing short of a colossus when it comes to winning headers and in one game he won as many as 17 last term.

It’s a statistic that nearly defies belief as his side somehow still lost 2-1 to Birmingham back in February. In a further game against Bolton he successfully won 13 aerial duels and in two games against Villa, he won another 14.

It was a remarkable season in terms of his numbers and across the 44 games he played, he won 392 aerial duels in total.

Only Mark Beevers from a defensive perspective finished the season with a higher average, 6.8, whilst Jake Cooper, 418, was the only defender to win more duels across the entire campaign.

So in terms of Webster’s ability to win headers, he’d certainly be a stellar addition. Whether he’d actually be better than Mings, however, would have to be determined if he signs.

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Celtic fans aren’t happy with Neil Lennon’s decision not to start Christopher Jullien in the club’s first competitive match of the season.

The Hoops have announced the starting eleven to play away at Sarajevo in the first round of UEFA Champions League qualifying.

How can Celtic improve next season? A Hoops fan tells us how in the video below…

Jullien, one of their big summer signings, does not feature with Lennon appearing to opt for a pairing of Jozo Simunovic and Nir Bitton in the heart of the defensive line, while it’s possible Kristoffer Ajer could be joining them in a back three.

The former Toulouse man has only had a week’s training with his new teammates, so it makes sense that the Hoops boss might not want to risk his fitness in a match of such importance.

Celtic are looking to progress to the group stages of the competition and have a gruelling four rounds of qualifying to navigate in order to do so, so it’s likely Jullien will feature sooner rather than later this summer.

Watch Celtic Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Fans though were hoping to see their new man in action tonight, taking to Twitter to share their thoughts…

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Leeds’ fixtures for next season have been announced, and the EFL haven’t been kind to the Whites with their scheduling.

The festive period presents the Yorkshire club with some of the most challenging fixtures they could ask for, and if they want to get promoted next season they need to improve on how they performed around Christmas last year.

Last season

Marcelo Bielsa’s team can count themselves incredibly lucky that they picked up as many points as they did over the Christmas and New Year period last term.

The Whites rescued four points with three injury-time goals against Aston Villa and Blackburn either side of Christmas. In these matches, Leeds looked off the pace and slow, and they were only saved by a late bit of brilliance from Kemar Roofe both times.

It’s unlikely that the Whites will get away with that again this season, and their poor performances ended up catching up with them. The Yorkshire outfit would go on to lose four of their next six games, including winnable matches against Nottingham Forest and Hull. This run saw them loosen their grip on the automatic promotion spots.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

This year their run of fixtures during that period is even harder; therefore, their performances need to step up.

This season

In mid-December, the Whites play two clubs who will expect to be promotion hopefuls in Cardiff and Fulham, before a Boxing Day clash with Preston who knocked Bielsa and co out of the EFL Cup last year.

The game after that is a tough away fixture at Birmingham City, who were the only side to do the double over Leeds last term.

Things don’t get easier from there – West Brom away on New Year’s Day is swiftly followed by a Yorkshire derby against Sheffield Wednesday.

Comparing this to last season’s run over the festive period, and you can see their fixtures are much tougher this time around.

United can’t allow themselves to lose focus around this time of year again, as last campaign it proved to be costly as the points they dropped around this time ruined their hopes of being promoted.

[ad_pod ]Derby County’s return to the Premier League has been put on hold for another year after they were beaten 2-1 in the Championship Playoff Final.In his first season as manager Frank Lampard guided the Rams to the final after a superb comeback against Leeds in the semi-final, but they could not make that extra step and their exile from the top-flight continues.Jody Morris, Lampard’s assistant, tweeted to congratulate Villa on their achievements and Sky Sports commentator Danny Higginbotham praised Morris for his accomplishments this season.

Lampard built a very well balanced squad this season, with the likes Richard Keogh, Martyn Waghorn and Bradley Johnson proving the perfect foil for the exuberance and energy of Mason Mount, Harry Wilson, and Jack Marriott.

Derby will lose some of their more prominent players in the summer because their loans will expire, however, Lampard has extensive contacts in the football world and will no doubt be looking to use them to get another batch of talented youngsters to move to Pride Park.

The Chelsea legends’ spell so far has been positive and, though they did not get promoted, he is putting the foundations in place to help Derby return to the Premier League.

As Higginbotham has alluded to, Morris and Lampard deserve immense credit for their achievements this season.

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Southampton are set to make a move for Charlton Athletic midfielder Joe Aribo this summer, according to The Express.

What’s the story?

The League One stand-out is out of contract at the end of the season and according to the paper has made it clear he won’t be staying with the Addicks whether they gain promotion to the Championship or not.

The report states Southampton had scouts watching him in action during Charlton’s recent play-off win over Doncaster Rovers and are looking to beat both Man City and Arsenal to his signature, as well as Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers.

Worth the fuss?

Aribo is certainly showing excellent potential in the third-tier, scoring 10 goals and assisting 5 times from midfield this term.

Still just 22 years of age, the Englishman appears to be ready to take the next big step in his career and wouldn’t be the first from the division to join elite sides in recent years, with the likes of Dele Alli and Josh Maja winning moves to Tottenham and Bordeaux.

Southampton fans may love Ralph Hasenhuttl but do the owners? Check out the video below…

Why join Saints over City and Arsenal?

Opportunity would be the main reason to forego the riches of the Etihad and Emirates to sign up at St Mary’s.

That’s not to say Southampton have a team of wasters ready to be replaced by League One talents, but the pathway to first-team appearances at Saints is much clearer than joining the super-rich top six sides.

If Aribo wants to make a career for himself in the Premier League then it makes sense to build his reputation at a mid-table club first and foremost.

Ralph Hasenhuttl is an ambitious manager who will be hoping Southampton can finish higher up the Premier League next term and being a key part of that rise could be more beneficial to Aribo’s development than warming Pep Guardiola’s bench.

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If you told Wolves supporters at the beginning of the 2017/18 season that they’d be in Europe within two years, they’d have called you a fool.

But lo and behold, going into the 2019/20 campaign, that’s exactly where they’ll be.

After finishing seventh in the Premier League, Nuno Santo’s men had to wait on Watford’s result in the FA Cup final last weekend to ensure their place in the Europa League.

Watford lost 6-0 and, as a result, the Midlands club will now enter the second qualifying round of the Champions League’s sister competition.

Wolves have a number of players who should be able to make the step up easily. Not least Joao Moutinho and Rui Patricio, who have European and international experience aplenty.

However, left-wing back Jonny is also someone the Molineux faithful can look towards to perform in crucial moments.

The Spaniard starred for Celta Vigo in their run to the semi-finals in 2016/17, a season where Wolves finished 15th in the Championship.

Jonny missed just eight minutes of Vigo’s European run before they were knocked out by Manchester United before the final. It was a performance from the Spanish side that defied the odds and Wolves can look towards that as inspiration.

The Wolves man played slightly further back at his former side, appearing as a traditional left-back, rather than in the role he plays in under Nuno Santo.

As a result, his defensive contribution was higher, making 3.8 interceptions per game. That’s compared to the 1.8% he’s made in the Premier League this term. It’s evidence of how well he reads the game and, in matches where the stakes will be high, Jonny’s influence will be vital if Wolves are to go far.

Jonny failed to score or assist throughout the campaign but did show encouraging signs in attack. On average he completed 1.1 dribbles per game, which was more than he’s managed since arriving in the Premier League. That’s despite playing further back.

Wolves fans have been great value this season and now they’ve added another couple of belters to their arsenal of songs. Check them out in the video below…

As well as featuring in all 12 Europa League matches, the 25-year-old also managed 30 La Liga games during the same season.

His durability will be particularly encouraging for Wolves, particularly as the club are expected to play a higher number of matches over the next year.