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According to Sky Sports, West Ham United are interested in signing Sheffield United midfielder John Fleck before the end of the January transfer window.

The news emerged on Monday, with Sky Sports claiming that the Hammers have already held talks with Sheffield United over a potential £4m deal.

Samir Nasri officially joined West Ham earlier this month, as per whufc.com. Well, was at least cleared to play following a long spell out of the game.

Aside from that, it has been a quiet transfer window for the Hammers, although the recent Marko Arnautovic saga did take up a lot of time.

It would be a surprise if Fleck moved to the London Stadium this week, especially for £4m when considering that he still has three-and-a-half years left to run on his contract at Sheffield United.

However, the Scot is a talent and in our opinion deserves a shot in the Premier League.

The West Ham fans have been on social media offering their views on the transfer report, and a selection of their reaction can be seen below:

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Mohamed Salah has been voted the first PFA Bristol Street Motors Fans’ Player of the Month of 2019 by football fans across the country.

In a vote run by fan engagement experts Snack Media, the Egyptian winger won by a huge landslide, polling ahead of Manchester United trio Paul Pogba, David De Gea and Marcus Rashford, as well as Manchester City’s Leroy Sane and Watford’s Troy Deeney.

In the first of four divisional votes carried out over seven days via Snack’s digital and social networks, which was supported by top flight football clubs and the press, it was clear that Salah’s performances last month – which saw him bag three goals in four January appearances – caught the attention of Premier League fans the most.

That is despite some very strong displays from some of the other candidates nominated for January’s award, including Rashford and Pogba who either scored or assisted six Premier League goals between them last month, while Sane grabbed two goals and one assist.

The Championship vote opens at 11 am on Monday 7th January. To vote go to:

www.footballfancast.com/pfa-awards

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Barry Douglas was outstanding for Wolverhampton Wanderers last season and there was a lot of excitement when Leeds United were able to sign him in the summer.

The 29-year-old has found it difficult to show his best form for the Whites this season, however, and the Leeds fans have decided to let him know about it.

Douglas did register his fourth Championship assist of the season against Norwich City at the weekend, but could not prevent his side from suffering a 3-1 loss.

The 5ft 10in ace was actually a half-time substitute against the Canaries, having been on the sidelines in recent weeks through injury.

On Monday, Leeds’ official Twitter account drew attention to the fact that Douglas had contributed an assist against Norwich.

However, it would be fair to say that the social media post did not go down very well with United fans, who have criticised the Scot.

Indeed, a number have claimed that they have been disappointed with what they have seen from Douglas throughout the 2018-19 campaign.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Fulham’s misery continued through the weekend when they received another thrashing from Manchester United. A 3-0 loss at Craven Cottage not only dented their survival hopes even further but also lowered the team morale. Indeed, changes are necessary if Claudio Ranieri wishes to keep them up.

The tinkering Italian’s tried a lot of things with the Cottagers and its high time he gets them back to their basics. To do so, Ranieri needs to trust talented youngster Ryan Sessegnon. A major reason for their promotion, Sessegnon hasn’t really done that bad to fall out of favour.

Ranieri has preferred Joe Bryan ahead of him, when Sessegnon provides a better attacking threat, giving more options going forward. Now in need of throwing in the proverbial kitchen sink, the Italian needs to take risks and play a more encouraged attacking game.

Sessegnon provides different options on the left, with his pace and impressive ability to carve chances troubling teams. He’s already provided 5 assists, as well as scoring twice for Fulham this season, with his impressive crossing ability along with a knack of cutting into the box working in his team’s favour.

With Aleksandr Mitrovic isolated in the box after being fed nothing and Ryan Babel frustrated on his own, Sessegnon’s attacking vigour is required to turn things around.  He’s also very stable defensively and can work hard to keep things tidy at the back. Ranieri just needs to let the 18-year-old express himself to try and turn things around for the Cottagers.

If he doesn’t, Fulham are going down without a whimper.

Celtic’s hopes of progressing in the Europa League were severely dented following a 2-0 defeat against Valencia.

The Scottish champions were well below par at Celtic Park and fell behind on the stroke of half-time when Denis Cheryshev opened the scoring for the visitors. After the interval, their advantage was doubled as Cheryshev turned creator to set up Ruben Sobrino. The Hoops were unable to get on the scoreline meaning they have a mountain to climb in the return leg in order to reach the quarter-final stage.

Despite their impressive form of late, Celtic were simply outclassed by the Spaniards. Their passing was sloppy and conceded from two mistakes that could have easily been avoided. The defeat highlights the need for quality reinforcements when the summer transfer window opens if Celtic are to improve on their woeful away record in Europe next season.

One man Brendan Rodgers could look to sign is Norwich City maestro – Emiliano Buendia. Valued at just £2.25m by Transfermarkt, the Argentine forward signed for the Canaries back in July and has proven to an instant hit with his new employers. Buendia has been one of the club’s most impressive performers during their rise to the top of the Championship table.

The former Getafe man has netted three goals and registered 12 assists in all competitions – he would add another dimension to the Hoops’ forward line. Comfortable on either wing or through the centre, Buendia is the creative force for his side, averaging two key passes per game in the league this season. As well as his attacking exploits, the 22-year-old would be a massive hit with supporters due to his fantastic work-rate, tracking back to win 2.6 tackles on average this season (WhoScored).

Still improving and developing, Rodgers could transform the former Argentina U20 international into Celtic’s next hero.

Celtic fans, thoughts?

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Leeds United’s title bid took a hit on Tuesday as they slumped to a 1-0 defeat to QPR at Loftus Road.

Despite having led the Championship for much of the campaign so far, a recent loss of form has caused Marcelo Bielsa’s side to slip into third place. Veteran Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam believes there are two factors behind the Whites’ struggles.

What he said

Speaking on talkSPORT’s Alan Brazil Breakfast Show (27/02, 7am), as quoted by HITC, the 33-year-old said “earlier in the season they gave us a bit of a doing, but in the last match we played them they never really created much. They must be a good team to be up there all season, but I don’t think Spygate helped them as a club.”

Tensions boiled over between Leeds and Bolton at the weekend and our man Thogden was on the scene. Check out the video below…

The 26-cap Scotland international has blamed a lack of creativity and the fallout of the ‘Spygate’ scandal for the Elland Road club’s woes. However, Adam offers some solace for Leeds fans by saying “it’d be great to see them back in the Premier League but they need to steady the ship now and get over the line. Doesn’t matter how they do it, they just need to get the points they need somehow. It’s a tough league but they’ve got the balls to go score late goals so they’ve always got that going for them.”

Getting back in business

Leeds certainly do have a habit of scoring important late goals, and Adam is right, they do have the quality to claw their way back to the top of the pile.

All they’ve been missing in recent weeks has been the finishing touch. Defensively they’ve largely remained very solid and some of their build up play has been scintillating. All too often, though, the final pass or finish has been lacking.

25-year-old striker Patrick Bamford has the ability to be prolific at this level but looks to be struggling for confidence currently. If Bielsa can get the No. 9 firing soon then Leeds could quickly be back in business.

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Everton marked a return to form with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Cardiff City on Tuesday. A well-taken brace for Gylfi Sigurdsson and a late Dominic Calvert-Lewin strike sealed the points for the Toffees against the Welsh outfit.

Marco Silva believes that this result can give his side some momentum heading into Sunday’s all-important Merseyside derby.

What he said

As quoted by The Mirror, Silva said: “I hope the Cardiff result can give us the boost we need and we all want to achieve a good result again on Sunday.”

Who have been the biggest title race bottlers? Liverpool? Spurs? The Pl>ymaker FC squad discuss in the video below…

Everton will be keen to secure a rare triumph over their bitter local rivals. Victory for Silva’s men at Goodison Park this weekend would also severely damage Liverpool’s title chances.

Mind games

Jurgen Klopp’s league-leaders head into this crunch encounter with so much on the line. If Manchester City beat Bournemouth on Saturday, and Liverpool then fail to win against Everton, then the Reds will fall behind the reigning champions in the Premier League title race.

The fact that Silva feels his side have received a boost going into this game must be a worry for Liverpool fans. The pressure is already hugely on the visitors, the last thing they need is for their rivals to be on a high heading into the game.

Silva will hope that his words have the effect of unnerving the undoubtedly already edgy visitors before the match. Certainly, from his perspective, guiding Everton to victory would make him an overnight hero to the Goodison faithful.

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Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to discuss a move for Stoke stopper Jack Butland and have also given their views on the situation regarding Spaniard Vicente Guaita, who Palace have doubts over regarding his long-term commitment to the club.

According to The Sun, the Eagles are eyeing up a £15m move to sign England international Butland, who stayed loyal to the Potters following their relegation to the Championship.

Another season in England’s second tier, however, will reportedly see Butland have to take a pay cut, so a move back to the top-flight could well be on given the fact that Nathan Jones is unlikely to guide Stoke to promotion this season.

As a result, the south London-based side have been keeping tabs on the situation and are likely to make a move in the summer, should Guaita return to La Liga.

Guaita has impressed since breaking into the starting eleven, so let’s take a look at how the Palace fans reacted to the news on Twitter…

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According to The Mirror, Arsenal are set to go head-to-head with north London rivals Tottenham for the signature of Newcastle hero Fabian Schar, who has adapted impressively to English football since his summer move from Deportivo de La Coruna.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Switzerland international has quickly become a fans’ favourite at St James’ Park after a string of exquisite performances since his bargain £3m move back in the summer.

Schar has impressed with his eye for goal – he has three to his name – including two goal-of-the-season contenders, whilst his calmness and composure on the ball are just a few of his many eye-catching traits.

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His ability to break the lines with his passing skills on the right of a three-man defence has been a huge feature of the Magpies’ game this season, and he would certainly be an impressive addition for one of Arsenal or Spurs.

He would be ideal for Arsenal

The Gunners should focus heavily on a defensive overhaul this summer. Currently, Unai Emery has a creaking defence consisting of 33-year-old Laurent Koscielny, 33-year-old Nacho Monreal, 30-year-old Sokratis and 35-year-old Stephan Lichtsteiner, as well as the error-prone Shkodran Mustafi.

If reports are true, and Emery’s summer budget will be just £40m, then a move for Schar should be a priority, especially given the fact that the Gunners also play with a three-man defence at times – the former Basel defender should need no time to settle in at the Emirates if he were to move.

His ability on the ball, and the fact that he is arguably in his peak at 27 years of age, should be enough to encourage Emery to make Schar one of his main targets this summer to bolster a backline that isn’t getting any younger.

The Gunners reportedly monitored Schar during his time with Basel, and should certainly reignite their interest in him.

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Marco Silva should stray away from his preferred lone striker system for the big match against Chelsea, and instead deploy a two-man attack with Cenk Tosun partnering Richarlison up front.

Why should he do this?

Despite having a fantastic first half of the season, summer signing Richarlison has endured a woeful 2019, in which he has scored just three goals in three-and-a-half months, compared to nine goals before the turn of the year.

At times, the big-money striker signed from Watford has looked lost upfront, with little aerial support or any form of hold up play from those around him such as Bernard, Theo Walcott and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

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In Tosun, Silva has a decent frontman who has been criminally underused this season, despite a fantastic end to the previous campaign in which he hit five goals in 12 starts.

The Turkish international is a far more physical presence than his Brazilian teammate Richarlison, but much less mobile – combined, however, the two could be the perfect foil for each other’s talents and wreak havoc up front against the Blues.

Who would make way?

A much maligned figure who somehow keeps his place in the team week in, week out, is Walcott.

The former Arsenal man, who turns 30 today, has managed to score just twice in the league this season, whilst setting up three more, but has somehow made 29 appearances, 23 of them from the first whistle.

A much more effective looking attack would be for Silva to switch his preferred 4-2-3-1 system into a 4-2-2-2 formation, with Bernard and Sigurdsson as the central attacking midfielders, and Tosun and Richarlison in the two central striking positions.

By doing this, the Toffees will hopefully see Richarlison return to his best form, whilst they would also be able to afford Tosun some much needed game time which could put him in the shop window for the summer if he performs well – the 27-year-old has made just nine league starts this season.