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Even though it might’ve been hard to imagine Bayern Munich ever letting themselves get into this position in the first place, the Bavarians are, according to a new report from Bild, at a stalemate in regards with David Alaba’s contract renewal.

This could indeed pave the way for Manchester City, or other interested parties, who would love nothing more than to grab the world-class player with a significant discount.

The same news outlet states the problem, as is usually the case, lies in the wages proposed by the club. So much so that the two parties have reportedly reached a stalemate since the Bavarians are refusing to offer collective wages that exceed €20m (£18m).

For the 28-year-old, that is simply not enough and his agent could now even be threatening the scenario of Alaba leaving on a free once his current deal with Bayern expires. This, needless to say, has immediately alerted both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, who would love to snatch the player up for a significant discount, or better yet, on a free transfer next summer.

Pep Guardiola himself is said to be a big admirer of Alaba and knows the player well from the time they worked together in the Bundesliga. Of course, if an agreement with the player can’t be reached, it’s largely expected Bayern will rather sell him for cheap now than wait a year longer to then offload an unhappy camper as a free agent.

For that reason, a move to the Etihad could be on the cards for the 28-year-old star.

Verdict

Needless to say, Man City are currently in an ideal situation – either they buy a world-class player for ‘peanuts’ now or wait an additional year to scoop him up for free. But, Guardiola should also be wary of other teams’ interest as well and PSG definitely have the financial power to give Alaba what he wants.

Seeing how versatile and how talented the 28-year-old is, it does seem like he just might be worth every penny.

Dennis Praet made his 11th Premier League appearance of the season in Leicester City’s 4-1 win at Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

It was actually the first time that the midfielder had started in the league since October 5 against Liverpool, with Brendan Rodgers playing a settled team in recent weeks.

According to WhoScored, Praet boosted an 87% pass success rate against Villa, whilst he also completed two dribbles during his 76 minutes on the field.

And a number of the Leicester fans were keen to hail the 25-year-old.

Praet also provided the assist for Jamie Vardy to make it 4-1 in the latter stages of the contest, and some of the supporters praised the midfielder for his telling contribution.

Others were just keen to simply pay tribute to Praet in general for his qualities as a footballer, with the Foxes starting to see the best of the Belgium international.

Leicester have now won their last seven in the Premier League and eight in all competitions during a spectacular run of form.

The Foxes are six points clear of third-placed Manchester City in the Premier League table, although they are still eight behind leaders Liverpool.

Meanwhile, a number of the club’s fans have recently paid tribute to one player who is now taking his chance under Rodgers.

After completing a permanent move for Ianis Hagi recently, Rangers are back at it again in the transfer market with the confirmation that they have signed Calvin Bassey on a pre-contract.

The former Leicester City starlet has inked a four-year deal with the Gers, and the Scottish side will only have to pay training compensation to their Premier League counterparts.

Can you name every one of the Rangers’ top goalscorers from the past 15 seasons? It’s a tricky one…

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And speaking after the deal was announced, Steven Gerrard waxed lyrical about his side’s latest recruit. He said: “There was a lot of clubs interested in Calvin and for us it’s pleasing to secure the services of another young talent.

“He’s a strong and dynamic athlete who is very much the modern day full back. He will develop further and we are excited to have made another strong addition to our group.”

After hearing about Bassey’s arrival, Rangers fans took to Twitter to voice their delight at the news.

A few fans paid special tribute to the club’s sporting director, Ross Wilson, for getting such a smart deal over the line, with one supporter insisting that with him leading the transfer front for the Gers, there are “very exciting times” ahead.

One Rangers fan hailed the deal for two particular reasons, praising the fact that the club are continuing to get their business done early, and also for bringing in cover for first-choice left-back Borna Barisic.

So it’s been a fairly impressive couple of weeks for Rangers.

Bringing in Hagi on a permanent deal was one major win considering his performances at Ibrox – the Romanian had netted three goals in 12 games – and now, they can revel in Bassey’s signing.

At just 20-years-old, he could potentially be an option for the present and the future under Gerrard.

Arsenal have officially sacked Unai Emery after they failed to win a game for seven consecutive matches across all competitions.

Of course, with no one at the helm but an interim manager at the very moment, everyone must be eager to see who the Gunner go for to replace the Spaniard.

Interestingly enough, Mauricio Pochettino, who was also sacked by Tottenham Hotspur just recently, has been one of the contenders linked with the gig.

But as Alasdair Gold concludes, the Argentine doesn’t really seem like that kind of guy who would coach his former club’s big rivals just a week after getting axed.

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Still, this prompted a discussion among many Spurs fans who simply can’t imagine their former gaffer becoming an Arsenal coach.

Some say it would never happen, some think that it possibly could and there are some who would simply feel heartbroken by it.

You can see many of their reactions to Gold’s tweet regarding the prospect of Pochettino moving across north London in the collection of tweets below.

Check them out…

In other news, many Spurs fans were not sure what to make of the club’s links with a 23-year-old German talent…

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

To say Newcastle’s style of football was tedious would probably be an understatement.

There is rarely an attacking threat and they seem quite willing to sit back and enjoy the play without actually having the ball at their feet.

In 2019/20, Steve Bruce’s men have averaged just 37.9% of the possession as they sit 14th in the Premier League.

They’ve scored the second-fewest goals of anyone in the division and their record £40m arrival of Joelinton has been extremely poor – scoring just once.

However, there is a man who could be key to helping this style work more concisely.

Best of the decade: Quickfire Quiz on the last 10 years of Premier League football

On the chalkboard

In recent times, Allan Saint-Maximin has been the go-to man. He’s provided St James’ Park with a sense of excitement and every time he gets on the ball you can hear the anticipation in the stands.

The £22.5m-rated winger has been a live-wire on the wing but with Joelinton occupying the forward spaces, his path to the goal is sometimes blocked.

Saint-Maximin may not have scored or assisted a single goal yet this term but he could be the answer to their problems in attack, especially considering the counter-attacking style Bruce operates with.

He is often the focal point in a wide area with the ball being worked quickly to the Frenchman in order to get at the defence.

His pace can cause all sorts of problems but with Joelinton misfiring and Andy Carroll and Dwight Gayle not scoring either, a new option could take shape.

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Saint-Maximin has managed a colossal 4.3 dribbles per game this term and against Manchester City, he completed seven of them. The same stat was also managed against Aston Villa and Wolves.

The 22-year-old was used as a central striker on the odd occasion in France, playing eight times in that role for Nice last term.

It’s a position he’s not unfamiliar with and he’d certainly provide a more athletic route to goal. Joelinton has proven sluggish and he often gets the ball gets on halfway and has little support or room to manoeuvre.

If that was Saint-Maximin, however, he may be able to get at the defence fluidly and transition Newcastle into attack in a more positive fashion.

Considering the lack of goals Newcastle have scored, they need greater urgency and the summer arrival could be the man to provide them with the much-needed impetus in a central area.

In other news, check out what Alan Shearer has had to say about numerous Newcastle players…

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…

Manchester City will travel to Anfield this Sunday as they take on league leaders Liverpool. The clash is set to be the biggest match of the season, as a win for the Reds puts them nine clear of the champions in the table.

The Reds are the only unbeaten side left in the Premier League, and Pep Guardiola is going to need the best from all his men across the pitch.

One position in which this match could be won or lost for City is the full-back slots. The players in this area of the pitch have varied in form and effectiveness in both attack and defence. So far, Guardiola has altered the full-back spots with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo at right-back, and Angelino and Benjamin Mendy at left-back in Oleksandr Zinchenko’s absence.

Walker came back in for Joao Cancelo over the weekend and underlined his credentials as a potent attacking weapon in the second half. His goal and assist earned all three points for City, however, his defensive capabilities could be a huge worry against Sadio Mane.

As for Cancelo, he has certainly been more of a defensive unit. The former Juventus man has averaged 2.4 tackles in the league so far. The Englishman has, however, averaged only 0.6 tackles per game and at the same time, averaged one foul per league match.

Guardiola will have to make a decision whether to go with more of an attack-minded plan with Walker or try and stop Mane with Cancelo’s defensive expertise.

The same applies to Mendy on the other side, who has averaged even less with 0.3 tackles, which is a worry against the threat of Mohamed Salah.

There is then the chance Angelino could play but the Spaniard lacks a lot of experience. The left-back has just eight appearances for City, which would surely have Salah licking his lips at the prospect of getting at the 22-year-old.

With Zinchenko out injured, it is such a tough decision to make for Guardiola and one that could win or lose the game. Does he go with a defensively suspect player in Mendy or is the City boss confident in Angelino, despite his lack of game time?

Either way, both Mane and Salah will get at them, and both of City’s full-backs will need to be at their immense best to nullify their collective threat.