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With £19million summer signing Diogo Dalot back to full fitness, Jose Mourinho has a selection headache at right-back.

The Portuguese boss has all of Matteo Darmian, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia and the aforementioned Dalot to choose from in what is a rarity for the Red Devils this season, due to injuries.

Additionally, the fact that all of them have featured at some point this season makes it hard to decipher who Mourinho will go with. The 19-year-old, signed from Porto in the summer, has made just one appearance due to injury, coming against Young Boys in the Champions League.

Thogden witnessed Wayne Rooney’s final England cap. Check out his vlog here…

Naturally, as he is the only player Mourinho signed out of the quartet, one would assume that he would go with his fellow countryman, although the ever dependable Young hasn’t let many people down this season.

Valencia, who was first choice last season, has been in and out of the team after he liked an Instagram post calling for the former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss to be sacked.

Enough speculation. Why don’t you have your say at who you think will start against Crystal Palace by voting in the poll below…

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Southampton are out of the Carabao Cup after Leicester City won on penalties on Tuesday night, to set up a quarter-final tie with Premier League leaders Manchester City.

Mark Hughes’ men made the long trip north from St Mary’s Stadium, and the Welshman handed Irish forward Michael Obafemi his first start for the Saints.

Hughes had called on Obafemi from the bench three times in the Premier League already this season, and the teenager made his senior Republic of Ireland debut against Denmark earlier this month.

Against Leicester, the 18-year-old led the line and had an excellent opportunity to open his Saints account with the scores level, but he was unable to find the net when well placed.

Playmaker 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…

The St Mary’s outfit went on to lose the tie 6-5 on penalties after VAR ruled against Nathan Redmond when Steven Davis hammered home after 82 minutes – Roger East deeming the English winger had handled the ball in the build-up.

Obafemi had started in place of the injured duo of Danny Ings and Shane Long, as well as 29-year-old forward Charlie Austin, who has scored once in 11 outings this season.

Despite Obafemi missing his best chance to score and their side going on to lose the game, these Saints fans were optimistic about what the future holds for the teenager…

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Arsenal travel to the Vitality Stadium on Sunday to take on Eddie Howe’s in-form Bournemouth side who have made a fine start to the Premier League season.

However, the Gunners themselves will be arriving hoping to extend their unbeaten run in all competitions to 17 matches. The north London club will have to be at their best defensively though to get a result against the Cherries, so manager Unai Emery has a big selection decision to make ahead of this weekend’s clash.

Playmaker FC’s Theo Ogden was at the Emirates to witness Arsenal’s qualification for the Europa League last 32. Check out his match diary in the video below…

Rob Holding’s recent performances mean that the 23-year-old ought to be a certainty to start on Sunday. That leaves 20-cap Germany international Shkodran Mustafi and 30-year-old summer signing Sokratis vying for the central defensive berth alongside the Englishman.

Whilst the 85-cap Greece international has struggled with some fitness concerns in recent weeks, Mustafi has regularly lined up alongside Holding. On occasion the 26-year-old has been impressive, particularly against Liverpool. His form is unreliable though, and he was poor against Wolves last time out.

Therefore, if the 6ft 1in Sokratis is back to full fitness and ready to start, he ought to be included from the off against Bournemouth.

What do you think, Gunners fans, should Mustafi or Sokratis start on Sunday?

According to a recent report from The Daily Mirror, West Ham are one of a few Premier League sides interested in striker Emiliano Sala. The 28-year-old currently plays his football at Ligue 1 outfit Nantes and has done so since leaving Bordeaux back in 2015, with his fine goal-scoring exploits in the French top-flight attracting interest from the Premier League.

And reports suggest that Manuel Pellegrini’s Hammers, as well as Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace and Claudio Ranieri’s Fulham, are keen on the £12.6 million-rated star (as per Transfermarkt), a move which, were West Ham to pull off, could finally rid them of fellow striker Andy Carroll.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, England international Carroll made the move to East London back in 2013 after enjoying a loan spell at the club the season before, netting seven times during that temporary stint to earn a permanent move to the Hammers.

And while there have been glimpses of brilliance from the 29-year-old, including scoring nine goals in the 2015/16 season for Slaven Bilic’s side in their run to seventh place, he has on the whole frustrated West Ham fans during his time at the club as a result of his recurrent injury problems.

Overall, in six full seasons at the club, the striker has managed 128 appearances for the Hammers, with his tally of 27 league appearances in the 2015/16 season his highest single campaign tally – he has exceeded 20 appearances on just one other occasion.

And with the 29-year-old again having spent much of the current season out due to injury, the patience of West Ham fans must be wearing thin – with his contract up at the end of the season, it’s surely time to let him leave.

And were the Hammers to land Nantes’ Sala come the New Year, Pellegrini’s men would have no reason to offer Carroll a new deal given just how prolific the 28-year-old Argentine has been in recent times.

As aforementioned, Sala made the move to Nantes back in 2015, and he has since then produced the goods for the Ligue 1 outfit with 47 goals in just 127 games for the club, including 12 in each of his past two seasons in the French top-flight.

And he is well on his way to beating that tally this term with 11 goals already in just 14 appearances for Nantes, seven of which have come in his last six appearances to underline a striker in some of the best form of his career to date.

And with the future of Javier Hernandez very much uncertain heading into the January window, and of course Carroll’s current deal set to expire in the summer, Pellegrini will surely be thinking about improving his striking ranks – Sala appears to be the man for the job.

And were he to lure the Argentine to the London Stadium, it could finally rid the Hammers of injury-prone Carroll.

West Ham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been running the rule over their superb victory at Bournemouth, and they’re running out of superlatives for Mohamed Salah.

Rival fans were desperate for Liverpool’s Salah to be a “one-season wonder”, but the Egyptian King is now the Premier League’s joint-top goalscorer.

The 26 year-old grabbed at a hat trick as the Reds won 4-0 at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday afternoon, scoring a perfect 10.0 rating on Whoscored.com.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”347111″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Fixture in Focus Chelsea v Man City”]

He was alert to grab his first just 25 minutes into the match, linking up with Roberto Firmino and gobbling up the rebound when the Brazilian’s shot was saved.

Salah doubled the Reds’ lead just after half time, racing through all on his own, finishing delicately into the bottom corner despite several Bournemouth defenders quite literally clipping at his heels.

A Steve Cook own goal wrapped the game up at 3-0, but Salah wasn’t done yet, rounding Asmir Begovic twice before firing his third past the defenders on the line.

The £36m signing is well and truly back to his best, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Manchester United announced on Tuesday morning that manager Jose Mourinho had left the club, and Red Devils fans were quick to react on Twitter.

The Portuguese boss’ final match in charge proved to be the 3-1 defeat to arch-rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, which left the visitors in sixth position in the Premier League table – 11 points off of the Champions League qualification spots – and with a goal difference of zero as we approach Christmas.

They also finished second in their group in Europe’s elite club competition to set up a round of 16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain, but that wasn’t enough to keep Mourinho in a job with Zinedine Zidane and Tottenham Hotspur chief Mauricio Pochettino sure to be linked with the vacant role.

Man United supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the shock confirmation, and while one said “the nightmare is over”, another simply said “welcome Poch”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Who’s most to blame for Man Utd’s poor season? FFC’s James Jones has his say in the video below…

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In his analysis of Manchester United’s recent 3-1 defeat at the hands of Liverpool, Sky Sports pundit and former Red Devils defender Gary Neville slammed his former club’s current midfield contingent. Neville stated that ‘not one of them can pass a ball’, in reference to the United midfield’s inability to maintain possession throughout the match.

Much has changed at Old Trafford since that humiliation at Anfield, of course. Not least, Jose Mourinho has been sacked, and replaced in the hot seat by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, on a caretaker basis.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has caused a stir in Norway! Watch the video above to find out what we’re talking about…

The new boss’ reign got off to a fine start with a 5-1 trouncing of Cardiff City. However, Neville’s criticisms ought not to be dismissed out of hand at this point. Compared with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea – who United should be measuring themselves against – the Red Devils’ current midfield contingent is much poorer on the ball.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, United should be targeting a new midfielder able to dominate possession and reliably distribute the ball.

We’ve taken a look at the stats, and identified some of the most reliable passing midfielders currently plying their trade in Europe, who Manchester United could pursue in the winter window.

The biggest name on this list, former World Cup winner and four-time Champions League winner Toni Kroos is widely considered one of the finest midfielders in the game. The 28-year-old has amassed 91 caps for Germany and currently plies his trade for Real Madrid.

However, he may now be ready to move on from the Bernabeu. Following Zinedine Zidane’s departure, the Spanish giants have struggled, and Kroos could be tempted away from the club at this time.

So far this season, the No. 8 has racked up a pass accuracy rating of 93.9% – the best of any central midfielder in Europe to have made at least ten appearances.

Another highly respected, top class midfielder, Thiago Alcantara has represented German giants Bayern Munich since 2013. His silverware-laden career began with Barcelona, where he developed his passing style under then-manager Pep Guardiola.

The 27-year-old would add plenty of calmness and control to United’s midfield. His defensive diligence would also lend the Red Devils’ rearguard with a much-needed extra layer of protection too.

So far this season, the 31-cap Spain international has registered a pass accuracy rating of 91.2%.

As a potentially far more affordable option, Napoli midfielder Amadou Diawara represents something of a gamble. The 21-year-old is exceptionally talented and hard-working, but whether he’s ready to take on such a great deal of responsibility in the middle of the park for United remains to be seen.

What is clear, though, is that the Guinean is excellent on the ball. Whilst his game still needs to improve in other areas, Diawara can always be relied upon to look after possession for his team.

So far this season, Diawara has recorded a pass accuracy rating of 93.3%.

Adrien Rabiot is certainly available, as it has been confirmed that the midfielder will not be signing a new contract with current club PSG. Unless he moves on in January, the 23-year-old will become a free agent at the end of this season.

The Parisian outfit will be keen to cash in on the 6-cap France international, and plenty of clubs will be interested in taking on the talented midfielder. Old Trafford should also represent an attractive destination for Rabiot, as United are a huge club, who could offer him regular game time and a wage packet up there with what PSG offer.

So far this season, Rabiot has produced a pass accuracy rating of 93.1%.

Miralem Pjanic has improved constantly year-on-year for the better part of the last decade. Now, the 28-year-old must be considered amongst the finest midfielders in the world.

Currently a star turn in Juventus’ midfield, Pjanic’s career has previously taken in spells with Metz, Lyon and Roma. To date, he has won the Italian top flight twice and he has been included in the Serie A team of the season on three occasions.

Landing the 83-cap Bosnia and Herzegovina midfielder would be a major coup for Solskjaer’s side, but Pjanic would be a good fit at Old Trafford and the English club have the financial firepower to bring him to the Premier League.

So far this season, Pjanic has registered a pass completion rating of 91.7%.

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Young Celtic right-back Anthony Ralston produced another assured and confident display in his side’s 3-0 win against Dundee on Saturday, and Brendan Rodgers may have just discovered the new Kieran Tierney for the Glasgow giants.

On the chalkboard

The 20-year-old was only making his 12th appearance in all competitions for the Scottish Premiership leaders at the weekend, but he is already making a big impact at right-back.

With the contracts of Mikael Lustig and Cristian Gamboa both due to expire in the summer and with the duo looking far from convincing on the pitch, Rodgers may well have been considering letting them go and bringing a new right-back to Celtic Park.

However, Ralston has come in and peformed way beyond his years in their previous two Scottish to-flight fixtures, helping them to keep two successive clean sheets and perhaps even changing his manager’s transfer plans as a result.

The new Tierney?

The early signs are certainly good.

Rodgers would have been dreaming of having a player similar to the 21-year-old left-back on the opposite side, and in Ralston he might have just discovered him.

There is no doubt that Tierney is a special talent having already made 161 appearances for Celtic and having captained the club on occasions, but his 20-year-old teammate is showing all of the traits needed to be a long-term fixture in the Bhoys side, too.

While he was unable to follow up the assist he got in the 3-0 win against Motherwell last week against Dundee, he has already shown that he has the ability to not only defend but also make an impression in the final third – something Tierney has become renowned for and why he is such a huge fans’ favourite.

Newcastle should make an audacious swoop for Everton’s out-of-favour full-back duo Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman this January in order to freshen up their defence and give them a vital boost in their battle for Premier League survival.

What’s the word, then?

Well, despite the pair’s legendary status at Goodison Park, they have found themselves out of favour under Marco Silva. It looks likely that they will leave the club soon, given the fact that they are both in their thirties with their best days presumably behind them.

There is little chance of 34-year-old Baines regaining his place in the Toffees’ line-up ahead of the outstanding Lucas Digne, who has been in exquisite form since his £25m move from Barcelona back in the summer. The 25-year-old Frenchman has scored three goals and assisted two more this season, and looks likely to be a mainstay in the Everton defence for the foreseeable future.

In Coleman’s case, he has seen much more playing time than Baines’ three Premier League starts this season. The Irishman has in fact made 16 starts, but he was dropped to the bench for the recent 1-0 loss against Leicester as a result of his indifferent performances so far in the current campaign.

Why would Newcastle want them?

The duo are still competent top-flight defenders and are far better than anything Rafa Benitez currently has at his disposal. The Magpies are persisting with the full-back pairing of DeAndre Yedlin and Paul Dummett, which isn’t the best in the league to say the least.

By signing Coleman and Baines, Newcastle will add experience, leadership and passion to their ranks, all of which are traits that the St James’ Park faithful will undoubtedly appreciate and adore – even more so if they can help avoid relegation to the Championship.

It seems clear that Silva isn’t keen on keeping the pair around as he looks to the future, so the Magpies should swoop in before anyone else can get their hands on them.

According to a report from Spanish publication Sport earlier this week, the Gunners are keen on Keylor Navas, with the club said to have even put in a bid for the goalkeeper.

Since then, Unai Emery has come out to deny the report, even stating that he hasn’t remotely considered it, as he’s happy with his options. That’s a great decision from the boss, as launching a move for Navas would be baffling.

Now, make no mistake, Navas is a great player. He was Real Madrid’s number one for years, and you don’t win multiple Champions Leagues without being a good player. However, for Arsenal, bringing him in would be near the bottom of a long list of priorities, and in truth, a move makes very little sense.

After all, Arsenal’s current goalkeeping options are among some of the best in England. Between Petr Cech and Bernd Leno, the Gunners have a fantastic balance of youth and experience, and whilst neither has been the best in the country this season, that doesn’t mean that they’ve been poor. Indeed, most clubs would love to have a pair that strong.

Leno, in particular, was only brought in over the summer, and so he’s clearly viewed as the ideal man to be between the sticks long-term at the Emirates. He’s done nothing to suggest that he’s not good enough to take up that role, and you’d expect that, over time, he’s only going to get better.

Let’s also consider what else Arsenal need to achieve this month. The Gunners could do with another central defender, they could do with another attacker. In truth, they could do with a lot of fresh talent, and whilst Navas would perhaps be a short-term upgrade, the reality is that the investment would be able to have a far greater impact if focused elsewhere.

Emery has moved quickly to deny these reports, and Arsenal fans should not be disappointed by the decision.

Thoughts?