[ad_pod ]On October 10, Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, along with Bristol City’s Lloyd Kelly, broke away from the England under-20s squad in order to train with the senior side for the day, under the watch of national team manager Gareth Southgate.

It’s yet another step forward in Nketiah’s progression, which has picked up rapidly since he made his first appearances at senior level for his club last season.Â

After making his debut for the Gunners as a late substitute in an away Europa League tie against BATE Borisov, Nketiah soon made his Emirates Stadium bow – again from the bench – in a League Cup clash against Norwich City. The 19-year-old scored with his first touch, 15 seconds after coming on, before adding a winner in extra time to see the North London club through to the next round.

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Clearly a talented prospect, Nketiah finished the last campaign with ten first-team appearances under his belt in all competitions. However, despite an impressive pre-season, Nketiah is yet to see action with the senior squad under Unai Emery this season.Â

With opportunities for first team football looking limited, Arsenal ought to send the teenager out on loan in January so that he can gain valuable experience of playing week in week out.

What do you think, Arsenal fans – should Nketiah be allowed out on loan in January or does he have a role to play for Emery this season?

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A slight majority of the Aston Villa fans that answered our recent poll were keen for new boss Dean Smith to make Axel Tuanzebe’s loan move from Manchester United permanent in January.

The 6ft 1in tall 20-year-old has made nine Championship appearances so far this season, but was often played out of position as a right-back by Steve Bruce, despite being one of only two senior centre-backs in the Villa squad.

An England U21 international, this is Tuanzebe’s second season at Villa on loan from Old Trafford, but he is valued at just £1.35m by Transfermarkt and the sheer size of United’s squad means there could be limited first-team opportunities if he does return at the end of this season.

Clearly some Villa fans had reservations over Tuanzebe was good enough to sign permanently, but a small majority of 58 per cent thought that it would be a good option for Smith in his first transfer window. Check out the full results below.

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Everton are keen to be on the front foot in the transfer market, with scouts sent to watch over Bordeaux star Francois Kamano – as per reports by All Nigeria Soccer.

What’s the word?

Key Toffees transfer men were sent on Sunday to the Ligue 1 encounter between Bordeaux and Nice, with Kamano a player the club are mulling over.

The forward can play across the front three attacking positions, with the Guinean adept as the target man or as a winger, where he has regularly featured this season under Eric Bedouet at the Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux.

So far in Bordeaux’s 2018/19 campaign, the 5ft 9in tall number 11 has found the net seven times in 11 Ligue 1 appearances, with outings in the Europa League against Slavia Prague and FC Copenhagen joining his CV for the season.

Guinea have also called Kamano up to the senior national side’s Africa Cup of Nations ties against the Ivory Coast, Central African Republic and twice against Rwanda, where he scored his fifth international goal, having regularly featured since 2015.

Where would he slot into Silva’s side?

The Bastia product’s ability to play in a range of positions will allow Marco Silva the opportunity to permanently move Richarlison to the striker slot should the club opt not to bring in a proven centre-forward during the January or following summer windows.

Ademola Lookman has shown himself to be a key squad player for this same reason, but when the Wandsworth-born Londoner has been handed a chance to shine, only in his cameo off the bench against Crystal Palace has the 21-year-old really highlighted his worth to the side.

Should the report from Bordeaux come back in favour of signing Kamano, the forward’s Transfermarkt value of £10.8m would also go firmly in his favour for the fee presenting little risk.

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Arsenal are likely to be seeking midfield reinforcements come the summer as it has been confirmed that the Gunners will be allowing Aaron Ramsey to depart the Emirates Stadium as a free agent at the end of the season, as reported by Sky Sports.

Another player who could find himself without a club in the summer is Cesc Fabregas, as the 31-year-old’s contract with Chelsea is due to expire at the end of the current campaign. The 110-cap Spain international previously spent eight years with the Gunners before his switch to Barcelona in 2011.

The former Arsenal captain recently stated that he would be open to a return to north London, as reported by TalkSport.

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At this stage of his career, the Spanish playmaker can’t play week in week out at the highest level, however, he could provide very able to back up to Mesut Ozil in Unai Emery’s squad. In terms of providing experienced, high quality squad depth, Fabregas would be a terrific option for the Gunners to possess.

What do you think, Arsenal fans – would you like to see Fabregas return to the Emirates?

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The prices of top-level footballers seem to increase year on year, and we are now seeing a trend where elite players are being sold for more than £100m.

World-record fees are broken regularly, and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk became the most expensive centre-back in history when he moved to Anfield from Southampton for £75m in January.

Another Liverpool player has been making headlines of late, and it relates to his contract situation.

According to the Liverpool Echo, the Merseyside club are keen to reward Sadio Mane with a new contract, but the attacker is yet to put pen-to-paper.

At the moment there are no serious concerns that the Senegal international wants to move on given that he still has two years left on his current deal.

However, if Mane were to push for a move, how much could the Reds realistically demand?

The talented star signed from Southampton in 2016 for a fee in the region of £34m, but his price tag is likely to have risen given – he is probably worth more than double now – how crucial he is to Jurgen Klopp’s team.

Mane, who has scored 29 Premier League goals since being a Liverpool player, is one third of a scintillating attack alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino.

With that in mind, how much do you think Mane is worth in this market?

Let us know by voting below.

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According to Clubcall, Leeds United scouted Argentine forward Ezequiel Ponce at the weekend as the Whites consider a summer move.

What’s the story, then?

Ponce officially belongs to Roma, but has not actually made a first-team appearance for the Italian giants, representing Granada and Lille over the last two seasons.

Ponce moved on loan to AEK Athens during the recent summer transfer window, and he has managed five goals in eight Super League appearances for the Greek side this term.

According to Clubcall, Leeds had scouts in attendance to watch the striker in action against Panathinaikos on Saturday, and the Championship side’s head coach Marcelo Bielsa is now keen on a reunion with the forward.

Bielsa brought Ponce on loan to Lille in 2017, and the pair could now reunite in England, although the deal might be a little complicated to complete.

Is the deal realistic for Leeds?

Well, Ponce is technically on loan at AEK Athens, but the Greek outfit are believed to have the option to sign him permanently for just over £5m next summer.

Things can quickly change in football, however, and if Leeds are prepared to match AEK Athens’ offer for the South American, then it will be up to the player to decide whether he wants to remain in Greece or move to England.

The Whites will surely need to earn promotion to the Premier League to stand a chance of completing a deal, but it could turn out to be a wonderful signing.

Indeed, Ponce will not turn 22 until March, and showed incredible promise during his time at Newell’s Old Boys before moving to Europe.

Leeds are currently top of the Championship after 16 matches of the campaign, and will fancy their chances of gaining promotion back to the top flight this season.

According to a recent report from A Spor (via talkSPORT), Liverpool defender Joel Matip could be set for a move away in the January transfer window. The centre back made the move to Anfield back in 2016 as manager Jurgen Klopp sought to improve his defensive options, only for the 27-year-old to fall down the pecking order to thus call his future at the club into question.

And reports suggest that fellow Premier League side Fulham and Super Lig giants Fenerbahce are eyeing up a New Year move for the former Cameroon international, a move Matip must seek to make in January with time seemingly up on his Liverpool career.

The Breakdown

The centre back made the move to Anfield amid much excitement and anticipation given the Reds’ prior defensive struggles under Brendan Rodgers and indeed in the early stages of Klopp’s reign, and the 27-year-old went some way to aiding with those problems by appearing 29 times in the Premier League in his first season at the club, helping the Reds to fourth place.

Yet there were still a few too many occasions in which the backline, including Matip himself, made errors to allow Klopp’s team to still be got-at by opposition forwards, which is why it was hardly surprising to see the Merseyside giants break the transfer record for a defender in luring Virgil van Dijk to the club back in January.

And that spelt bad news for Matip given he managed just 25 Premier League appearances for the club last term, albeit injuries did play a part in his struggles, and that has carried on into this term given the 27-year-old has mustered only one league start for the Reds so far, with the likes of van Dijk, Dejan Lovren, and Joe Gomez seemingly ahead of him in the pecking order.

And with just one minute of action in their last six league matches, alongside featuring just once in their indifferent Champions League campaign, the writing appears to be on the wall for the centre back, who has proven over time to be a woeful Klopp signing given he was brought into Anfield to try and solidify a backline that shipped 50 goals in the 2015/16 campaign, and while that number did reduce the season after, it was clear that he still wasn’t the answer to their problems.

And with Klopp beginning to find an answer in messrs van Dijk, Lovren, and Gomez, time appears to be up on Matip’s Reds career, which is why he must seek to make the move away from Anfield come the New Year.

Liverpool fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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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.

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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.

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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?