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After initially making his breakthrough back when Arsene Wenger was in charge, things haven’t quite progressed as fast as Reiss Nelson may have hoped.

The 20-year-old has played just 42 times for the first-team at the Emirates, with most of them (17) coming under Mikel Arteta’s guidance. The England U21 international has featured predominantly in the cup competitions this season, and has yet to play a single minute of Premier League football.

And speaking before watching him deliver a sparkling Europa League performance against Dundalk, Arteta made it clear that Nelson had shown him a desire to really fight for his place this season.

He said: “Reiss was really convinced that he wanted to fight to stay here. And when you see that willingness and that passion and that security in a player, you feel tempted to keep him even though you know that opportunities are going to be restricted and he is not going to have a lot of continuity in his play.”

With Nicolas Pepe and Willian still struggling to find consistency in their game – they have scored just two goals in 18 games between them – surely Nelson can be afforded more regular opportunities to impress.

Speaking earlier in the year after the Gunners had triumphed over Portsmouth in the FA Cup, Arteta said: “We have pace in a few players up front. Reiss (Nelson) is a special player and can eliminate players one on one. He’s been out for a while but he’s back now and he showed what he’s capable of doing.”

That pace and directness could be a game-changer for Arteta, and really disrupt opposition teams as they look to stifle other attacking players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Nelson could open the game up with his speed and penetration and would be a very forward-thinking move to play him.

With the games coming thick and fast both in the Premier League and Europa League, now is the best time for Arteta to unleash one of the Gunners’ brightest young talents.

The would-be owner of Sunderland William Storey has slammed the proposed takeover of Newcastle United as he was exclusively interviewed by BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport Programme.

Speaking on the programme (via The Chronicle), the founder of the drinks company Rich Energy described the takeover attempt by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian (KSA) group as an “absolute shambles” and “a load of nonsense”.

Indeed, the Saudi-led consortium, which consists of the Middle Eastern crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), his country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), the businesswoman and head of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley and the billionaire London-based Reuben brothers, decided to withdraw their own £300 million bid as they grew increasingly frustrated with just how long it was taking the Premier League and its chief executive Richard Masters to make their final decision as to whether to approve of the deal with Mike Ashley or not.

With the new 2020/21 season just around the corner, coupled up with the fact that the summer transfer window has officially opened, perhaps it is unsurprising that the would-be owners came to their decision.

However, the buying side have made their intent clear recently that they must fight along with the fans of the Tyneside club to try and get the takeover back on.

This will likely depend fully on the cooperation from the top flight and its CEO though as ultimately the final decision lies in their hands.

Nevertheless, Storey has made his feelings clear on the prospective takeover at St. James’ Park as he aims to complete one of his own at the Magpies’ North Eastern rivals.

Geordies, do you hold any hopes for the takeover? Comment below!

Neil Lennon is slowly but surely building his squad for the incredible feat of clinching the 10th Scottish Premier League title in a row for Celtic. Of course, such a historic achievement can hardly be done without a worthy team.

But the Hoops are very much working on getting everything all set for another successful campaign. The 2020/21 season is already underway and the early signs are positive for the Bhoys.

However, apart from obviously reinforcing their squad for the present, they need to think about the future as well. According to a recent report from the Daily Record, Celtic have urged Charlton Athletic to name their price for Alfie Doughty.

The 20-year-old wideman has been dubbed as one for the future and Lennon seems to believe there’s a lot of potential in the kid. For that reason, he is on their radar and they are willing to meet the former Championship side’s demands.

Still, the problem is that the Addicks are currently struggling a lot with the on-going takeover and ownership talks. Not to mention that their relegation to League One won’t help either.

Doughty has been a regular performer throughout last campaign and Celtic have been scouting him. Now, as it seems, they are ready to pounce and are therefore urging the selling club to name their price.

As of right now, we still don’t know how expensive the kid might be but if the early signs are any indication, money shouldn’t be a problem for the Hoops.

Verdict

Snatching up bright young talents is always a good idea. And Doughty seems like a future star that could go all the way. Of course, if he is to move to Scotland, there’s no better place to be at than Celtic.

With Charlton struggling and getting relegated, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Lennon indeed got his man sooner rather than later.

Tottenham might have been just nine minutes away from restarting their Premier League campaign with three crucial points against Manchester United – but if it wasn’t for a captain’s performance from Hugo Lloris, it could have been a whole lot worse for Jose Mourinho’s side.

By the time Steven Bergwijn had notched his third goal in Spurs colours, the French World Cup winner had already made the first of six saves, showing fine reflexes to deny Marcus Rashford from close-range before holding onto an awkward effort from Bruno Fernandes on the stroke of half-time.

Lloris, who has been less than inspiring for Tottenham since returning from a dislocated elbow in January, went one better midway through the second-half when he produced stunning one-handed save to prevent Anthony Martial from leveling.

It was a performance that warranted three points, but Lloris couldn’t do anything about Bruno Fernandes’ 81st-minute penalty – with the Portuguese midfielder sending the 33-year-old the wrong way from 12-yards.

And despite receiving a fair amount of stick throughout this season, Spurs fans were full of praise for their goalkeeper after one of his best performances of the campaign – and took to Twitter to express their delight at their skipper…

According to El Desmarque, Everton are one of the clubs interested in signing Levante play-maker Jose Campana this summer.

What’s the word?

Having taken over mid-way through the season from Marco Silva, Toffees boss Carlo Ancelotti will head into his first summer transfer window in charge at Goodison Park.

And as per Spanish publication El Desmarque, the likes of Everton, Leeds, Aston Villa and Arsenal are looking to lure Campana back to English football – he spent some time on these shores a few years ago with Crystal Palace.

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

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But following a revival back in Spain, it seems Campana may be set for a second chance in the Premier League next season.

Bye, bye Sigurdsson

Since arriving from Swansea in a big-money deal, it’s fair to say Gylfi Sigurdsson hasn’t exactly set Goodison Park alight with his performances.

Last season in particular saw him struggle immensely, netting just three goals and providing only three assists in 38 games across all competitions. That lack of end product from the Iceland international is why Ancelotti must surely be demanding a new play-maker this summer – and Campana fits the bill perfectly.

The £18m-rated ace provided seven assists in La Liga alone, and as per Whoscored, provided two key passes per game in the Spanish top-flight. With the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison up top, having a creative midfielder who can pull the strings from deep is what can really unlock their potential.

And with reports in recent months suggesting Sigurdsson could be set for an exit, Campana’s arrival may just seal his fate at Goodison. Spanish football expert Graham Hunter once suggested that the midfielder’s former club Sevilla considered him an “immense talent”. At 27, it might be finally be his time to shine in England.

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

When Crystal Palace signed Martin Kelly for just £1.5m back in 2014, it didn’t feel like the most exciting addition in the world.

Out-of-favour at Liverpool, the England international decided to start a fresh challenge under Tony Pulis at Selhurst Park, only to see the Welshman quit just hours after Kelly had put pen to paper.

“I didn’t think I trained that badly!”

These were the words of the 6 foot 3 Liverpool academy graduate following Pulis’ shock exit, but Kelly’s time at Palace has often been full of instability.

The defender has played under Pulis – for a matter of hours – Neil Warnock, Alan Pardew, Sam Allardyce, Frank de Boer and Roy Hodgson in just over five years in south London, but this season, he is coming to the fore under the latter, a man who handed him his England debut.

Kelly has thrived under Hodgson this season, helping the 72-year-old and the Palace squad up to tenth in the Premier League table, just seven points off the Champions League positions.

However, there are some standout numbers from the nine games that the No.34 has started this term.

In his nine starts for the Eagles, Kelly has played a key role in a backline that has conceded just three goals, while winning six of those games and drawing two.

Having played a peripheral role in the previous campaign – making just 12 starts as Aaron Wan-Bissaka dominated the right-back position while Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins were immovable in the centre of defence – Kelly’s attitude and professionalism has been exceptional this season as the two aforementioned centre-backs have struggled with injuries, while Wan-Bissaka has since left.

It is a credit to the 29-year-old that he performs so capably at both right-back and at centre-back, and effectively in terms of getting results as the aforesaid statistics prove.

Kelly – who recently said that he’s been “happy to help the team” – is truly performing with real impact.

“I’ve been happy to help the team with the wins. It’s been good for me to come in – I think it’s been a couple of seasons since I played fullback. Fitness-wise you always feel like it’s a change from centre-back but you’ve got to be fit enough to play wherever.”

In other news, this Crystal Palace transfer target endured a miserable outing in what was a massive game for his side…

Tottenham Hotspur star Dele Alli has been banned for one match by the Football Association for a post on social media about coronavirus, via BBC. 

Alli has also been fined £50,000 and ordered to take an education course, with the Tottenham ace now set to miss Spurs’ home game against Manchester United on 19 June, as per BBC.

As a result, this latest setback could be a major blow for Jose Mourinho.

After arriving at White Hart Lane from from MK Dons for £5.97m in 2015, Alli has blossomed as one of England’s biggest stars, bagging 62 goals in 219 appearances for the Lilywhites so far.

The 24-year-old has a strong record against the Red Devils, winning five of the 10 matches that he has played against them and scoring three goals against the Old Trafford club (Transfermarkt).

Moreover, he is Tottenham’s third-highest goalscorer this season, just behind teammates Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, as he has bagged nine goals in all competitions up until now (BBC).

Nevertheless, the England international will miss the north London club’s first match back since the Premier League was suspended due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

As it stands, Mourinho’s side are currently eighth in the table, with just four points separating Spurs and his old club Manchester United, who are now managed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Lilywhites have lost the last two meetings between the teams and this will no doubt be a point of concern for the Portuguese, as his side need a victory to keep their hopes of a top-four finish alive.

To make matters even worse, Alli will be unable to play and Mourinho may be forced to rely upon Erik Lamela instead. It is fair to say the Argentine has struggled for consistency so far and has averaged fewer shots and dribbles per game than the England midfielder, as well as contributing fewer goals and assists, as per WhoScored.

Alli’s suspension has not come at an ideal time for Spurs and hopefully he will learn from his earlier indiscretion.

Tottenham fans, do you think Alli’s absence will be sorely felt against Man United? Let us know in the comments below!

Southampton earned their first home victory of the season against Watford on Saturday, and it will have been a huge relief for the manager and the club’s fans. They still sit 19th in the table, but the game seemed like a relegation six-pointer considering Watford are rock-bottom.

WhoScored have rated their league campaign so far as 6.51/10, yet their win on Saturday was rated 6.77/10, suggesting improvement from the Saints. The same site noted they had a pass success rate of 78%, which is over their season average of 73%, and they also pointed out they had 63.5% of possession compared to their average of a disappointing 47.1%.

Of course, there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done if the club are to avoid relegation, but many fans now appear to be on the manager’s side. These supporters are focusing their annoyance at the board for putting them in this situation and not the manger. As you can see from the club’s Twitter account after they posted a video of the Ralph Hasenhuttl celebrating James Ward-Prowse’ free-kick, fans were loving his reaction.

You can see some of the fans’ reactions to the tweet below:

Southampton fans, what are your thoughts on how the season’s gone so far?

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…

Sheffield Wednesday’s season has ticked like an erratic metronome, and it’s only going to get worse as the season closes in on the halfway stage.

The Owls ended a run of five games without a victory last weekend by defeating Charlton Athletic 3-1, meanwhile off the pitch, uncertainty grows and grows with chairman Dejphon Chansiri staring down the barrel of a potential ban from football.

During their barren run, Garry Monk persisted to the press that his side were rather ‘unlucky’ claiming that he wasn’t worried by their misfortune in front of goal.

If their performance last time out was a mark of exactly that then Wednesday are heading down the right path, but it as very much a game they were expected to pick up a result in given Lee Bowyer’s troubles with injuries.

“You want to be clinical, but I can’t pin that on anyone. We’ve been unlucky I think. The key is, if we keep performing like that and keep pushing that standard as we have been doing then we will win games and dominate games.”

– Garry Monk, 30th October.

The 40-year-old’s remarks appear to be rather accurate when delving into the latest expected goals (xG) table from Experimental361.

According to this model, the Owls are deserving of third place, where they would appear to be quite comfortable having lost just two of their 19 matches.

Experimental361 suggest that they should have lost four fewer games, adding a win and three draws to their record instead.

As of right now, Wednesday are sat ninth, two points outside the playoff zone, so it only goes to show just how accurate Monk’s comments were over a month ago.

So it turns out that the south Yorkshiremen have indeed been ‘unlucky,’ had they converted more chances then their outlook on this season would be far more positive.

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In other news, fans at Hillsborough have been raving about one of their first-choice stars after he clinched an award for his recent performances.

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

Granit Xhaka could leave Arsenal in January, and according to The Times Newcastle are interested in taking him off their hands.

What’s the word?

Xhaka’s unhappiness at the Gunners is now no secret thanks to his extraordinary outburst in the home match against Crystal Palace a few weeks ago, where his display to the fans was rather unfriendly.

His antics have cost him his captaincy, and he has subsequently missed the two matches since, with a possibility that he could remain sidelined for the foreseeable future.

The Times suggest that if that was to happen, he would request a January move – and Newcastle could be his destination, with Steve Bruce thought to be a big admirer of the Switzerland captain.

However, due to his £100,000-a-week salary a permanent departure may be out of the question, but since the Magpies would be able to offer him Premier League football and perhaps a key role in the team, the 27-year-old could be open to a short-term switch, with Euro 2020 not far away.

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Worth the risk?

Much of the hostility that exists between Xhaka, who cost £35m im 2016, and the Arsenal faithful has come about due to their belief that the midfielder has underperformed.

That, along with his poor attitude, could be of concern to Newcastle, particularly as they will probably have to spend a lot of money on his wages.

Also, the Magpies are not in urgent need of a midfield addition, with the Longstaff brothers along with Jonjo Shelvey and Isaac Hayden all capable of fulfilling a first-team role.

However, none of them can match Xhaka’s 87% pass accuracy or 61 average passes per game, and in new surroundings away from all the vitriol at the Emirates he could begin to find his best form once more.

After all, he is the skipper of a national team, and will be determined to impress after the recent fall-out, as his place in the European Championships could come under threat.

As a result, he would probably be a useful addition to the Newcastle squad, and if on a short-term basis it could be hugely beneficial to all parties.