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There is a real fresh sense around the Britannia Stadium this season that has been absent for 12 months. On the outside to the average fan it seems the same, same style of football, same expectations, same Stoke.

But the reality is far different. There was a general feeling of stagnation towards the back end of the 2011-12 season and with a lack of transfer activity for most of the summer, combined with the clubs toughest start to a Premier League season, left many Potters fans cast a worrying eye over their shoulders for the first time in three years.

The Premier League did what it always does; it worked out the problem – Stoke City. Teams found a way to stifle the attacking, physical threat and deal with the set-plays while snuffing out the wingers which had served us so well. In the Premier League you need to evolve and improve your standards, standing still isn’t an option like Stoke did last year.

But deadline day delivered as it always seems to do for Tony Pulis and in came Charlie Adam, perhaps the most important signing the club has made in a long time as Adam is the figure head of the Stoke City evolution.

His inclusion has seen Stoke alternate to a 4-3-3- formation. They no longer get outnumbered in midfield and have added a creative spark (a midfielder that can pass a ball!!!), the main ingredient missing from and otherwise well-balanced side. Adam’s ability to retain and distribute the ball is key to the new Stoke. They have kept their rough approach, while adding a touch of class.

Adding to that has been signs of rejuvenation for Matthew Etherington and the fresh impetus of Michael Kightly down the wings. Stoke look a goal threat again in open play and Peter Crouch is no longer isolated on his own upfront. Adam controls the Stoke game, there are players finding space for him to pass into instead of waiting for it to be lumped in the general direction of Crouch. Geoff Cameron looks a fine full-back who is comfortable going forwards and backwards, N’Zonzi is flourishing in a three man midfield, Ryan Shawcross has been called up for England and have I mentioned we have signed Michael Owen?

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Sitting 13th in the league may seem like par for the course as far as we are concerned, but in the opening eight games we have played both Manchester clubs, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool. Now with a kinder run of fixtures up until Christmas there is an air of excitement and quiet optimism that we can surprise a few teams and critics alike. But for now, as always, Stoke are going gently under the radar just how they like it.

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As reported by The Yorkshire Post, Newcastle United are interested in signing Middlesbrough’s Adama Traore this summer.

What’s the story?

After securing a top ten finish in their first season back in the English Premier League, Rafa Benitez and Newcastle will be looking to strengthen the first team squad at St James’ Park further this summer.

That won’t be easy given their comparative lack of resources with other clubs, but Benitez has shown he can work magic with unpolished talent so far in his time as Magpies boss.

One player on their radar is Adama Traore of Middlesbrough, according to The Yorkshire Post.

The paper say he could be available for a £15m fee in the upcoming transfer window after they failed to gain promotion back into the Premier League, and Newcastle are the latest side to show interest.

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Would he be a good signing?

Traore had a fantastic 2017/18 season in the Championship, scoring five goals and assisting 12 more in all competitions, helping Boro reach the play-offs where they ultimately fell short against Aston Villa.

Still just 22 years of age, there’s no doubting the player has significant talent and ability, but if he’s to be a hit at St James’ Park, he will need to find an end product in the Premier League.

In 2016/17, he managed just one assist in 27 top-flight appearances for Middlesbrough, not the kind of contribution that would be useful at the Magpies.

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The former Barcelona man could be a bargain at the reported £15m fee though and if he’s available, this is the kind of signing that Newcastle should be making.

Do you think Newcastle should sign him?

You can have your say in our poll below…

According to reports in the Daily Mail, Everton are in pole position to beat Southampton to the £20m signing of Arsenal winger Theo Walcott, who has scored 108 goals in 398 games for the Gunners.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Daily Mail says that the Toffees are challenging their Premier League rivals in the battle to land the 28-year-old attacker this month, and they are confident that they will beat Saints to his signature.

The Daily Mail says that the Merseyside outfit would be able to get closer to match Walcott’s current £110,000-a-week wages, whereas Southampton would be looking for their former player to take a wage cut if he was to return to St Mary’s before the window slams shut on January 31.

The report adds that if comes down to location however, the England international may choose not to uproot his young family from the south of England which could give Mauricio Pellegrino’s men the advantage.

How has Walcott done this season?

While he has been a regular in the domestic cups and in the Europa League, the 28-year-old has barely featured in the Premier League and has played just 49 minutes in total across five top flight appearances from the substitutes’ bench.

Elsewhere, the winger has scored five goals and provided a further four assists in 10 games – prior to the EFL Cup clash against Chelsea – although he was also part of the side that suffered a disappointing 4-2 defeat against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup at the City Ground on Sunday – a display that may have put his future into further doubt.

Would he be a good signing for Everton?

He certainly would be given his impressive goalscoring record – usually from a position out wide –but it would be interesting to see where he would fit in.

Sam Allardyce has preferred a 4-2-3-1 system since he arrived at Goodison Park and with new boy Cenk Tosun surely the first-choice up top, Walcott would be fighting for a place out wide along with the likes of Yannick Bolasie, Ademola Lookman, Nikola Vlasic, Aaron Lennon and Gylfi Sigurdsson as things stand.

Will they beat Southampton to him?

The chase for Walcott seems to depend on a number of factors.

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Firstly, whether Arsene Wenger will be willing to let him go if Alexis Sanchez leaves this month, whether he will leave on loan or permanently, and what the player’s preference is.

If the 28-year-old doesn’t mind moving up north and isn’t desperate to rejoin his former club then Everton would be the frontrunners for his signature, so it will be interesting to see how things pan out over the course of the next couple of weeks.

Manchester United manager David Moyes has hit out at referees after last night’s 2-1 Capital One first leg defeat to Sunderland stating they are “having to play the referees”.

“We’re having to play them [referees] as well as the opposition at the moment,” he told Sky Sports.

“It’s really terrible. We’re actually beginning to laugh at them.”

David Moyes was infuriated a penalty was awarded to Sunderland after Adam Johnson was clumsily challenged by Tom Cleverly, with Fabio Borini scoring from the subsequent spot kick in the 64th minute giving Sunderland a 2-1 first leg lead at the Stadium of Light.

The former Everton boss was also unimpressed with the decision to award the home side a first half free-kick after Johnny Evans clashed with Steven Fletcher that resulted in Ryan Gigg’s own goal.

“The decision for the first goal, I don’t see how it was a free-kick – that doesn’t take away our poor defending from the free-kick though,” Moyes stated.

This is Manchester United third straight loss, the first time this has occurred since 2001, after just recently being knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Swansea three nights ago.

The Red Devils are also struggling to challenge in the Premier League, trailing league leaders Arsenal by 11 points.

Moyes was prompted whether he felt he was under any pressure due to poor form, he replied: “None whatsoever. This is a two-legged game and I’m actually really looking forward to this.

“More important is how good the Manchester United supporters were, how well they supported me and how well they supported the club.”

Manchester United will hope there is no repeat of a home loss to Swansea in this Saturday’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford.

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Brede Hangeland has been linked with a move to Old Trafford as a solution to Sir Alex Ferguson’s concerning list of defensive injuries.

The towering centre back has been at Craven Cottage since 2008, however with his contract set to expire at the end of this season, Fulham boss Martin Jol may be tempted to cash-in for the big Norwegian should an offer be made by Manchester United during the January transfer window.

Defenders Chris Smalling, Phil jones and Nemanja Vidic have all been sidelined for United with long-term injures, however Smalling returned to training last week. So far this season, Rio Ferdinand and Johnny Evans have been Fergie’s only available centre backs, with midfielder Michael Carrick stepping in as cover.

Aged 31, Hangeland is older than United’s usual acquisitions, however the player would add depth and experience to the squad’s defence which has struggled to hit top form this season.

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The Fulham captain may also be a short-term replacement for Nemanja Vidic, who could be lured away from the Premier League by Barcelona or Juventus this January according to the Mirror.

West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini has been named in the Argentina squad for the 2018 World Cup.

The 25-year-old made his Argentina debut last June, and has since appeared on two more occasions for his national team – scoring once in the process.

A number of talented players were left out of the Argentina squad for this summer’s tournament in Russia, but Lanzini was included.

The attacker, who is valued at £16.2m by transfermarkt.co.uk, will enter the match off the back of scoring five times and registering nine assists in 29 appearances for West Ham during the 2017-18 campaign.

And he was outstanding in West Ham’s 3-1 win over Everton on the final weekend of the season.

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Liverpool continue to be linked with a player who will see his West Ham contract expire at the end of the 2019-2020 campaign, and the West Ham fans are concerned that a strong World Cup could see the former Al-Jazira attacker move on this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Former Everton striker Kevin Campbell has branded the arrival of Cenk Tosun ‘a great piece of business’ for the Toffees.

Tosun joined Everton from Besiktas earlier this month off the back of scoring 14 times in 24 appearances for the Turkish club in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign.

The 26-year-old made his Everton bow against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, and despite his new team suffering a 4-0 defeat, the forward showed glimpses of his talent.

Campbell was the last player to move to Everton from Turkish football, with the now 47-year-old switching from Trabzonspor in March 1999.

The former striker has hailed the capture of Tosun, insisting that the Turkish international will be a star for the Merseyside club once he has fully settled.

Campbell told Everton’s official website:

“It is a great piece of business for Everton to bring in somebody of international quality. Tosun is a good player, a strong player. He is blessed with good technique and knows where the goal is.

“The quicker we can get him settled in the better. He might need a couple of games to adapt but he is a top-quality striker.”

Everton, who have lost each of their last three in the Premier League, will be looking to put three points on the board when they host West Bromwich Albion this weekend.

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are looking into the possibility of a loan deal for Juventus striker Fernando Llorente, according to reports from the Daily Mail.

Despite the Gunners having made an almost perfect start to the season, Arsene Wenger is still keen to bolster his striking options.

Olivier Giroud remains his only orthodox option in the role, with a suspension or injury for the Frenchman likely to expose the threadbare nature of the Londoners’ options in the final third.

Llorente has emerged as one of Wenger’s targets, despite the forward having only signed for Juve over the summer.

The World Cup winning front-man completed a Bosman move to the Serie A champions from Athletic Bilbao just a matter of months ago, but has spent the majority of his time at his new club on the bench.

The form of fellow arrival Carlos Tevez and the presence of a number of talented players have seen the 28-year-old fall out of favour, putting his chances of making Spain’s squad for the 2014 World Cup at risk.

He is thought to be open to a move to secure regular action, and Wenger is hopeful that he can take advantage of the situation with a temporary deal.

An option to make the move permanent could also be a possibility.

Could Fernando Llorente be just the man Arsenal need to stay in the title fight?

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Newcastle forward Demba Ba is unhappy at starting recent games on the bench, and could consider his future if he is not reinstated to the side’s starting line-up according to the striker’s agent.

The Senegal international started the Magpies’ fixture against Everton on the bench on Monday, before coming on to score both goals for the visitors in a 2-2 draw.

The forward’s agent Alex Gontran has stated that his client is becoming disillusioned with Newcastle boss Alan Pardew.

“Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations, Demba doesn’t understand the management,” the agent told BBC Sport.

“If he continues to be a substitute all season, we’ll look at other solutions.

“Demba is happy at Newcastle. He is playing in the Premier League, with lot of fellow French speakers and he loves the club’s supporters.

“He would like to start every game but he respects the choice of the coach, even if he does not always understand or agree.

“How could you put your best striker with full confidence on the left wing?’

“The choice to put Demba on the left last season was good for the club, because Papiss Cisse scored 13 goals.

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“But there was a lack of recognition for Demba. It is more difficult to play well when you don’t have the confidence of your staff,” he concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

Manchester United were unable to challenge Manchester City for the 2017-18 Premier League title, but the Red Devils did secure a runners-up position.

Second represented progress from the 2016-17 season, but United ended the campaign without a trophy after losing 1-0 Chelsea in the FA Cup final.

Jose Mourinho’s style of football has not won him too many admirers with the United fans this season, but the Portuguese has delivered trophies wherever he has been.

There would surely have been a different undercurrent if United had beaten Chelsea to land the FA Cup last weekend, but it seems that the English club’s supporters now want change.

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On Wednesday, United’s official Twitter account posted a story which detailed the club’s players that will be present at the 2018 World Cup this summer.

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But the United fans were simply not interested in hearing about it, with the response section full of those asking for Mourinho to be sacked ahead of the 2018-19 season.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below: