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The Chris Hughton era at Nottingham Forest is well and truly underway.

The former Brighton manager has taken charge of two league games so far and he has managed to avoid defeat in each of those, dragging Forest out of a troubling run that had seen them lose seven games in a row since July.

Hughton’s impact hasn’t only been on the pitch, he’s managed to attract one of his former star players as Anthony Knockaert joined the East Midlands outfit on deadline day, but this signing seems to have had a negative effect on one young star at the club.

Alex Mighten looked ready to become a bona fide first-teamer at Forest this term, appearing in each of the club’s first four league games this term, but since Hughton’s arrival he’s not seen a single minute of action and once Knockaert gets up to speed he’ll find it even harder to get a game, and that’s a real shame.

Mighten looked set to become a regular for the Reds under Sabri Lamouchi, but now his chances look likely to be limited going forward, and he faces an uphill task to get in ahead of Knockaert, a former Championship Player of the Year winner, or Forest’s 2019 Player of the Year, Joe Lolley.

The 18-year-old has been touted to have a bright future with Gary Brazil waxing-lyrical about him over the summer.

“Alex is now developing into the elite footballer we all hoped he would become,” he said. “Brave, exciting, self-confident, single minded, he has all the ingredients to go a long way in the game.”

Hopefully, Mighten can still reach his potential, but playing senior football is key to any young player’s development and he may find minutes hard to come by after Hughton and Knockaert’s arrival at the City Ground.

All he can do is continue to impress in training and hope that Hughton takes a punt on him.

Tottenham Hotspur are ‘confident’ of completing a deal for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, even though Southampton have accepted a bid from Everton for the midfielder.  

Hojbjerg has made it clear he wants to move to Spurs, where Jose Mourinho is willing to play him in front of the back four. Mourinho has identified the Dane as the signing he needs to rebuild Spurs’ midfield.

According to The Guardian, as per @Daily_Hotspur, Tottenham are confident that they can sign Hojbjerg from Southampton. Dave Hytner, the newspaper’s chief football correspondent, claims that Spurs will look to conclude negotiations with the Saints, despite falling short of their asking price so far.

Southampton plan to use Everton’s £25m bid as a benchmark, while Daniel Levy will look to lower their valuation.

Hojbjerg has told the Saints that he will not be signing a new deal at St Mary’s and he was removed from the captaincy by Ralph Hasenhuttl as a result.

The ex-Bayern Munich ace has lost his place in the starting line-up since the Premier League restart, although he played the full 90 minutes against Brighton at right-back.

Hojbjerg has played 33 games in the Premier League this season, supplying one assist, taking 1.4 shots, winning 2.4 tackles and completing 1.5 clearances per game on average (via WhoScored).

Although it looks like the Lilywhites are the favourites to sign him at the moment, a deal seems far from done.

While he will not be available for a cut-price fee as the club had initially hoped, in reality he should be more than affordable, as Levy spent £53.8m on Tanguy Ndombele last year.

Spurs could be set for a reshuffle if Hojbjerg arrives in the summer, as former Pochettino favourite Harry Winks may be forced to make way, while questions remain over Ndombele’s future in north London.

Tottenham fans, do you think Daniel Levy should sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!

This season’s FA Cup final is now just hours away and Frank Lampard’s side will hope they can clinch their ninth title.

This evening’s Wembley clash will be doubly heated as two London sides prepare to lock horns in a fight that is guaranteed to entertain.

Arsenal will be eager to catch Chelsea on a bad day and beat the odds to secure some silverware to round off an otherwise poor season. However, Lampard has some seriously threatening options in his roster and one man in particular could be huge thorn in the side of the Gunners.

Christian Pulisic has already proved he is dangerous in attack, but team that up with a huge occasion and we could see a completely new gear to his influence. Since English football resumed, the winger has been involved in six goal contributions after making a superb comeback from an injury earlier this term (via Sofascore). His impact has impressed both fans and professionals with Lampard boldly claiming he could be as good as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

Pulisic could really cause a headache for David Luiz, who has been majorly prone to errors this season. According to Sofascore, the Brazilian has been at fault for two opposition goals in the Premier League this campaign and has committed a worrying five fouls which led to a penalty.

If Lampard’s American goal-getter can target Luiz with his impressive pace and dribbling, the defender could have a mistake in him which could gift his former side a crucial goal at Wembley.

It’s likely Arsenal won’t want to push too hard too early, as to not leave themselves exposed to a Chelsea counter-attack.

However, the likelihood of wingers Willian and Pulisic pressuring Arteta’s defence into a mistake is high and Arteta will just hope his men can keep their heads.

How do you think the FA Cup final will play out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

If there was ever a duo of recent years to sum up Everton Football Club, it would have to be Leighton Baines and Seamus Coleman.

The official Everton Twitter account has posted a snap of the full-back duo during a training session at Finch Farm. Plenty of Blues have flocked to show their appreciation of the pair.

Between them, Baines and Coleman have contributed 24 years of service to the Merseyside outfit and have a combined goal tally of 72 (via Transfermarkt).

Coleman is currently contracted until 2022 but Baines could be leaving the club as a free agent this summer unless new terms are met. Everton have offered the 35-year-old a new one-year deal but a decision has yet to be made from the player himself.

One Blues supporter has tweeted saying: “It’s almost unforgivable that these two players won’t win a trophy”. As Everton have struggled over the last few years and have qualified for Europe just once in the last five seasons, it seems likely the pair will leave the club without any silverware.

Read through more replies from Everton fans here:

How would you describe Baines and Coleman over the years, Blues fans? Let us know in the comments below!

Newcastle United ace Jetro Willems has posted a rather cryptic tweet on his official Twitter page as his immediate future at the Tyneside club seems uncertain.

As per his tweet, the 26-year old says that he is ‘going to see what the future holds’, as he has only been on loan in the North East from Eintracht Frankfurt and technically this has now expired, but it seems unclear as of yet as to whether his immediate future still lies at St. James’ park or back in Germany with his parent club.

Indeed, with the outbreak of the global pandemic delaying the restart of the 2019/20 season, contracts and loan deals for some players have been set to expire with the campaign still going on, and Willems falls in this category.

The left-back has perhaps been unlucky that he picked up a serious cruciate ligament rupture in the middle of January earlier on in the year, that has seen him miss seven games, according to Transfermarkt.

There has not been an official time stamp on when exactly he could return, meaning that the Magpies have almost been put in limbo with regards to possibly extending his loan deal even though he is still injured.

The Dutch international was arguably playing well before this happened as Steve Bruce played him in 20 matches in all competitions, whereby he scored two goals and made three assists (via Transfermarkt).

Only time will tell as to when Willems will fully recover from his injury set back, but the next time he steps forward onto the pitch may not be in the famous black-and-white-striped jersey.

Geordies, do you think Willems will play again for the Toon? Comment below!

Ever since Carlo Ancelotti arrived at the club Everton have been linked with a whole host of talented players from across Europe, including Yussuf Poulsen.

What’s the word?

Ancelotti’s appointment was always bound to prompt plenty of transfer speculation.

The Toffees are set to undergo an on-pitch revolution under the Italian’s tutelage but he seems likely to request a handful of new players in order to achieve the club’s ambitions.

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And, according to German media outlet Bild, RB Leipzig attacker Poulsen is on the club’s radar, though Newcastle United are winning the race ahead of both Everton and West Ham United.

The report claims that the 6ft 4 colossus has handed in a transfer request due to a lack of game time under Julian Nagelsmann, and he is said to be available for a fee of €30m (£27m).

Lung-bursting and Benzema-esque

With 43 caps for the Denmark national side, Poulsen is already blessed with plenty of experience at both club and international level at just 25 years of age.

But what exactly can Everton fans expect from the mooted transfer target if he eventually makes the move to Merseyside?

Well, according to Bundesliga.com, there are shades of Karim Benzema in his style of play.

“Just like the Real Madrid forward, Poulsen is also not afraid to take aim himself and unleash venomous shots, while both are pretty useful in the air. He may not have always posted as impressive numbers as Werner, but similar to the way Benzema acts a decoy for the likes of Gareth Bale, among others, his importance to the team goes deeper than pure statistics.”

His numbers may not have been as impressive as Werner’s but that is certainly nothing to be ashamed of. After all, his strike partner is one of the hottest properties on the continent and it’s no coincidence that he is being consistently linked with a move to Liverpool.

But that is not to say that Poulsen is incapable of finding the net on a regular basis. In the 2018/19 season, for example, he scored 15 Bundesliga goals in 31 games while also providing four assists.

Beyond his prowess in front of goal, the former Lyngby BK ace offers plenty of energy and determination, pressing the opposition and defending from the front to ease the burden on the midfield.

Indeed, Werner has suggested that Poulsen has “an amazing set of lungs,” while former Leipzig teammate David Selke has uttered a similar sentiment: “He’s got the lungs of a horse – Yussi runs like crazy.”

A hard-working, Benzema-esque striker at the spearhead of Everton’s attack will certainly help to bring out the best in Richarlison and Bernard next season.

In other Everton news, Yerry Mina has sent an important message to the supporters…

Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold has revealed that Tottenham’s experience of playing at neutral venues before could give them a major advantage when the Premier League season restarts.

What did he say?

As part of the top-flight’s “Project Restart”, Premier League clubs may be expected to play their remaining fixtures of the season at eight to ten neutral venues – “that is believed to be the highest number of venues that would be granted safety certificates by the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and police”.

Now, Gold has claimed that due to Spurs’ time spent playing games at Wembley and Stadium MK whilst they waited for their own new ground to be completed, that could give Jose Mourinho’s side a surprise advantage.

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He said: “Spurs have been prepared for this sort of plan perhaps without entirely realising it. Their nomadic existence in recent seasons, playing home games in the unfamiliar surroundings of Wembley Stadium and even the Stadium MK while they waited for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to be opened will stand many of the players in good stead for the challenge ahead.

“There was so much uncertainty last season with which games would be played at their new home and which had to remain at Wembley, Mauricio Pochettino had to prepare the players to be adaptable to whatever stadium they played in. Should the season resume and Tottenham have to adapt to yet more stadiums, those neutral venues might not prove as awkward a hurdle for many of Mourinho’s players and they will need to take any advantage they can get to claw back those points on their rivals.”

Advantage

Gold certainly makes a perceptive point about how Spurs could find it easier to hit the ground running than some of their other Premier League rivals.

Add to that the likelihood of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son. amongst others, finding themselves back at full fitness and recovered from their injuries, and Spurs have a great chance of really getting the first step on those around them.

And with the north London side still firmly in the race to secure European football for next season, any little advantage would be most welcomed.

Many Liverpool fans have been reacting online to Raheem Sterling’s statement posted on Instagram, issued after the Manchester City winger was axed from England’s Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro for a spat with Joe Gomez.

The pair went face to face at the weekend as Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-1 to open a nine-point margin between the Premier League title rivals, and Sterling reacted angrily towards the end of the match.

They hugged following the full-time whistle but the tensions remained high as they assembled on St. George’s Park for training on Monday, where Gomez attempted to offer Sterling a handshake in the canteen.

Sterling reportedly took issue with Gomez’s attempted peace offering, though, leading to the Sky Blues star confronting the centre-half and asking if he was “still the big man?”

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It is thought Sterling then attempted to grasp Gomez, leading to some nearby England players stepping in to prevent the situation from getting any worse.

Gareth Southgate has responded to the incident by axing Sterling for Thursday night’s Euro 2020 qualifier with Montenegro, but opted to keep the 24-year-old in the squad for Sunday’s clash with Kosovo rather than sending him home.

Sterling has since taken to Instagram to offer an apology, saying: “First and foremost everyone knows what this game means to me! Everyone knows that I am not that way inclined and more to the point, both Joe and I have had words and figured things out and moved on.

“We are in a sport where emotions run high and I am man enough to admit when emotions get the better of me. We move this is why we play this sport because of our love for it – me and @JoeGomez5 are good, we both understand it was a 5-10 second thing, it’s done, we move forward and not make this bigger than it is.

“Let’s get focus on our game on Thursday.”

Here are some of the reactions offered by Liverpool fans to Sterling’s post…

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

On Wednesday, Liverpool will face Napoli at Anfield as they look to secure their place in the next round of the Champions League. One battle in particular could have a big impact on the final result.

On the chalkboard

The Reds currently top Group E with nine points, whilst Napoli are one point behind them. RB Salzburg, who are third, are five points behind Jurgen Klopp’s men with two games to play. As such, they are within touching distance of the next round, but a loss would not only put the Serie A outfit in pole position to come first, it would also leave Liverpool needing to pick up a result in Austria against a team they have already struggled to beat this campaign.

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Napoli are currently struggling with off-the-field issues, and there appears to be deep unrest in their camp. However, given the importance of this match, they are likely to be galvanised and should look to push those troubles to one side for 90 minutes. Whilst there will be many captivating duels during this clash, one in particular could have the biggest influence on the fixture’s outcome.

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On September 17, these two sides met in Naples for their first tie of the group stages. Liverpool have been in fantastic form throughout the season, but against the Italian side they met their match. For the first and only time this season, the European champions came out second best, with Carlo Ancelotti’s team prevailing 2-0.

It proved to be a particularly difficult night for the usually-unflappable Andrew Robertson. The 25-year-old is widely considered as one of the best left-backs on the planet, but according to SofaScore, he was the worst player on the pitch in that clash, picking up a rating of 5.5. Mainly, that came from his shakiness in the tackle. He gave away a game-high four fouls, including the penalty that allowed Dries Mertens to bag the opener.

Jose Callejon, the right midfielder, was up against the Scotland international on that night. He was relatively quiet by his standards – in Europe so far this term, he has averaged 3.8 key passes per match, but was unable to record even one at the San Paolo Stadium – but he did have a big impact on the game. It was his drive into the box that forced the former Hull City man to stick a leg out, after all. In all fairness, the decision itself was contentious – there didn’t appear to be too much contact – but it gave the referee a decision to make.

The 32-year-old certainly got the better of his opponent. He won six out of the eight duels he contested, whilst Robertson failed to win even one of the six he took part in. It was likely just an off day for him, but the way he performed will surely give Ancelotti the incentive to ask the former Real Madrid man to threaten once again.

Whilst there is no doubt that Robertson is quality going forward – after all, he picked up 11 Premier League assists last term, and already has five this time around – but questions have been asked of his defensive ability. Against £18m-valued Callejon – as per Transfermarkt – he must be on top of his game. Both in the Champions League and Serie A, he has the most key passes amongst his teammates, as well as the most assists. He has also averaged 1.8 crosses in the league and three in Europe, both of which also lead the way for I ciucciarelli. With the likes of Fernando Llorente, who has played a part in all of the matches in the group to date, to aim for, it is vital Robertson respects his defensive responsibilities. Otherwise, it could be a long night for the Merseyside outfit.

Meanwhile, Liverpool fans react to Eden Hazard’s comments on who should win the Ballon d’Or.

Leeds United fans have had their worst nightmares confirmed as Phil Hay tweeted that Marcelo Bielsa intends to start Patrick Bamford against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

There has been a huge campaign from supporters and pundits alike for Eddie Nketiah to replace Bamford in the Whites’ starting XI, but their prayers haven’t been answered.

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Of course, the fanbase have been moaning on Twitter after this latest development.

You can completely understand why the supporters are fuming with Hay’s update.

Bamford hasn’t scored in any of his last eight games for the Whites, while Nketiah has netted every 73.3 minutes in the Championship so far this term.

Nketiah scored on Tuesday as Leeds drew with Preston, and it seemed as if Bielsa couldn’t continue ignoring the Arsenal loanee, but he’s defied belief by admitting that his selection of striker won’t change.

It remains to be seen how Bamford gets on against Sheffield Wednesday this weekend, but fans aren’t happy with the fact that he’s going to be starting at Hillsborough.

Here’s what Leeds fans have been saying on Twitter…