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This morning The Mirror (via The Times) reported that Jack Wilshere is considering quitting Arsenal in January in the hope he could force his way in to Gareth Southgate’s World Cup plans.

Wilshere’s injury problems over the last few years have seriously hindered his development and prevented him from reaching the heights expected of him when he first broke in to the Arsenal first team.

But will a permanent move away from Arsenal really open up doors for Wilshere, or is it too late for him to earn an international call up ahead of next summer’s World Cup?

Here are the thoughts of Football FanCast’s writers…

Matt Law

The fact that Jack Wilshere is even being considered for the World Cup at this stage says more about England than it does about the 25-year-old.

Wilshere is never going to become the player that many thought he would, but with England desperately short of quality in midfield, there is a case for him to travel to the World Cup.

If Wilshere leaves Arsenal in January and has an injury-free second half to the season, he should make the trip to Russia. There is no doubt about that for me.

James Beavis

With England lacking any sort of creative spark or quality in central midfield from the likes of Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson and Jake Livermore right now, if – and with Wilshere it is always a very big if – the 25-year-old moves on during the January transfer window and proves his fitness and quality during the second half of the season, then he has to be in the squad for Russia.

He offers something that no other Three Lions midfielder – aside from perhaps Adam Lallana – does, but he must stay injury free otherwise it is a risk that Gareth Southgate won’t be willing to take.

Danielle Joynson

Southgate will already have an idea of who he wants to take to Russia, and even if Wilshere does seal a move away from Arsenal in January he would need to be playing regularly and be an influential figure on the pitch to be considered for the England squad. Given his lengthy injury record, I just can’t see that happening.

Plus, I have always been baffled by suggestions that the midfielder can still become an England great. That ship has sailed.

John McGinley

Jack Wilshere has a perception problem. Fans, pundits and media see him as a has-been at the age of just 25 and whether that’s unfair or not it will impact on his World Cup selection. I can’t see him having a good enough season at Arsenal or elsewhere from January to change that.

Long-term he can rebound, short-term he doesn’t stand a chance of that, especially on the international scene.

Christy Malyan

Jack Wilshere will never become the world-class midfielder heralded of him during his younger years.

That being said he still possesses the creative spark to turn dominance of possession into a vibrant attacking performance, which is exactly what the Three Lions lacked throughout qualifying. The World Cup, though, is a different animal altogether. England may face one or two smaller nations who will look to keep ten men behind the ball, but Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier will be much more appropriate against high-quality opposition.

Which all begs the question of whether Wilshere can justify a place in the squad for potentially just one game. That will depend on the complexion of England’s group, but also whether Wilshere is fully match fit.

It’s hard to remember the last time England didn’t take a chance by bringing at least one unfit player to a major tournament; and it’s equally hard to remember a time when it actually worked out.

Unless Wilshere ends the season match sharp, Southgate needs to search elsewhere for more flair in deep midfield.

Amid an era in which any manager to oversee a contained performance is labelled a pragmatist, often accusatively, we sometimes forget what that word actually means.

The Oxford Dictionary definition is simple; “Dealing with things sensibly and realistically in a way that is based on practical rather than theoretical considerations.” In Premier League managerial terms, that translates as strategising in accordance to the opposition and situation at hand rather than allowing yourself to be dictated by sometimes irrational ideals.

Last month, that was the apparent justification for Manchester United’s laborious scoreless draw at Anfield and scrappy win over Tottenham Hotspur, the pragmatic perspective assumed from Jose Mourinho being that the Red Devils couldn’t afford to drop three points to a divisional rival and thus took the must-not-concede rather than must-score approach.

But if Mourinho is the Premier League’s chief pragmatist as often declared, then he will surely sense Chelsea’s vulnerability and the unignorable opportunity to exploit it when his side travel to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. It can’t be another case of United eking out another acceptable result against another member of the big six with another defensive performance.

Through worrying form, Chelsea represent a realistic chance to earn three points off a divisional rival, knock a team out of the title race and make a statement to Manchester City. A more cautious approach, and Mourinho is no less an idealist than the many ideological managers he’s often billed as the champion of defying.

The notion of Chelsea’s inconsistent results stemming from an unsettled camp has been over-pronounced. It’s rare the west London club are ever completely settled and even on route to the title last term, there was constant in-fighting between Diego Costa and Antonio Conte. Crises are nothing new for the reigning champions – in fact, it’s usually when they tend thrive.

But there is no question the Blues are on the ropes after a 3-0 romping at the hands of Roma last night, knowing another huge blow domestically will send them spiralling away from title contention. They’re already nine points behind Manchester City, haven’t produced a truly convincing performance since beating Atletico Madrid in September and showed how drastically confidence has diminished amongst the squad in the second-half at the Stadio Olimpico.

And the biggest problems are in defence. Compared to how untouchable their three centre-backs and two wing-backs were last season, we’ve already seen Conte start five different players at centre-half and three different players on the right in the Premier League – let alone the in-game changes he’s made like throwing Willian or Pedro out wide for extra creativity.

That inconsistency in personnel, combined with the absence of the imperious N’Golo Kante in midfield and an abundant lack of organisation, has seen the Blues concede 13 goals in their last six games and keep just a single clean sheet. The performance against Roma, in which Chelsea allowed a particularly sloppy second goal, was their worst defensive display yet this season and probably since Conte took the job in 2016.

Manchester United’s potency has waned since their decimating form at the start of the campaign – they too appear short of form. But in Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford particularly, Mourinho has more than enough attacking quality at his disposal to cause Chelsea’s defence similar problems and capitalise on what is proving to be Conte’s most troubled stretch as the now-United gaffer’s successor.

A true pragmatist in the purest sense of the word, if that’s what Mourinho is, will surely recognise that. Of course, Chelsea still have fantastic quality going forward – it’s what has seen them manage three wins from that run of six games – and as previously mentioned, the west Londoners are arguably at their best when their backs are to the wall.

But for a team with United’s robustness defensively and sheer dynamism going forward, Chelsea are clearly there for the taking. Playing for the draw in the manner we saw at Anfield would be an invaluable opportunity missed – and one that could prove incredibly costly come the end of May.

Indeed, there are clear mathematical reasons why United should be playing for the win too. They’re also playing catch-up with Manchester City who will surely make relatively light work of Arsenal at the Eithad Stadium on Sunday and Pep Guardiola’s side have already claimed a win at Stamford Bridge this term. If Mourinho intends to draw on the road with all the big six this season, City need just one more away victory to surpass their total against the same opposition.

In other words, the title race will boil down to how City fare at home against the big six compared to United at Old Trafford and against the rest of the Premier League. Evidence thus far suggests Guardiola’s boys will be nothing short of perfectly imperious on both fronts. United, though, have already dropped points to Huddersfield and Stoke.

No doubt, there will be other occasions this season in which setting up not to concede is the logical approach against high-quality opposition away from home, as we saw from United at Anfield, but Chelsea’s poor form means Sunday isn’t one of them. Sticking to that strategy regardless of circumstance and form is surely as idealist as Jurgen Klopp’s unwavering faith in gegenpressing, Guardiola’s insistence upon dominating the ball and Arsene Wenger’s belief in Arsenal’s free-flowing game.

It’s defensiveness for the sake of defensiveness, a draw against divisional rivals for the sake of a draw. It’s still a philosophy, in terms of both playing style and the mathematical theory behind winning a title, just not in the expansive, entertaining manner we usually associate with that phrase.

Out of form, off the boil and porous at the back, the pragmatic approach to Sunday’s game is playing for all three points. In fact, it’s more than that; it’s aiming to humiliate the Blues on their own patch, to knock them out of the title race and to make a statement to the rest of the contenders. Mourinho might not get a better opportunity to do that away from home this season – a true pragmatist will surely take it.

Leeds United fans are having a difficult time in the Championship of late given that the team have lost six of their last seven games.

Everything started brightly for Thomas Christiansen and the players as they went on a seven-game unbeaten run.

In that time, the team scored 14 goals and conceded just two, but that form went out the window by mid-September.

The club were in and around the automatic promotion places, but they have now dropped to 10th in the table, three points adrift of the playoff spots and 10 behind the top two.

On Saturday, the misery continued as the club took on Brentford at Griffin Park against a team that had picked up just four wins in 15 matches.

Ezgjan Alioski managed to cancel out Brentford’s opener, but goals from Yoann Barbet and Ryan Woods in the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time gave the hosts victory.

On Leeds’ official Twitter page, a video of the game’s main moments was posted, much to the fans’ dismay.

Emre Can’s contract situation must be a concern on Merseyside. The Liverpool midfielder is clearly a favourite of Jurgen Klopp’s, often called upon to feature in the big games, but his current deal is due to expire at the end of the season.

And with recent reports claiming the German international is demanding around £150k per week to stay on Merseyside, there’s a very real prospect that Liverpool will begrudgingly decide to cash in on him in January, rather than risk losing him for free in the summer.

That, however, could open a new door for Liverpool; Sport believe Liverpool and Chelsea are the two best-placed sides to sign Schalke’s highly-rated midfielder Leon Goretzka and selling Can could provide the funds to secure his services – especially with the 6 foot 2 German’s contract also winding down.

With that in mind, we recently asked Liverpool fans whether they’d back selling Can to fund a deal for his compatriot and according to our poll, a whopping 90% would. That’s some endorsement of the 22-year-old, but where would he fit into Liverpool’s starting XI? Let us know by commenting below…

Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri has revealed that the club are closing in on the appointment of a new manager.

The Toffees have been without a permanent leader since Ronald Koeman was sacked just over one month ago.

Under-23s coach David Unsworth has been in temporary charge of the first team since then, but has overseen just one victory in six matches in all competitions.

On Thursday night, the team suffered more disappointment as they were heavily beaten 5-1 by Atalanta on home soil in the Europa League.

Sam Allardyce recently ruled himself out of the running for the permanent position, while Marco Silva’s current club Watford have rejected approaches from the Merseyside outfit.

Moshiri, though, has indicated that the fans may not have to wait much longer for an appointment to be made.

The businessman told talkSPORT that the Merseyside outfit are “close” to bringing in a new coach, that “stabilising” the club was the first priority.

As expected, Everton fans have been giving their thoughts on the latest development via social media.

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West Ham United are experiencing a miserable run in the Premier League.The club currently sit in the relegation zone, three points from safety after 15 games.Since David Moyes took over from Slaven Bilic last month, results have been dire.The Scotsman is yet to oversee a win having recorded one draw and three defeats, the most recent being a 2-1 loss to Manchester City.What is encouraging, though, is that the Hammers put up a fight against the unbeaten league leaders.Angelo Ogbonna caused a scare for City as he opened the scoring at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.In the second half, the hosts bounced back with an equaliser from Nicolas Otamendi.With seven minutes left on the clock, it looked as though West Ham were going to take an important point, but David Silva managed to find a winner for City.During the game, British actor and TV host James Corden, who is a lifelong West Ham fan, tweeted his feelings on what was unfolding.Following the disappointment, Ogbonna decided to reach out to the famous supporter on Twitter.

It is looking increasingly likely that Sofiane Boufal will be on his way out of Southampton in the coming days and weeks having been left out of the squad for the pre-season tour to China, and manager Mark Hughes may well be lining up potential replacements.

The Morocco international’s future was always in doubt when Hughes excluded him from first-team training and all matchday squads following an altercation between him and the attacker during and following the 3-2 defeat against Chelsea at St Mary’s back in April – especially when the Welshman was given the job on a full-time basis.

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The 24-year-old may well be on his way back to France given his success with Lille there previously, and despite already signing Mohamed Elyounoussi, the Saints boss may well look to bring another wide player to the south coast outfit.

One player that should have caught his attention at the 2018 World Cup is Krasnodar’s Viktor Claesson, who scored 12 goals and provided a further eight assists in 34 appearances in all competitions for the Russian club last term.

Able to play on either wing, as a No.10 or even as a centre-forward, the £7.2m-rated attacker showcased his defensive abilities in his nation’s win against Switzerland on Tuesday that set up a quarter-final tie with England, making four clearances and six interceptions, while he made two key passes in the final third, too.

If Hughes is looking for a player who can bring creativity and a goal threat to his team while proving to be effective from a defensive point of view as well to replace Boufal, there are likely to be few better options available in the summer market than Claesson.

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Everton fans here in the Tavern are looking forward the new campaign with Marco Silva in charge. The Portuguese boss didn’t enjoy the best of times at Vicarage Road, but he has already shown his ambition on the transfer front. 

The Toffees will have their sights set firmly on securing a European spot in the next campaign after a rather sloppy campaign last time out.

Although, the next few weeks before the seasons starts will shape the Toffees’ campaign, with interest possibly filtering in for star players and room for improvement in attacking areas.

So, many of our local Evertonians are beginning to feel concerned about what the near future may hold for their side, as preparation will be key when it comes to challenging the big guns in the fight for a European place.

Without further ado, here’s TWO things that could cause for a pandemonium…

Jordan Pickford has been England’s standout performer at the World Cup thus far as he continues to carry the whole nation on his shoulders.

However, Bayern Munich were linked with the goalkeeper earlier on in the window and he could receive a whole heap of interest when he returns home after his performances in Russia.

Therefore, many of our local residents are extremely worried about the situation as he could opt to move to a much bigger club this summer, which would leave Everton in a huge heap of bother.

Emil Forsberg carried his fine domestic form through with him into the World Cup in Russia as he helped Sweden reach the quarter-final stage of the competition.

Indeed, Everton have been linked with the highly-rated midfielder in recent times and could look to swoop in for his services this summer. But, with Arsenal also interested in signing him, they could lose out on a much-needed attacking addition which could be the difference between making it into Europe and finishing in the bottom half.

Croatia’s run to the World Cup final saw them display the kind of bloody-minded desire that Jose Mourinho would love to see more of at Manchester United.

Inspired by Luka Modric, England’s semi-final conquerors had no shortage of guile but three consecutive knockout matches went into extra-time, which required incredible depths of character and fitness to get through successfully.

It would appear that unlikely run has caught Mourinho’s attention in the transfer market with reports swirling that he has rekindled his interest in Ivan Perisic and that his international team-mate Ante Rebic has also moved onto United’s radar.

It is generally not a good idea to buy on the basis of a World Cup; the sample size is too small and successful players are generally in an environment where they feel very comfortable – a move to a new club and country is notoriously tougher to navigate.

With that in mind, we asked United fans whether they would rather have Anthony Martial or new target Rebic and it’s clear that they would prefer to keep hold of the Frenchman, as you can see from the full poll standings below…

According to a recent report from Mundo Deportivo, Liverpool have made a move to bring Barcelona goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen to Anfield. The 29-year-old has been on the peripheries at the Spanish giants since his move to the Nou Camp back in 2016, what with the Netherlands international mustering just 21 senior appearances for the Catalans, only two of which coming in La Liga.

Yet Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool are reportedly keen on the Dutchman in a bid to replace the awful Loris Karius, and while he would be an upgrade on the German, £10.8 million-rated Kasper Schmeichel (as per Transfermarkt) would be an even better one.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while 29-year-old Cillessen earned his move to Barca after a fine few years at Ajax, he simply hasn’t played enough football in the last couple of years to suggest that he can be the man to help Klopp’s side over 50 games this time round.

And given in only three of his last seven seasons has the Netherlands ace been his respective club’s number one shot-stopper, it’s difficult to see how he can maintain the level required over the course of a campaign were he to move to Anfield.

Yes, it’s clear that Cillessen would indeed be an upgrade on Karius, but to finally end their glaring issue in the goalkeeping ranks, they’d be better served going after an even better upgrade in Leicester City’s Schmeichel.

The 31-year-old has proven to be one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League in the last few years in helping the Foxes win the title and indeed stave off relegation, with it arguable that his efforts in their season after winning the league were more impressive than their title-winning campaign.

The Denmark international, who excelled once again during this summer’s World Cup as his country reached the last 16, kept 15 clean sheets as Claudio Ranieri’s men won the Premier League back in the 2015/16 campaign, and while the majority of his teammates saw their level dip the season after, Schmeichel maintained his to keep them in the division.

And with eight clean sheets for Claude Puel’s side last term to inspire them to a ninth place finish, alongside an impressive World Cup campaign for his country, the 31-year-old appears to be the ideal man to take the number one jersey away from Karius at Anfield.

Thus, while Cillessen would be an upgrade on the German, they should forget about him as 31-year-old Schmeichel would be an even better upgrade on the awful 25-year-old.

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