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Manchester United may have signed several players in the summer but this shouldn’t stop them from promoting players from the academy.

Last season, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer gave eight academy players their first-team debuts for the Red Devils, equalling a club record set by Sir Matt Busby.

Marcus Rashford, Mason Greenwood and Paul Pogba have established themselves as regular starters in recent years whilst fellow academy graduates Brandon Williams, Jesse Lingard, Scott McTominay and Tahith Chong have also made appearances.

And that’s without even mentioning Axel Tuanzebe, Ethan Laird and Timothy Fosu-Mensah.

It’s fair to say Solskjaer has shown that he is willing to put his faith in the club’s homegrown players.

Could young centre-back Teden Mengi be give a chance to shine?

Man United were apparently in the market for a new centre-back before the transfer window closed – but to no avail.

Solskjaer’s side then suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at home in part due to an error-strewn defensive performance from Harry Maguire.

However, the club captain can’t be the only one to blame, as Eric Bailly was also poor in that game too and Mengi could be the answer to all of United’s problems at the back.

The 18-year-old has been promoted to the senior squad, although he is yet to make an appearance for the first team this term.

He has been a standout performer for United’s U18s, and made several appearances for the U23s as well, receiving praise from Neil Wood in the process.

“He came up to us quite early on in the season and, a bit like Brandon [Williams] in a sense, he came from the U18s and took his chance,” Wood told The Manchester Evening News.

“He played really well and he kept his place in the team.

“And when he dropped back down at the end of the season to lead the Youth Cup team, he put in some excellent performances there.

“We’ll be looking to work with him next season and he’s one we want to ‘do a Brandon’ with, push him on and the goal is to try and get him pushed up into that first team if we can.”

Mengi made his United debut in the 2-1 win over LASK in the Europa League last season, winning 100% of his ground duels, whilst registering one tackle, one interception and a pass accuracy rating of 83%, as per SofaScore.

There have even been reports suggesting that the club did not sign a new centre-back not just because they couldn’t sell Marcos Rojo and Phil Jones but because of “how much Solskjaer rates Mengi.”

So, in Mengi, United may have the next Rio Ferdinand on their hands.

Although he wasn’t an academy product, Ferdinand himself was fast-tracked through the football system, earning his first Premier League start with West Ham United at the age of 17 after he came on as a substitute for Tony Cottee.

Standing at 1.83m tall, Mengi is cut from a similar cloth to Ferdinand, who was known for his technical ability and confidence on the ball.

When he arrived at Old Trafford from Leeds United, he became Britain’s most expensive player, costing Sir Alex Ferguson’s side £30m, which was a British record at the time.

Whether Mengi can even come lose to emulating a club legend like Rio remains to be seen but there are some obvious similarities.

AND in other news, Man United could live to regret their decision to sign Edinson Cavani…

Leeds’ wait for a long-awaited return to the Premier League goes on, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Championship football is penciled in to return on June 20 and that means Marcelo Bielsa’s men will get a shot at finally being able to complete the job of getting back in the big time. It was touch and go at times, with some reports earlier on in the lockdown debating whether null and voiding football in the UK, with no promotions or relegations, was the most sensible thing to do.

But that never materialised and now Leeds getting back to England’s top tier is once again a realistic dream for Leeds fans.

So, before the big kick-off comes around, we want to see how much Leeds fans remember of the 19/20 season so far. It’s been three months since a ball was last kicked in the Championship, but what can you remember of the Whites’ promotion-chasing campaign?

Test yourself in the quiz below…

Everton boss Carlo Ancelotti can instantly improve his midfield this summer by splashing the cash on Hirving Lozano.

The door may well have opened to sign him too with fresh reports hinting that the Mexican winger is free to leave Napoli at the end of the season.

According to the Daily Star, via the ECHO, Ancelotti’s former club are honing in on the transfer of Lille forward Victor Osimhen, which means Lozano’s place is sure to fall further down the pecking order.

Coincidentally, the 24-year-old is a player that both the Italian chief and the Toffees’ director of football know all too well.

Marcel Brands was at PSV when Lozano broke through to stardom and he’s waxed lyrical about his talents in the past, going as far as likening him to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi.

“When you look at his playing style, without wanting to compare, you know, Lozano has what Messi also has – a centre of gravity low to the ground, the ball is usually quickly under control, very explosive and agile. Then your opponents automatically force mistakes.”

Whilst Ancelotti brought him to Napoli last summer for a club-record fee of $46.5m (£36.6m).

The enigmatic winger has struggled for game time in Italy thus far, but his electric from for the Dutch outfit simply cannot be ignored – in his final campaign, he provided 21 goals and 12 assists, via Transfermarkt. No wonder Ancelotti was hot on his heels.

At Goodison Park, Everton’s wide players have underperformed substantially this campaign, none more so than Alex Iwobi. The £34m signing has only managed to score one goal all season.

Even Lozano has managed a better contribution despite playing fewer minutes.

Per WhoScored, the Mexican international has delivered five goals and one assist from just 14 starts whilst also averaging 1.4 shots, 0.9 dribbles and 0.8 key passes per game.

At PSV, these figures were far greater, managing three shots, 2.2 dribbles and 2.1 key passes each match, also via WhoScored.

He would arguably improve Ancelotti’s side tenfold – even if Napoli are asking for around €50m (£45m) for his services, Brands should absolutely break the bank for him.

Celtic fans are far from happy with what BBC Scotland chief sports writer Tom English has written this week as they unleashed at him on Twitter.

He takes an aim at the SPFL, claiming their mentality is ‘choking any progress’ whilst also agreeing with past comments from Barry Hearn, who once said “All I can see is a mess. There’s no optimism.”

It comes just days after member clubs voted against an independent investigation into April’s vote to cut short the lower-league season in Scotland.

The calls were led by Glasgow rivals Rangers, who needed the support of 32 teams – 13 were in favour, 27 against and two abstained thus putting an end to this campaign.

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It remains to be seen what will happen with the Premiership’s season as the Hoops near a ninth title in a row given they sit some 13 points clear of second-place.

Here’s how fans have been reacting to English’s remarks…

AND in other news, Celtic fans blast Jermain Defoe comments…

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a major boost in their efforts to sign Ryan Fraser this summer, via Football Insider. 

According to Wayne Veysey, Fraser has indicated he won’t sign a contract extension with Bournemouth.

A source told the outlet that the Scotsman is concerned about getting injured ahead of a potential move in the summer and has informed the Cherries he has no intentions of signing an extension to finish the season.

Earlier this year, Football Insider revealed that the Lilywhites are willing to offer him a lucrative deal as Jose Mourinho has identified him at the top of his shortlist of transfer targets.

Last month, The Daily Star claimed that Spurs are in pole position to sign Fraser in the upcoming window, and this news may benefit Steven Bergwijn in the long-term.

Although the Scottish international has struggled for consistency this season, as he has provided just one goal and four assists at the time of writing, it is easy to forget he scored seven goals and created 14 assists in the Premier League last season, bettered only by former Chelsea talisman Eden Hazard.

Moreover, he has proven to be incredibly dependable, as he last sustained an injury all the way back in 2015.

Meanwhile, Bergwijn briefly shined for Tottenham until he was forced to miss the team’s last game against RB Leipzig after picking up an ankle injury. The 22-year-old has bagged 2 goals in 5 league games, including scoring on his home debut against reigning champions Manchester City (Transfermarkt).

Spurs are eager to offer Fraser a well paid contract amid competition from Arsenal, Everton, Newcastle United and West Ham United. He will become a free agent when his contract expires at the end of the month.

Furthermore, it is fair to say the Portuguese head coach has been hindered by a number of injuries to his wide forwards. Both Bergwijn and Son Heung-min have recently made full recoveries from injury setbacks, and this will no doubt give the Lilywhites an uplift as Mourinho’s side had slumped to several poor results in their absence.

Taking this into account, Fraser is more than able to provide suitable cover for the options out wide, and he would surely be a shrewd investment if he ends up at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Dutchman carries the weight of plenty of expectations on his young shoulders, and the speedster could share the workload next season to reduce the risk of injury.

While there is no guarantee he will be a complete success, the club will have still gained a valuable asset for no extra cost if the transfer goes through.

Tottenham fans, should Daniel Levy sign Ryan Fraser in the summer? Let us know down below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

The joint-winner of the Premier League’s Golden Boot award last season, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been an undeniable success for Arsenal since signing from Borussia Dortmund back in January 2018. The Gabon international has been a prolific goal-scorer for the Gunners, finding the back of the net 50 times in 80 appearances across all competitions.

He has been one of the best poachers in European football for a number of years, and has been similarly prolific this season too. He has already netted nine times in 15 games, but there is a serious question mark over whether he can be more than just a goal-scorer. Against Southampton on Saturday afternoon, the 30-year-old arguably showed some of the more negative aspects to his style of play – the lack of an all-around game to compliment his incredible finishing abilities.

With Southampton understandably sitting deep and trying to play on the counter-attack – a tactic that yielded them 21 total shots on goal despite only having 39% of the possession – Aubameyang wasn’t able to exploit his searing pace as is his main strength. The striker was forced to play a far different game to one he may have wanted to, and unfortunately for both him and Arsenal, he struggled to do so.

As per Sofascore, his 6.3 match rating was the joint-worst of any Arsenal player who took to the pitch, and when looking at his under-lying numbers it is easy to see why. Crucially for the Gunners, he missed one big chance, whilst his inability to get involved in the build-up play meant he was starved of any real service. He had a measly 38 touches, which was the fewest of any member of the north London side who started the game.

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Unai Emery’s side desperately needed a centre-forward who could play with his back to goal, and engage some of his midfield teammates like Mesut Ozil. Instead, he couldn’t impose himself on the Southampton defence, and the Arsenal captain was virtually anonymous over the 90 minutes. The Gunners’ defending may once again be the talking point considering how many shots they conceded, but that shouldn’t disguise the fact that one of their star men had a real afternoon to forget.

Meanwhile, Martin Keown has suggested Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang would be the only player to make Arsene Wenger’s most successful sides.

According to a report in The Express, Tottenham Hotspur are ready to go head-to-head with arch-rivals Arsenal in a bid to sign £50m-rated Manchester City centre-back John Stones.

The report says that Spurs are keen on the 25-year-old with Pep Guardiola ready to show him the door at the Emirates, having clearly run out of patience with the injury and error-prone 25-year-old, who has also clearly struggled with his confidence.

Guardiola wants to recoup the £50m fee he paid Everton for the defender’s services in 2016, and he might have a keen buyer in Mourinho, who The Express say was keen on him when he was in charge at Chelsea.

Tottenham could certainly do with some defensive reinforcements having conceded 40 goals in their 29 Premier League matches this season to date, while they of course conceded seven goals at home to Bayern Munich in the Champions League last year, too.

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Here, FFC’s writers give their verdict on a potential move to Spurs for Stones…

Jack Saville

“John Stones has received bad press following a handful of high profile errors for both club and country, but there is no doubt that the 25-year-old can still become one of the best on the planet in his position.

“On his day he is truly Paolo Maldini-esque, gliding across the turf with grace and intelligence to break up the play. He showed that much during the early days of his budding partnership with Aymeric Laporte, with an outstanding display against Liverpool in a 0-0 draw at Anfield a particular highlight.

“While Pep Guardiola’s positive influence on his ball-playing ability has certainly manifested during his time at Manchester City, lapses in concentration and errors in judgement have stunted his progress.

“With that in mind, Jose Mourinho is the master he needs to fine-tune his defensive repertoire and take him to the level many expected – and are still expecting – him to reach.

“In the midst of a new era under Mourinho at Spurs, the arrival of Stones would be a Levy masterstroke.”

Ben Goodwin

“There’s no question Stones has immense talent – he has quite literally won everything there is to win in England’s top-flight, racking up multiple league and cup titles all by the age of 25.

“Graeme Souness even compared him to Ballon d’Or runner-up Virgil van Dijk as recently as January, claiming the England international has everything it takes to reach that level if he can get “his act together”.

“However, a link-up with Jose Mourinho seems like a match made in hell. Stones has recoiled and regressed every time he has been challenged by Pep Guardiola, so how is he going to fare when Mourinho lashes out at him publicly like he did with Tanguy Ndombele?

“Given Spurs’ weakness in defence and Stones’ susceptibility to foolish blunders like his slip in the Carabao Cup final, it surely wouldn’t be long before he’d get outed like Ndombele has.”

James Beavis

“The link to John Stones is certainly an interesting one.

“Jose Mourinho clearly needs to strengthen his Tottenham Hotspur backline this summer, with the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris simply not as good as they once were, with mistakes becoming more and more common in their respective games.

“That makes the choice of targeting the Manchester City centre-back even stranger then, given his own tendency to make errors that can lead to goalscoring chances and goals for opponents, as in the 2020 Carabao Cup final against Aston Villa.

“Perhaps the Portuguese manager believes he can develop the England international’s game in north London to make him a solid defender – it would certainly be a risky move though, especially if he was to cost £50m.”

In other Tottenham news, talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham has launched a brutal attack on Harry Kane & Jose Mourinho…

Leeds United stayed within touching distance of the Championship’s league leaders with a 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon.Patrick Bamford netted his first goal since August and assisted the winner to hand Marcelo Bielsa’s side all three points as they remain in third place, two points off West Bromwich Albion.The league will now embark on the third international break of the season before the Yorkshiremen return to action against Luton Town in two weeks, and if fans’ reactions are anything to go by, then one of their players is undoubtedly destined for such an accolade one day.Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Brighton loanee Ben White excelled in defence like he has done on many occasions this season, which has led to sections of the United faithful talking him up to be a future England captain.

One supporter claimed the 22-year-old is the only player in the last 15 years that would have got into their Champions League side of 2001 while another labelled him a ‘Rolls-Royce’ defender.

‘Absolute baller’ and ‘potential star of the future’ were just two other phrases used to describe his performance with one more fan believing he is the best centre-back in the division.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness.

Macauley Bonne has been cleared to play in Charlton Athletic’s match against Cardiff City, as reported by London News Online.

What’s the story?

The 24-year-old striker had been forced to pull out of international duty with Zimbabwe due to what he referred to as “unforeseen medical grounds” on Twitter.

He has had cardiac tests since releasing his statement, which have cleared the Charlton man to carry on playing, though he will continue to be checked on.

Charlton’s statement on the matter, via London News Online, stated: “The club’s medical team can confirm that Macauley Bonne underwent some planned cardiac investigations last week following a recent routine cardiac screen.

“The results of these investigations have been discussed with the sports cardiologist and the player will continue to play and train as normal. The club will continue to regularly screen his heart as recommended, as we do with all our players from U15 through to the first team.”

Watch Charlton Athletic Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Vital inclusion

Bonne has become a vital player for Charlton, having signed from Leyton Orient in the summer and coming to prominence in the absence of Lyle Taylor.

The 24-year-old has made 8 Championship starts this campaign, coming off the bench twice, scoring 5 goals, including the only strike of the game in a victory against Leeds United.

He has dealt with the step up from the National League to Championship football admirably and he can definitely play his part against Cardiff.

It is uncertain whether or not Taylor will be able to feature in the game, as he looks to make his return from injury, but Bonne should be able to impact the game regardless of whether that is from the start or off the bench.

More importantly though, they will be relieved to know that Bonne is okay and able to carry on with his career without any potential health issues looming over him.

Tottenham Hotspur fans have hailed Dele Alli after the midfielder rescued his side a point against Watford on Saturday.

The attacking midfielder scored in the 86th minute to salvage a draw for Mauricio Pochettino’s men in north London against the team that are currently rooted to the bottom of the league.

Indeed, Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal gave Watford hope of claiming their first win of the season but Alli was able to net late on, as he pounced on a defensive mix-up to beat Ben Foster and tuck the ball home.

There was some controversy over the goal, however, with VAR checking to see if the 23-year-old had handled the ball in the build-up.

The technology eventually gave the goal and Spurs claimed what could be a valuable point as the season progresses.

And fans have taken to Twitter to hail the goalscorer, who was actually left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the games against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria, having struggled for form throughout the campaign. Indeed, Saturday’s strike was his first of the season.

Take a look at the best of the reaction below!