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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Talking to the Inside Elland Road Podcast, Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Joe Urquhart has given his verdict on Patrick Bamford and Eddie Nketiah, suggesting the former might be sweating.

What’s he said?

Bamford and Nketiah had two very different international breaks.

At the beginning the 25-year-old discussed the possibility of himself playing for the Republic of Ireland at some point, despite being born in England. Meanwhile, the Arsenal loan man scored on his debut for England U21s.

Bamford has had nearly two weeks away from the action, something that might’ve proved timely after his injury-stricken 2018/19 campaign.

The divisie striker has started all of Leeds’ Championship outings this term, gaining praise and criticism. However, considering Nketiah’s form, he’ll likely be breathing down Bamford’s neck.

Appearing on the Inside Elland Road Podcast, Urquhart said the following about the two forwards:

“Patrick Bamford must be sweating a little bit. I think given the misses we saw against Swansea – I didn’t think he played particularly too badly but strikers are judged on goals and their ability to find the back of the net. There were a couple of chances against Swansea. Nketiah missed one big one as well when he came off the bench.

“He’s pretty much everything you’re wanting from someone who’s coming on loan. He’s ticking every box. It’s great for Leeds in this scenario because Bamford has to start scoring otherwise he’ll be dropped and they’ve got someone there who’s hungry to prove themselves at this level.”

Positive situation for Leeds

Landing someone like Nketiah on loan this summer was particularly good business, particularly because after Kemar Roofe’s departure, Bamford was the only senior striker at the club.

Despite that, the 20-year-old has had to bide his time since he’s been at Elland Road.

Nketiah has found the net three times in just two starts across all competitions, scoring a late winner against Brentford in the league.

It only feels like a matter of time before he gets his opportunity but whether that’s alongside Bamford or on his own remains to be seen.

Bielsa has teased the idea of them playing together but it’s ideal that they have someone like Nketiah to fall back on if and when Bamford is out of form.

The youngster is a born poacher and the way he’s scored all three of his goals from close range sums that up.

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

Born and bred in Winchester on the south coast of England, Danny Ings is very much a Southampton native – the St Mary’s supporters clearly hold him close to their hearts and regularly serenade him with their “one of our own” chant.

With the upcoming south coast derby against Portsmouth, coupled with some interesting teams news, the underwhelming striker has a golden chance to reinforce that narrative on Tuesday.

What’s the word?

Well, Ralph Hasenhuttl recently revealed that Moussa Djenepo may be out for longer than first hoped, whereas Nathan Redmond may also be unavailable for the game against Portsmouth.

As a result, Ings could be handed a start, and the former Liverpool striker has work to do to get back on track and reinforce the fans’ narrative of him – there is no better chance to do that than with an impressive showing at Fratton Park.

The situation with Ings

Ings joined the Saints on a season-long loan last year with the club obligated to buy him for £20m in the summer, which they did.

Since joining the club he supports, Ings has scored just eight league goals and he has also started the last two league games on the bench.

Despite his poor goalscoring form in a red and white shirt, however, Ings could get his career back on track versus the League One outfit.

If he manages to find the net and help Southampton win their first meeting with Pompey since 2012 – a match that is expected to be a feisty one with Hampshire police deploying dogs and helicopters – then all will surely be forgotten in terms of Ings’ underwhelming form since signing.

This is a golden opportunity and one he can ill-afford to waste.

With 11 games played in the Premier League so far this season, Southampton have only managed to concede 12 goals, fewer than any other side in the bottom half of the league table as the St Mary’s outfit continue their push to avoid relegation.

One Saints figure that has played a big part in Southampton’s defence so far this season is Jan Bednarek, who has played the full 90 minutes in all of their seven previous league games.

The centre-back, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £20k-per-week at Southampton according to Spotrac, was on international duty last night in Poland’s 2-1 defeat against Hungary in their latest World Cup qualifying match.

Despite the disappointing result, Bednarek proved with his performance why Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has put so much faith in him in recent weeks.

During the full 90 minutes that he was on the pitch for on Monday night, Bednarek managed to have 86 touches of the ball, complete 72 of the 75 passes he attempted and even have one attempt on target.

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From a defensive point of view, Bednarek managed to block one shot, make one tackle, complete two interceptions, two clearances and win 100% of the duels he was involved in, showing that even though he couldn’t help his country ultimately keep a clean sheet on the night, he was still a useful defensive outlet for them at the back.

As well as this latest international performance, Bednarek has shown his worth to Hasenhuttl with his performances in the Premier League this term. WhoScored currently list the defender as Southampton’s joint-third highest rated player with an overall rating of 6.91/10 alongside fellow defender Kyle Walker-Peters.

This also demonstrates that Bednarek has stepped up to the plate for Hasenhuttl in the absence of Jannik Vestergaard, who left St. Mary’s during the previous summer transfer window for a move to Leicester City.

Taking this into account and the fact that Hasenhuttl has previously described Bednarek as an “important” player for his Southampton side, it’s safe to say that the defender has certainly shown his worth this season for club and country.

Moving forward, with Saints defender Jack Stephens still out injured for the time being, Hasenhuttl and everyone else at the south coast club will undoubtedly be hoping that Bednarek can keep delivering on the pitch for Southampton for as long as possible, as his defensive efforts could well push the club to a finish in the top half of the league table by the end of the season.

In other news: Crocker could secure dream transfer move at Southampton with “unique” £19.8m-rated ace – opinion

According to a report by Belgian news outlet Voetbal Belgie, it appears West Ham United have a new name on their radar in colossal Club Brugge defender Jack Hendry.

The Lowdown: Newman era commences…

West Ham recently announced the appointment of new recruitment head chief Rob Newman as the former Manchester City chief becomes tasked with playing a heavy role in the Irons’ transfer strategy.

He played a role in bringing the likes of Aymeric Laporte to Eastlands among a plethora of promising youngsters like Pablo Maffeo, Brahim Diaz and Angelino during his time there (The Athletic).

David Moyes has personally expressed his desire to not only sign capable first team stars, but also bring in players who come with plenty of potential and sell-on value.

Newman comes in to assist the Scotsman in both regards and now Voetbal Belgie bring news of a brand new name on his target list.

The Latest: West Ham eyeing Hendry…

Amid his fantastic run of form in Belgium, the Irons have become one of the Premier League sides interested in Hendry and are now tracking his performances – according to VB.

It is believed that the Scotland international, as well as Newman’s West Ham, is also being followed by the likes of Aston Villa and Brighton.

The 26-year-old penned a four-year deal in Brugges in late August, signing there from KV Oostende just two months after he sealed a permanent move to the 1A Pro League minnows from Celtic.

The Verdict: Ogbonna replacement?

Since leaving Glasgow for the continent, Hendry has come on leaps and bounds – putting in some big performances on the biggest stages in Europe.

Making his Champions League debut for Brugge earlier this season, the 11-cap ace ‘kept Lionel Messi quiet’ on a night where he coped very well with the Argentine and fellow Paris-Saint Germain superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe as his side fought to a 1-1 draw (The Daily Mail).

At international level, he’s helped the Tartan Army along to being ‘within a whisker’ of the 2022 World Cup play-offs and a qualifying win against Moldova later this month would seal it.

The 6 foot 4 powerhouse, lauded as a ‘natural leader’ and ‘one of the best defenders’ in Belgium last season by Oostende boss Alexander Blessin (Daily Record), could also come as a ready-made replacement for Angelo Ogbonna.

West Ham’s centre-half is out of contract at the end of this season and at 33-years-old it could be time to start thinking about who could fill his boots in future campaigns.

Hendry certainly fits the bill going by his numbers over 2021/2022 compared to the Italian.

According to WhoScored, the ex-Hoops man has averaged more tackles, interceptions and aerial duels won per 90 over his league outings for Brugge when compared to Ogbonna at the London Stadium.

Valued at around £4.5 million by Transfermarkt, a figure in and around this amount could point to a bargain deal for Newman and the Hammers.

In other news: ‘Woohoo’, ‘Going for the title’…ExWHUemployee’s transfer claim has many West Ham fans buzzing, find out more here.

Celtic left-back Greg Taylor could be out until the New Year following shoulder surgery, Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Taylor’s surgery

Taylor has made 11 appearances in all competitions this season but hasn’t been seen since picking up an injury against Ross County last month.

He’s had surgery on his shoulder problem and was expected to be out until November, however, it seems as if fans will have to wait longer for the 23-year-old to return to action, with Football Scotland labelling the latest update as ‘frustrating’ on Twitter.

The Latest: Ange’s comments

Talking to the media, relayed by Football Scotland, Postecoglou confirmed that the Scot is still a ‘couple of months away’ from making a return.

“Greg’s had an operation on his shoulder, it’s about four weeks since he started rehab so he’s still a good couple of months away.

“It’s a contact thing where we have to be careful.”

The Verdict: 16 games out?

Should Taylor remain out until the New Year, he’ll miss the next 16 fixtures. Neil Lennon labelled Taylor as ‘consistent’ earlier this year and he was a regular under Postecoglou prior to his injury, so this latest update isn’t great news, losing an extremely reliable player.

Postecoglou may now have to find a way to fill the void for a further two months, which could result in Josip Juranovic and Adam Montgomery continuing to fill in due to Taylor’s absence.

The Hoops have also recently been linked with Derby County left-back Lee Buchanan, but that will have to wait until the New Year for any movement there of course.

In other news: Frank McAvennie questions effort levels of 5 G/A Celtic ace who ‘goes missing’. 

This weekend sees the return of Premier League action with Bruno Lage’s Wolves side set to take on Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday.

Their previous league outing saw Wolves pick up all three points in a 2-1 victory against Newcastle United thanks to a brace of goals from Hwang Hee-chan.

On the chalkboard

One player that didn’t start against the Toon that we think should be in the starting XI to face Villa at the weekend is Adama Traore, someone described as a “top player” by Bruno Lage in the past.

Wolves signed Traore back in the 2018 summer transfer window from Championship side Middlesbrough for a fee of £18m.

Since then, the 25-year-old, who is currently valued at £27m according to Transfermarkt, has made a total of 140 appearances for the Old Gold across all competitions, scoring ten goals and providing 18 assists along the way.

So far this season, Traore, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £43k-per-week according to Spotrac, has made an appearance in every game Wolves have had across all competitions, starting their opening five league games of the season, whilst coming on as a substitute in their previous two league fixtures.

Despite not scoring a goal or providing an assist for the Midlands club so far this season, we feel that Traore should return to the starting XI for the match against Villa. After all, he is currently their highest-rated player according to WhoScored for his performances in the league with an overall rating of 7.47/10.

In addition to this, with Traore having racked up a total of seven dribbles per game so far this season in the league, higher than any other Wolves player by some distance, it demonstrates why he simply has to start.

He is a game-changer, amassing two shots and 1.7 key passes per game as well, something that shows how much of an attacking threat he can be and how much of a nuisance he is to opposition defenders.

If you consider how Trincao struggled in the game against Newcastle while playing on the right wing, it makes Traore starting a no-brainer. The former earned a disappointing overall match rating of 6.4/10, making him the lowest-rated Wolves player on the day according to SofaScore.

During the game, he missed a glorious opportunity to score and failed to provide a single key pass.

Consequently, it should make it an easy decision for Lage to put Traore back in the side this weekend.

In other news: Wolves may launch January move for “world-class” 68-cap maestro, he’d fix a big hole – opinion 

An update has emerged on Rangers manager Steven Gerrard, regarding his thoughts on an exit from the club.

What’s the talk?

According to the Daily Mail, the Gers boss is ‘intrigued’ by the prospect of becoming the new manager of Newcastle United after their £305m takeover by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium.

The report claims that Newcastle are also looking at Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, whilst it also states that sources in Scotland believe this will be the 41-year-old’s final season in Scotland.

Huge blow

Teddy Bears chief Ross Wilson is now facing a potential nightmare at Ibrox following this update as losing Gerrard would be a huge blow for the club. The managerial gem has been fantastic for the Gers since arriving in Scotland in 2018 after leaving Liverpool’s youth set-up.

Gerrard has managed Rangers for 185 matches to date and averaged an incredible 2.15 points per game. The 41-year-old was able to lead the club to the Scottish Premiership crown in style last season as they went unbeaten and racked up an eye-catching 102 points – winning 32 games and drawing six. This came after he achieved back-to-back second-place finishes behind Celtic in his first two campaigns at Ibrox.

Rangers have also had a terrific start to the current campaign under his management. They are top of the Premiership table on 16 points, with five wins, one draw and one defeat in their opening seven matches. This suggests that the Gers could be on their way to another league title success, which is why losing Gerrard would be a huge blow at this point in the season.

He has re-installed a winning mentality at Rangers and has them on their way to being the dominant force in Scottish football once again, as shown by their form since the start of the 2020/21 campaign.

Fans will surely be livid if he now decides to ditch them this early into a season to go and manage Newcastle in the Premier League.

Not only would they be frustrated that a talented manager would be leaving Ibrox, with his outstanding record something he can be proud of, but the timing of the move would be a nightmare for Rangers and Wilson.

It would leave them scrambling to find a replacement whilst still playing important matches in the Premiership and Europa League.

Hopefully, Gerrard will stay loyal to the club and remain in charge until the end of the season, at least. This would allow Wilson time to source a quality replacement in the hot seat, although it would still be sad to see him leave at any point.

AND in other news, Fresh injury update emerges on “unbelievable” Rangers beast that’ll leave fans buzzing…

Some Liverpool supporters have bemoaned an update on Harvey Elliott which suggests he will be missing for around six months through injury.

The Reds may have won 3-0 at Leeds United on Sunday afternoon, but an excellent result was marred by a serious injury to Elliott.

The 18-year-old was stretchered off the field with an apparent dislocated ankle in the second half, following a tackle by Pascal Struijk which saw the Leeds youngster receive a red card.

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It was a hugely upsetting moment for anyone of a Liverpool persuasion, with Elliott a prodigious talent who has already become a key man this season, starting three out of four top flight matches, including against potential title rivals Chelsea.

According to expert sports surgeon Mike Hennessy [Daily Mail via Anfield Watch on Twitter], the hope is that the midfielder will be back on the pitch in six months because of the good work of the paramedics.

Six months from Sunday’s visit to Elland Road would be until mid-March, so it’s hard to envisage the youngster gaining 100 per cent sharpness and fitness until very late into the campaign, leading one fan below to worry ‘that’s the season over for him’.

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Liverpool fans react to Elliott claim

Despite the timeline being seen as a best case scenario in the report, these Reds fans took to Twitter to bemoan the fact that Elliott will be out for such a long time, with supporters saying they are ‘devastated’.

“No way”

Credit: @WillDinsmore88

“Damn this is most of the season gone”

Credit: @Homes19LFC

“Speedy recovery Harvey! Devastated for him though”

Credit: @alikhwannn

“6 months, there’s so much pain in my chest rn”

Credit: @SAINTLAUR3N

“And I was here expecting 3 months tops”

Credit: @IamNvestor

“6 months!! That’s the season over for him. Have to make some signings in January as a minimum”

Credit: @CleverClaremont

In other news, some Liverpool fans have hailed a pundit after he stuck up for one Reds player. Read more here.

Writing for Eurosport, journalist Dean Jones has dropped an update on Luka Jovic and his future at Real Madrid as West Ham United eye a move.

The Lowdown: West Ham in striker chase…

Despite a plethora of last gasp signings during the summer window, one area manager David Moyes didn’t strengthen is the and out-and-out centre-forward area.

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Indeed, the likes of Alphonse Areola, Kurt Zouma, Alex Kral and Nikola Vlasic have bolstered West Ham’s spine with their summer arrivals but Michail Antonio is still without a supporting option up front.

Now, journalist Jones has dropped an update on West Ham’s links to Galacticos outcast Jovic.

The Latest: Jovic will ‘begin the search for a new club’…

Unable to get any game time at Real Madrid this season, the reporter says he will now ‘begin the search for a new club’ amid links to West Ham, which are backed in the report.

Indeed, as GSB eye a move, it appears Jovic is open to offers of leaving the Bernabeu in favour of more game time.

However, while West Ham and Arsenal are in the mix, it is believed that the Serbia international ‘would prefer’ a move to Germany or Italy.

The Verdict: Good option for Moyes?

If Jovic is willing to compromise on a move to the Premier League, despite his rustiness, he represents a good option for West Ham and one who has been called ‘lethal’ by Two Footed Podcast host Dave Hendrick for his time at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Scoring a career total of 59 goals since his senior debut, the 23-year-old still has plenty of years ahead of him and a real chance to resurrect his career away from Real.

Moyes and West Ham could just the side to help him do that considering their need for another striker.

In other news: West Ham source: GSB could now make move to sign ‘absolutely immense’ player for Moyes, find out more here.

Leicester City will be hoping to get their Europa League campaign off to a winning start when they face Napoli at the King Power Stadium this evening.

The Foxes will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City last time out, but know they’ll face a tough task when Luciano Spalletti’s charges come to town.

Nevertheless, Leicester will be confident of securing a positive result in their Group C curtain-raiser, especially after manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed key defenders Jonny Evans, Jannik Vestergaard and Ricardo Pereira are all available for selection.

“We’re looking good on that front. It’s just Wesley (Fofana) and James (Justin) who are unavailable,” the Northern Irishman revealed in Wednesday’s press conference.

The trio made their returns to the matchday squad last time out, with Vestergaard and Evans both getting some valuable minutes under their belts, and they could be ready to play a full 90 in this midweek clash.

With that in mind, here’s how Football FanCast expects Rodgers to line up against Napoli, with three changes to the starting XI that faced the Cityzens…

In goal, the virtually ever-present Kasper Schmeichel should keep his place between the sticks despite the impressive exploits of backup goalkeeper Danny Ward on international duty.

Ahead of the new club captain is expected to be a more experienced back four following the return of key centre-backs Vestergaard and Evans.

Summer signing Ryan Bertrand and Timothy Castagne are set to keep their respective places at full-back, but Caglar Soyuncu’s poor start to the season sees him relegated to the substitutes bench.

The engine room will undoubtedly be occupied by the usually dependable duo of Wilfried Ndidi and Youri Tielemans, despite the latter’s underwhelming performance over the weekend.

In attack, Rodgers may be tempted to try something new after the £49.5m-rated James Maddison went 15 games without a goal or assist in all competitions.

The Englishman’s struggles should see Kelechi Iheanacho get his first start of 2020/21, while Ademola Lookman may also feature from the off for the first time in place of Marc Albrighton.

Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy are expected to complete the starting lineup, and they’ll be hoping to fire Leicester to all three points.

And, in other news…Leicester receive big boost ahead of Napoli, Rodgers will be delighted