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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… 

Aston Villa ran riot last weekend to pick up just their second win of this Premier League season as they defeated Norwich 5-1 at Carrow Road.

The result saw them rise out of the relegation zone and into 15th by close of play on Sunday evening.

Summer signing Wesley bagged a first-half brace, but we could easily have been writing about a hat-trick as his penalty was saved by the Canaries’ goalkeeper.

Villa midfielders Jack Grealish, Conor Hourihane, and Douglas Luiz also got on the scoresheet to make it a fabulous five in Norfolk.

Norwich were able to capture a meaningless consolation goal three minutes from time when Josip Drmic capitalised on a Tyrone Mings blunder to slot home into an empty net.

The west Midlands club have clearly had a change in fortune in attack as prior to the game, they only managed to score eight goals in seven matches.

On the Chalkboard

One player, in particular, has made a phenomenal impact since being reintroduced to the starting line up, so much so that he could be one of the key reasons behind their upturn in goalscoring form.

Hourihane bagged his first goal of this Premier League season, meaning he has scored in every division from League Two onwards – but anyone keeping an eye on his Carabao Cup exploits would know that he’s already bagged three in that competition, taking his total for the season to four.

But it’s not just goals that the 28-year-old offers.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Football FanCast previously suggested that Jack Grealish should play further forward – that’s something that has been allowed to happen because of Hourihane’s introduction to the starting line up.

The captain’s last two games from left-wing have seen a 7.39 rating vs. Burnley followed by a goal and a season-high 8.76 rating vs. Norwich, per WhoScored.

An important thing to note is just how far forward Hourihane plays – he was actually the furthest ahead of any of the Villa squad against the Canaries, so it’s no surprise to see that he also notched up an assist on top of the goal too.

The Republic of Ireland international started the season in midfield against Tottenham Hotspur, but was unfairly dropped to allow summer arrivals Douglas Luiz and Marvelous Nakamba to settle in – he had played defensive midfield six times last season, per Transfermarkt’s recorded matches, so that made him an obvious choice.

But maybe Dean Smith has found his best position and role over the last week or so – he would be very wise to continue allowing it to pay off after the international break.

[ad_pod ]Manchester United: top four or mid-table misery?When Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men bagged four in the opening game of the season against Chelsea, who have since dropped points against Leicester City and Sheffield United, our heads prematurely turned.This could actually be it, we thought to ourselves as Daniel James netted the fourth – the Red Devils are back. United have since drawn to Wolves and Southampton and lost to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford. Maybe next year?Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The silver lining to United’s very dark cloud is that new signings James, Harry Maguire, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka look like very decent players. James has already equalled mega flop Alexis Sanchez’s Premier League goalscoring record, Maguire isn’t Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, or Marcos Rojo, and Wan-Bissaka produces more tackles than a Sunday league game on a wet winter’s day.

Indeed, it’s interesting that talkSPORT pundit Tony Cascarino believes Solskjaer’s success in the market could be the driving force behind his side’s push to the top…

Given the extent of United’s very evident personnel problems – i.e. a midfield that lacks any real quality, a desperate lack of left-back options (Ashley Young is still getting the nod), and no natural right-sided wingers – we think it might take a little more than the January transfer window. Sorry, Tony.

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نجح أشرف بن شرقي لاعب نادي الزمالك، من تسجيل الهدف الأول لفريقه في شباك سيراميكا كليوباترا، في المباراة المقامة حاليًا في الدوري المصري الممتاز.

الزمالك يلتقي مع نظبره سيراميكا كليوباترا على استاد القاهرة الدولي، في إطار منافسات الجولة الخامسة عشر من عمر مسابقة الدوري المصري.

طالع أيضًا.. مباشر بالفيديو | مباراة الزمالك وسيراميكا كليوباترا في الدوري المصري

وسجل أشرف بن شرقي لاعب الزمالك الهدف الأول لفريقه في شباك سيراميكا كليوباترا في الدقيقة 5 من اللقاء. هدف أشرف بن شرقي

ويحتل الزمالك صدارة جدول ترتيب الدوري المصري برصيد 30 نقطة، فيما يتواجد سيراميكا المركز الثامن برصيد 21 نقطة.

[ad_pod ]Football FanCast’s News articles summarise the biggest stories in world football, based on information from other sources.According to The Mirror’s Darren Lewis on Twitter, Tottenham Hotspur’s bid to sign Fulham youngster Ryan Sessegnon on deadline day has hit a snag, shortly after their move for Juventus attacker Paulo Dybala fell through.

BBC Sport journalist David Ornstein performed a major U-turn on Thursday as he went from saying that a Spurs move for the Argentina international was very close, to saying that it had been called off after the Serie A giants decided that they wanted to keep the 25-year-old.

Despite that disappointment, it seemed likely that the north London outfit were going to get a deal over the line for Sessegnon, with BBC Sport reporting on Wednesday that they had agreed a £25m fee with the Championship club that would see Josh Onomah move the other way.

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However, Lewis says that talks between the two clubs have now hit an impasse, just hours before the deadline.

It remains to be seen whether or not the transfer can be salvaged, but Tottenham will surely want to ensure they get it over the line considering the huge potential he looks to have with 25 goals and 18 assists in 120 Fulham appearances despite his tender years, as well as the fact that he is capable of playing either as a left-back or on the left wing.

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Leeds United fans have taken to social media to criticise the performance of midfielder Mateusz Klich in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Elland Road.

Klich provided the assist for Pablo Hernandez to score for Marcelo Bielsa’s team.

But the 6 f00t ace’s overall performance did not impress the Leeds supporters.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

According to WhoScored, the 29-year-old only won one tackle, whilst his pass success rate was down at 70%, which is not exactly brilliant for a midfielder.

It has been a decent start to the 2019-20 Championship season for Leeds, who have collected four points from their first two matches.

However, there does seem to be an air of frustration amongst the supporters at the moment.

Patrick Bamford was another to be criticised following the draw with Forest, which is not a terrible result when taking everything into account.

However, Klich was on the end of some strong comments on social media. A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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انتهت مباراة الأهلي وبايرن ميونخ الألماني، التي جمعت بينهما مساء اليوم الإثنين، ضمن منافسات كأس العالم للأندية 2021.

فاز بايرن ميونخ على الأهلي، بهدفين دون رد، ضمن منافسات نصف نهائي كأس العالم للأندية، على ملعب استاد الريان بالعاصمة القطرية الدوحة.

أقرأ ايضًا.. بالفيديو | بايرن ميونخ يهزم الأهلي بثنائية ليفاندوفسكي في كأس العالم للأندية

تأهل الأهلي إلى نصف نهائي كأس العالم للأندية، بعدما أقصى الدحيل القطري، بهدف دون رد في ربع نهائي البطولة، فيما تأهل بايرن ميونخ مباشرة إلى دور نصف النهائي من مونديال الأندية.

وبهذه النتيجة سيخوض الأهلي مباراته الأخيرة في مونديال الأندية 2021، للعب على المركز الثالث عندما يواجه نظيره بالميراس البرازيلي، الذي هُزم في دور نصف النهائي من فريق تيجريس أونال المكسيكي. موعد مباراة الأهلي وبالميراس البرازيلي القادمة

تُقام مباراة الأهلي وبالميراس، في تمام الساعة الخامسة مساء الخميس المقبل الموافق 11 فبراير، بتوقيت القاهرة، السادسة مساءً بتوقيت قطر والسعودية.

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It has been a decent pre-season so far this summer for Arsenal and particularly for the younger crop of Gunners coming in and getting some minutes with the senior side.

The latest challenge saw the north London outfit smoothly sail over Fiorentina as they smashed their opponents 3-0.

And the goal scorers? Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock, two rising stars that could have a huge role to play at the club if they continue their development in the right way.

Willock has now taken to Instagram to share a snap with another talent, Reiss Nelson.

And of course, the picture soon prompted many of other people to reply and send their best wishes to the duo.

Willock just captioned it as “gang gang” with a heart emoji that followed but others were just a bit more excited.

Ian Wright, an ex-Arsenal player and icon, commented what most of the fans thought anyway, calling the youngsters “the future”.

Of course, there were others there as Nelson replied himself, while Tyreece John-Jules demanded some credit for the photographer.

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According to Sky Sports, Philippe Coutinho isn’t interested in a move to Manchester United out of respect for Liverpool, who of course are United’s bitter rivals.

What’s the word, then?

Well, it hasn’t all gone to plan for Coutinho at Barcelona since his £142m from Liverpool back in January 2018.

The Brazilian international is reportedly up for sale after a dismal season at the Camp Nou, where he managed to net 11 goals in 54 appearances.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

Coutinho was also booed by the supporters for not living up to his huge price tag – a sum that saw him become the club’s record transfer – and it seems as if his dream move has ultimately turned into a nightmare.

After he dismissed United, Sky Sports understands initial talks have taken place between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona over the potential signing of Coutinho, although with the attacking midfielder away on Copa America duty a move may not happen anytime soon.

Where was the respect for Liverpool before?

To say that he will reject a move to United out of respect for Liverpool could be deemed as a cheap PR stunt from Coutinho.

Nobody would want to join the Red Devils right now given the mess they’re in, so Coutinho appears to be ceasing an opportunity to score a few points with the Liverpool fans who hate him for the way he forced a move out of the club.

Many Liverpool fans have shown their hatred on social media in recent months by brandishing Coutinho a snake…

But where was Coutinho’s respect for Liverpool when he handed in a transfer request to force a move away from the club who made him? Even worse, he handed in the request via email.

And where was the respect when he also paid a huge chunk of his own money to make the switch happen? Or when he missed games for Liverpool with what The Telegraph described as a ‘diplomatic’ back injury, while scoring goals for Brazil?

His reputation is tarnished on the red half of Merseyside because of the way he tried to force a move, and no cheap ploy will mend that.

Christian Eriksen is a top-class player without a doubt, but Tottenham should bite Real Madrid’s hand off if they can get £62m for him this summer.

It might sound crazy, agreeing to let your best player leave for a fee less than £70m in today’s market but if AS’ report is true and £62m is the figure being touted, then it’d be hard to resist. Indeed, he’s currently got one year left on his contract and is open to an exit, according to Ekstra Bladet, via Sky Sports News.

The report claims that Los Blancos wouldn’t be willing to go above €70m (£62m) but, frankly, even that is a great price considering the contractual circumstances.

If there’s no way of making him sign a new deal this summer to raise that fee, then they’ll have to accept that or keep an unhappy player until his contract runs out at the end of next season. To be honest, there’s no point in keeping him if his head is elsewhere. When he’s not 100%, as perhaps he wouldn’t be if Tottenham were to keep him, the Dane can often look like somewhat of a passenger in our eyes.

Obviously, they signed him from Ajax for just £12.15m and the value they’ve had from him since 2013 has already made that price worthwhile. So, if they can get just under £50m more by selling him, then that’s great business.

As a result, maybe Mauricio Pochettino would have the chance to splash the cash on a replacement and even still have money spare to use somewhere else. It doesn’t take a genius to work out that the north London club need some investment in their squad this summer after two transfer windows without a signing, so the funds would surely be helpful.

Spurs could potentially replace the 27-year-old with a much younger player willing to grow into the role and cement a place in the team for the next decade, as Eriksen did following the departure of Gareth Bale in 2013.

Spurs fans, how much would you want Real Madrid to pay for you to sell Christian Eriksen? Join the discussion by commenting below.

This has led to Tosin Adarabioyo thanking the Belgian for his guidance and tutelage over the course of the promising defender’s time at City.

Kompany, ever the gentlemen, responded on Twitter thanking his protege.

Kompany has received praise from every Manchester City player since he announced he was leaving to take up a player/manager role at Anderlecht.

The captain was a massive part of City’s final push towards their fourth Premier League Title, scoring a wonder-goal-from 25-yards against Leicester City in a crucial 1-0 win.

It was not just this goal though that proved invaluable, as his experience and tactical-nous ensured City kept seven clean-sheets in the games he played.

City will likely sign an established Premier League centre-back to replace the 33-year-old.

Adarabioyo, though, has undoubtedly learned an incredible amount of knowledge from one of the Premier League’s all-time-great defenders.

All of this can only stand the 21-year-old in good stead for the future.

He has just completed a loan-spell at West Bromwich Albion, where he made 29 appearances – an important step forward in Adarabioyo’s development.

Kompany leaves City having helped Adarabioyo’s career, and it is now up to him to make the most of the advice the City legend has handed out.