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A striker issue had engulfed West Ham United until the solution was found at the weekend.

During their thrilling comeback win over Huddersfield Town, the Hammers not only found back an inspired fighting spirit but options to solve their goal-scoring issues.

It was substitute Javier Hernandez who turned back the clock to score a Fergie time winner to give his side a famous win. Indeed, at West Ham, it’s Manuel time he’s operating at. Pellegrini might have a variety of attacking options, but is still getting used to the rotational bit with his squad.

However, with an inspired showing from the Mexican, he’s found his hitman. Even to this day, Chicharito works best as a substitute. West Ham looked a different side after he came on, as his lethal skills in the final third encourage his team-mates to fling balls into the box. Even to this day, the Mexican’s foxy nature means that defenders find it difficult to keep a track of him.

That being said, Chicharito’s been quite underwhelming, when starting from the get-go. He ends up getting bullied by physically adept defenders and loses his concentration. Strangely, this isn’t the case when he comes from the bench. He arrives when defenders are already physically and mentally fatigued and end up losing concentration in the final minutes.

He’s able to pounce on their mistakes and get into promising positions, giving the Hammers a dynamic change in approach. Pellegrini has clearly realised how Chicharito works best coming on from the bench and will now bring him on later to deal finishing blows to the opponents.

Hammers fans, do you want Chicharito to operate more from the bench? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Leeds United’s Under-23 side overcame Fulham’s Under-23s on penalties in the last-16 stage of the Premier League Cup on Thursday night.

The two teams could not be separated in normal or indeed extra-time, but Leeds recorded a 5-4 win in the shootout to progress to the quarter-finals.

The club’s Under-23 side have been absolutely flying in recent weeks and entered the clash with Fulham off the back of a 4-0 success over Charlton Athletic’s Under-23 outfit in the PDL on Monday night.

Another victory has now been put on the board and it would be fair to say that the team’s supporters are absolutely delighted with what they are seeing at the moment.

Now, the first team securing a return to the Premier League is obviously the most important thing, but it is always good to see your Under-23s doing well.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Leeds fans after the Under-23s progressed can be seen below:

With Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane consistently firing in Liverpool’s attack, Premier League clubs have plenty of reason to fear the league leaders but a recent report suggests the final piece of the attacking jigsaw is in their sights. 

Indeed, according to a recent report from Italian media outlet Il Messaggero, Liverpool are interested in signing Lazio’s Ciro Immobile and they had scouts in attendance on Sunday afternoon when he scored what proved to be a consolation goal to half the deficit against Napoli.

The same report claims that Lazio are understandably reluctant to sell their star player in January, and would only consider an ‘indecent’ 100 million euro (£88 million) proposal.

That Immobile has managed to score an incredible 81 goals in 113 appearances for Lazio can go a long way to explaining the extortionate asking price which has been quoted.

Klopp was in charge of Dortmund when Immobile moved to the club from Torino in a £15.5 million deal, but he struggled to adapt to his new surroundings and ended his debut campaign with just three Bundesliga goals in 24 appearances.

A return of four goals from six Champions League appearances in the same season did not spare him from being selected on a list of the three biggest Dortmund flops in the past twenty years (as per Il Messaggero), and he returned to Italy with a point to prove when he joined Lazio in July 2016.

The progress Immobile has made in Italy suggests he would be a fantastic addition to Liverpool’s squad, offering an extra layer of competition at centre-forward to complete the attack.

A January deal is incredibly unlikely, particularly at £88 million, but the fact Liverpool sent scouts to San Paolo on Sunday to see Immobile in action suggests their interest is serious and a summer deal is something they are taking into deep consideration.

His presence would give Liverpool a more traditional centre-forward option as an alternative to the deeper-lying Firmino and the natural wide man Salah, lending Klopp the opportunity to shift his tactical approach in tight encounters while naturally bolstering Liverpool’s strength in depth.

The likes of Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi are clearly not up to the standard required to help Liverpool re-establish themselves as one of Europe’s most feared clubs, but replacing the aforementioned pairing by bringing Immobile to Anfield would give Klopp a complete set of options to chose from at centre-forward.

Liverpool fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Having brushed aside Watford in comfortable fashion last time out in the Premier League, Manchester United travel to Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon to face Everton.

The Red Devils suffered some painful memories there last season, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side falling to a quite embarrassing 4-0 defeat last April – the Norwegian even apologised to the fans for what they had seen, admitting that the performance was “not good enough for a Manchester United team”.

United will no doubt therefore be keen for a measure of revenge against the Toffees, and Solskjaer will surely look to go with as strong a line-up as possible.

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Below is a look at the potential team the Manchester side may play.

In goal, David de Gea should be the man tasked with trying to keep out the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison, whilst Solskjaer is also likely to revert to his more tried-and-trusted back four.

Scott McTominay and Fred could hold down the fort in the engine room, and provide the platform for United’s attacking players to shine.

Calling Premier League experts ONLY: Which year were these top flight clubs formed?

Bruno Fernandes has enjoyed a remarkable start to his career at Old Trafford since joining the club in a £47m deal from Sporting CP, scoring once and providing two assists.

Either side of him, Daniel James and Mason Greenwood could keep their places in the starting line-up from the game against Watford last week, leaving Anthony Martial to lead the line up front.

Predicted XI: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Maguire, Lindelof, Shaw; McTominay, Fred; James, Bruno Fernandes, Greenwood; Martial.

Meanwhile, this Man Utd man was more creative than Bruno Fernandes in the win over Watford.

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to react after it was reported by Bleacher Report that Cenk Tosun – a long-term target of the south Londoners – is once again on their radar.

The Turkey international has made just two Premier League starts this season, scoring one goal, and could well leave Goodison Park in January in a bid to find more game time.

After the sacking of Marco Silva, the 28-year-old may find his fortunes to be different under a new manager, although he has scored just nine Premier League goals in total since his £27m move from Besiktas back in January 2018.

Palace tried to sign Tosun before he moved to Everton, seeing a deadline day move for the physical marksman fail back in the summer of 2017 – the Turk later said that he was glad the move never materialised, and also rejected the Eagles back in January of this year (Gökmen Özcan via Royal Blue Mersey) when the south Londoners made another attempt for his services.

Now, this news has got some supporters chatting on Twitter.

One fan began the discussion by stating that Tosun is “no Jordan Ayew though” in an attempt to outline that the Ghanaian is superior to the Turkish hitman, whereas two more supporters expressed their unhappiness with the rumour – one even called the Toffees frontman a “carthorse”.

Another fan also suggested they weren’t in favour of this move, saying “no way”.

Additionally, two more fans made reference to the fact that Tosun had rejected Palace in the past, saying that “we don’t want you now” after being turned down by the Turk in the past.

Lastly, one other Palace fan began to state the old saying: ‘You made your bed, so lie in it’.

It doesn’t seem as if another swoop for Tosun would go down too well given these responses.

In other news, see what ambitious move Steve Parish attempted to complete over a striker with 83 goals throughout his career.

Steven Gerrard’s start to life at Ibrox has been impressive considering the Liverpool legend doesn’t have any top flight experience. 

Disregarding their disappointing Scottish League Cup semi-final loss to Aberdeen, Rangers’ form has been pretty good so far this season and as it stands, Gerrard’s side sit third in the table, five points off league leaders Hearts.

Crucially for Rangers, Gerrard has closed the distance between his side and arch rivals, Celtic and it now looks as though The Gers can compete with Brendan Rodgers’ side.

In Europe too, Rangers have done well and are edging closer to qualifying for the next round of the Europa League.

With a relatively inexperienced manager at the helm, the Rangers fans need to be patient and club legend, Ally McCoist is right to call on the fans to stick by the new boss.

The Breakdown

While Rangers have played well this season, there are still a lot of games to come. In the league, Rangers will face a tough test to win the title as there are five teams that could potentially win the Championship.

Against a Celtic side that has so much experience and talent, taking the title from their rivals will be an extremely tough task. Moreover, with Rangers competing in Europe too, the depth of the squad will certainly be tested.

With the likes of Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos, Gerrard has two superb attacking talents that could take the club to new heights, although the fans must be ready to give Gerrard time.

Thoughts Rangers fans?  

Rangers have opened talks with Hearts striker Kyle Lafferty and are confident he will make the move to the Ibrox by Friday, according to The Daily Record.

What’s the story?

The 30-year-old journeyman previously had a spell at Rangers between 2008 and 2012 where he made over 100 appearances, scoring 31 goals.

The striker returned to the SPL last summer when he signed for Hearts and now Steven Gerrard is keen to add more firepower to his squad and wants Lafferty to head back to the Ibrox.

The Northern Ireland international scored 12 league goals last season and has recently been the subject of a £200,000 bid from Rangers, which was rejected by Hearts.

Now it appears Steven Gerrard is still keen on signing the striker, who scored the only goal as Hearts beat Celtic in their second game of the season, and he believes a deal will be agreed by Friday, according to the report.

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Attacking flair

Lafferty has a lot of experience to offer Rangers who have a very young squad, and he could add to the attacking talent already at the club in the form of Umar Sadiq and Alfredo Morelos.

The deal may end up significantly more than what Rangers initially wanted to pay, but Lafferty will pay it back with his goals, as he showed against Celtic.

He is a man for the big occasion and would be a great acquisition for Gerrard as he looks to add the finishing touches to his exciting squad.

Leeds United suffered their third successive defeat on the road in the Championship as they were beaten 3-0 by Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Sunday, and Whites fans weren’t impressed with Eunan O’Kane’s performance.

The midfielder missed the midweek defeat against Cardiff City because of illness but he retook his place in the side against the Owls, replacing Mateusz Klich in the centre of the park.

However, it was a disappointing day for the Republic of Ireland international and his teammates and the 27-year-old rounded off a poor display with a weak clearance that was fired home by Wednesday’s Kieran Lee for Carlos Carvalhal’s side’s third goal.

Leeds United supporters were quick to have their say on his showing via social media, and while some described him as “easily the worst player on the pitch”, others said he was “diabolical”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Tottenham Hotspur fans have joked on Twitter that the club should make a move for Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez just to rub it in their rivals’ faces.

Spurs are on course to finish above their North London enemies in the Premier League table for the first time in 22 years.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men currently reside second in the table, 14 points above the Gunners with seven games left to play.

Spurs are the closest challengers to league leaders Chelsea, who have a seven-point advantage in the title race.

As for Arsenal, they could struggle to finish inside the top four this season as Arsene Wenger’s men sit seven points adrift of Manchester City, who occupy the final Champions League spot.

Misery was piled onto the Gunners even more on Monday night when they suffered their third loss in five top-flight matches.

They were convincingly beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, and there is growing uncertainty surrounding the futures of Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, both of whom come to the end of their contracts next summer.

Just to rub salt into the wound, some Spurs fans tweeted that their club should swoop for Sanchez at the end of the season, while others claimed that the Chilean is not good enough for them.

Axel Witsel to Everton is just a sign of how the Premier League is changing financially. A player who has previously been linked with moves to some of Europe’s biggest names is set to move to a club that can hardly even break the window in to the top half of the Premier League.

The Belgian has featured regularly at the European Championships and, despite spending several seasons there, the Zenit man looks set to have a move to the Premier League pencilled in for this summer.

Everton would obviously be ecstatic if they could pull off such a notable coup this summer and would be willing to shatter their transfer record for the privilege.

However, a player of this class is highly-desired around Europe. On that note, Premier League clubs are, on the whole, absolutely desperate for central midfielders.

There aren’t too many better than Witsel, so here are FIVE reasons that other Premier League clubs mustn’t let Everton complete this signing…

Unheralded class

In the golden generations of Belgians, Axel Witsel seems to be one of the few players who is not lauded in the same way as others.

His quality in midfield is without doubt, but it is perhaps due to his lack of top-five league experience which means he is often overlooked. Without a question, Witsel is up to the standard of Champions League football and this must be the calibre of clubs that target him.

International pedigree

Playing for the Belgian national team these days is no small feat. Witsel is an integral part of the squad and it shows his adaptability.

Having also played in both Russia and Portugal, there is a resilience there that could surely be tapped in to by Premier League clubs. He has previously impressed in both leagues and is due his chance in England.

Challenging times

The central-midfield market seems quite hectic at the moment. It’s an area that many Premier League teams seem desperate to strengthen and demand is far exceeding supply.

As a result of this, players, like Witsel, are seeing their transfer fees soar and many clubs will pay far too much for players nowhere near as good as Axel Witsel.

With the figures being touted for other players, competing with Everton for Witsel is a must for many Premier League clubs.

Master of all trades

Few midfielders can play as many roles as well as Witsel.

If needed as a regista, deep-lying playmaker of box-to-box midfielder, Witsel will deliver a quality performance. As a result, he is a great asset in a number of different formations.

So many midfielders seem to need certain systems and tactical blueprints to fit in to the team, Witsel does not offer such issues.

Think of the £

As mentioned earlier, many players of Witsel’s ilk will cost far, far more than the Belgian.

The argument against Witsel will largely be about his lack of experience in the perceived ‘top’ leagues. Yes, this could be an issue, but his price relative to many others of his class should make him a certain target.

He oozes quality, has a complete midfield game and is available for what can only be considered a ‘reasonable’ price in the modern game.