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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…

Time for a sort of celebration? Although there’s a little bit of a caveat to it all, so don’t start signing jubilantly just yet.

Lukas Jutkiewicz is set to make his 400th professional league appearance if he takes on Cardiff City this Saturday. Given that he has started every game for the Blues this season and has played 90 minutes in all but three of them (via Transfermarkt), barring any major incidents overnight, it’s safe to say that number is in the bag.

What’s been said?

And in preparation for such an event, Blues manager Pep Clotet has once again stressed just how important he is for the team, not just in terms of goals but for how he manages to bring other players into the game:

“It is critical for us because he creates a lot of space for us, he keeps the back line very far away from the midfield line, that allows us to use those spaces the best way we can. He is very smart so he creates the space where we need and I think his pressing ability is very good as well because he is smart.”

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

Time for change?

As we have discussed on FFC, there are a number of ways that the club could go about helping Jutkiewicz to get a little bit more out of his game and as a result the team. One way is by bringing in more players to play off him so that the team can gain a greater impetus in attack.

If they aren’t going to go down that road though, there may be the need for them to make some drastic changes.

Clotet talking about how important he is brings us back to another talking point that we recently had in regards to Jutkiewicz, and that’s whether or not they are in fact too reliant on him to get goals.

If they aren’t going to change the formation to suit him as we’ve suggested, perhaps the talk in January shouldn’t be about bringing in a forward to play up front with him, but rather to replace him.

That isn’t to say Jutkiewicz is past it but he does need some extra help, particularly when a rest is required during midweek matches.

Not only will it save his legs and he’ll be able to perform throughout the whole season, but supporters won’t have to worry about him suffering from burnout towards the end of the campaign.

Andrea Radrizzani has revealed that he’s whittled down a list of 20 future investors of Leeds to just three.

Talk of a potential takeover from QSI and Paris Saint Germain’s owners has now resumed while a fan of the club based in America is also in the running, according to Radrizzani. On top of that is the owner of an unnamed Italian football club.

Radrizzani has previously hinted that he wasn’t looking sell but more investment would certainly help the west Yorkshire club on their way to gaining promotion back to the Premier League.

However, following the latest reports, Leeds fans were left incredibly divided.

One supporter exclaimed how they hoped QSI’s investment would come off but another was concerned that the club would become just another vanity project if the Qatari based company came in.

A further individual said it could be curtains for Radrizzani if they failed to achieve promotion.

Speculation surrounding Nasser al-Khelaifi and the purchase of a stake in Leeds originated back in June when L’Equipe claimed discussions were set to take place.

Here’s the best of the reaction following the latest update.

Ernesto Valverde is hardly the most popular figure at Barcelona at the very moment.

The Basque coach has lately become the biggest target for harsh criticism at the club and many of the Blaugrana fans want him out sooner rather than later.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The latest proof of that came after Valverde’s pre-match press conference ahead of the clash with Eibar.

Barcelona’s boss talked about their opposition, praising them for how they can make every team’s life difficult due to their obvious qualities.

And of course, upon hearing their coach’s words, many of the Barcelona faithful decided to swarm social media and Twitter with their negative comments.

They bashed Valverde for being a useless and brainless coach and also stated that it’s, in fact, him who makes their lives difficult and not the opposition they will face this Saturday.

Needless to say, they weren’t happy with what their manager had to say before the game.

You can see some of their reactions and comments down in the tweets below.

Check them out…

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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…

Speaking on talkSPORT, Tony Cascarino has insisted Christian Eriksen isn’t worth a new Tottenham contract anymore.

What did he say?

The 90-cap Denmark international was the subject of intense transfer speculation over the course of the summer window, with reports intimating Manchester United were considering a late swoop.

However, a move failed to materialise before the end of the deadline, and recent claims have suggested Real Madrid are the playmaker’s preferred destination were he to leave Spurs.

Now, Cascarino has argued the north London side should think twice before throwing big-money at Eriksen in a bid to convince him to stay.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “A year or maybe 18 months ago, you would have paid Eriksen the sort of funds that would bring him up to the highest levels at Spurs and perhaps in the country.

“But I wouldn’t now. His performances last season were indifferent. This year, apart from coming on against Villa in the opening game of the season, he’s been poor and Tottenham have struggled. So I don’t see the big demand (to keep him) or the reasoning that ‘we give him what he wants’, no.”

Re-think

As Cascarino suggests, there would have been no question in previous seasons if Spurs simply offered whatever Eriksen demanded. Even last season, the Dane managed ten goals and a remarkable 17 assists in 51 games across all competitions. He has been at the heart of Tottenham’s attacking play, and quite rightly would have warranted a big-money contract.

But all the transfer talk this summer and the way in which it has affected him – he has just one goal and one assist this season – has raised big questions. Is he fully committed to the cause anymore? Are he and Tottenham on the same page in regards to what happens moving forward? Having said he’s interested in pursing a new challenge during the summer, it would seem not.

Whilst by no means has Eriksen just turned into an average Premier League player overnight, his poor form is leaving Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino with a fairly straight-forward decision to make. Cascarino’s advice stands firm.

Having arrived from Juventus in the summer transfer window for £60m, Joao Cancelo has had to bide his time at Manchester City.

The Portugal international has played second fiddle to first-choice right-back Kyle Walker, and had featured in just four games across all competitions before the Champions League clash against Dinamo Zagreb on Tuesday night.

The 25-year-old was given the opportunity to start from the off against the Croatian side, and he certainly did not disappoint Pep Guardiola with a composed display at the back.

As per Sofascore, he won three tackles, made two key passes, and completed five of his six attempted dribbles – not bad for a man playing at full-back.

After seeing Cancelo’s display, City fans flooded to Twitter to share their thoughts about their summer signing.

Watch Manchester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Many supporters of the Manchester side hailed the Portuguese defender’s quality on the ball, with one fan in particular simply describing him as being “insanely good”.

Some even insisted the former Juventus man has shown enough quality to displace Walker in the first-team, and suggested he should be given a regular chance to shine by Guardiola.

Check out some of the reaction of City fans below:

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West Ham were unable to build on their impressive performance against Liverpool two outings ago as they drew with Crystal Palace the following week. But against Fulham this Friday, they have the chance to get a much-need victory.

The Hammers, having spent just shy of £100m in the summer, surely had aspirations of breaking well into the top ten but are currently on the cusp of doing so, although a string of poor results could mean they plummet down the table as the clubs around them are on similar points.

Claudio Ranieri, meanwhile, has largely been unable to clean up the mess left by Slavisa Jokanovic when the Serbian boss was given the boot in November and the Cottagers find themselves second-bottom with just 17 points.

As far as opportunities to get back to winnings ways come, it doesn’t get much better for Manuel Pellegrini and West Ham. How, though, can they assure their poor run of results doesn’t extend to a seventh game and that they maximise this chance to return to top form? Football FanCast lay out three suggested solutions below…

Start either Samir Nasri or Manuel Lanzini

The thing so obviously missing from the Irons’ lacklustre showing at Selhurst Park last time out was an out-and-out playmaker to connect the dots and make things happen. Fortunately for Pellegrini, he has two such players set to make their respective comebacks from injury on Friday.

Nasri has impressed in the number 10 role since his switch to the London Stadium in January while Lanzini has long been a big fan-favourite – the latter hasn’t featured all season, though.

Pellegrini may be hasty to thrust Lanzini in particular, back into action but it’s a risk he must take if he wants to get the best out of Marko Arnautovic, who was starved of service after coming on against the Eagles.

Clog the middle

Declan Rice has been a revelation for the Hammers this season playing at the base of midfield and he will be essential once again if the Irons are to take all three points from Fulham.

The Cottagers hold the second-highest percentage in the league for attacks down the middle with 28%, so Pellegrini would be wise to make sure their ability to do so is limited on Friday. Instructing his players to tuck into the midfield will force Fulham to go out wide as the centre of the pitch will be far too congested.

Fulham will have to come up with different avenues of attack and, by the time they do, West Ham could be out of sight.

Play two up top

West Ham pretty much played with ten men against Palace – Javier Hernandez went completely missing and did nothing to trouble the Eagles defence apart from when he found space in the box early on, but miss-controlled the ball.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

The former Manchester United man is a quality finisher but starting him up front on his own, where he was deployed against Palace, doesn’t work. Felipe Anderson, meanwhile, thrives with a target man up front such as Arnautovic, and looked lost as to who to pass the ball to last time out.

Arnautovic, who started the season strongly but has recently fallen off amidst injury setbacks, is surely the man to get the best out of both Hernandez and Anderson going forward. Pellegrini needs a striker who he can be confident will score goals beyond 29-year-old Arnautovic and starting the two together could be the combination that ensures Hernandez hits a purple patch. A classic big man and little man partnership.

In today’s Tottenham Hotspur roundup, we take a look at some of the biggest stories involving the Lilywhites from the last 72 hours. Daniel Levy has discussed his decision to build a new stadium over bringing in new signings, Jack Clarke’s saga has turned him into a wanted man, and Anton Ferdinand has insisted Harry Kane should leave the club to win trophies.

‘He’s got to go’, says Ferdinand

Report: When speaking to talkSPORT, former West Ham defender Anton Ferdinand stated: “If I’m honest, he’s got to go. He’s a fantastic player, there is no question, there is no doubt about it.

“He wants to wake up in how many years’ time, speak to his children, his grandchildren and say ‘look what I’ve won’… not ‘look I’ve played for this club for 10 years and was loyal to this club, playing for this club for 10, 15, 20 years’.”

Verdict: Since breaking into the side, Kane has scored an incredible 168 goals in 259 appearances, as he chases records such as Alan Shearer’s Premier League one. But, as Ferdinand stated, with the ability Kane has he should be winning trophies, and if the striker wanted to he could probably get into any team in world football.

Of course, winning silverware is by no means beyond Tottenham – they did reach last season’s Champions League final, after all. But will they become serial trophy winners in the same way as Manchester City, the back-to-back champions, or Chelsea who tend to even end bad seasons – such as Antonio Conte’s last – with silverware? Recent history suggests not.

Clarke a wanted man

Report: The Express reports that Spurs are considering bringing Jack Clarke back to the club as Leeds United boss Marco Bielsa continues not to include the teenager in his plans for the season. It is reported that the likes of West Ham, Crystal Palace, and Everton are considering a move for the 18-year-old, should Spurs bring him back from the Whites in January.

Verdict: After winning the Young Player of the Year at Leeds, Spurs signed the winger in July and immediately loaned him back to the Yorkshire club in the hope he could continue his development there. Clarke bagged two goals and provided four assists in 22 Championship appearances last year, but in 2019/20 he’s still awaiting his first league outing of the campaign.

There’s little point in him wallowing on the Leeds bench but with Lucas Moura, Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela all battling for spots out wide back at Tottenham, sending Clarke out on loan is the right call. If Spurs can get him some Premier League experience this season, they’ll be turning a difficult situation into a major positive for the youngster.

‘We could have easily spent more money on players’ says Levy

Report: Daniel Levy has spoken to the Financial Times, discussing his decision to build Spurs’ new stadium at the expense of more signings. The Spurs chairman said: “I understand as I am a fan, clearly you want to win on the pitch. But we have been trying to look at this slightly differently, in that we want to make sure we ensure an infrastructure here to stand the test of time.

“We could have easily spent more money on players. Who knows if that would have bought us more success or not. The right approach is to build from the bottom up. There is no quick fix to becoming a much more significant global club.”

Verdict: Undoubtedly, Spurs’ new stadium is state-of-the-art with some alleging the cost to be more than £1billion. However, despite the luxury of the new home, not signing any players at all for two transfer windows is inevitably going to leave supporters questioning the club’s ambitions.

Likewise, perhaps if Levy had brought in more new players, the likes of Christian Eriksen wouldn’t be looking elsewhere. Even after snapping up Tanguy Ndombele this summer, it still feels as though Spurs haven’t taken advantage of their Champions League finalist status in the transfer market – perhaps because of the major rebuild of the club’s home.

Writing for Hampshire Live, reliable journalist Tom Leach has claimed that Southampton are still keeping close tabs on Chelsea midfielder Tino Anjorin after he joined Huddersfield Town on loan.

The Lowdown: Saints in January talks…

As per reliable reports, the Saints entered transfer talks to sign Anjorin last month as the club, and by extension new owners Sport Republic, eyed yet another west London raid.

This comes amid their interest in signing loanee striker Armando Broja on a permanent deal and after they also completed moves for ex-Blues defender Tino Livramento and Dynel Simeu from Stamford Bridge last year (Evening Standard).

Now, in another update concerning their latest target from Chelsea, Leach has shared some news.

The Latest: Journalist shares Anjorin update…

According to the Hampshire Live reporter, Southampton remain interested in the 20-year-old and scouts will watch him ‘closely’ as he moves to Huddersfield on a six-month temporary deal.

This comes after Saints transfer chief and CEO Martin Semmens personally held a summit with Anjorin’s agent/father in the week leading up to deadline day.

The Verdict: Promising talent…

Depending on Anjorin’s performances at the The John Smith’s Stadium, it will be interesting to see whether Southampton and Semmens lodge another summer bid as they retain an interest.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has already lauded the former Lokomotiv Moscow loanee despite the fact he has only made four senior competitive appearances for his parent club.

Indeed, the ex-Paris-Saint Germain manager called him ‘confident’, ‘strong’ and ‘creative’ – leaving little wonder Semmens and co are keeping watch of his situation.

In other news: Southampton now also keen on ‘massive’ £15 million man as they join four-club queue, find out more here.

Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise could be set for a spell on the sidelines after suffering a hamstring injury, which was initially described as “inflammation in his left foot” by the French Football Federation – after he withdrew from the France U21 squad.

Journalist Rahman Osman has revealed that the London-born 20-year-old could be potentially out for six weeks if the tests done on him come back with negative news.

Osman tweeted: “Michael Olise had a scan in the City [London] today. He was accompanied by the Palace team doctor, there is a feeling that it’s a hamstring problem.

“Tomorrow the results will be out, if it’s a full blown hamstrings – that is six weeks and Wembley gone.

“Good news is that he walked without support and doesn’t feel it too much so fingers crossed for tomorrow.”

If Olise and Palace’s nightmare outcome from the situation is realised, he will not only miss a London derby in the Premier League against Arsenal after the international break, but he will also miss the club’s London derby FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea, something that will undoubtedly leave the Eagles boss worried.

He may also miss league matches against, Leicester, Newcastle, Leeds, Southampton, and Watford, as the club looks to finish this season on as big a high as possible after an encouraging first campaign with manager Patrick Vieira in charge.

Just a couple of weeks ago, Vieira said about Olise: “What is important for Michael is that yes, at the moment he is playing well, but his focus and concentration has to be on Crystal Palace and how to work well in training and keep performing like he’s been doing in the last couple of games.”

After scoring two goals and adding five assists in 22 Premier League appearances, he has become an in-demand talent, with Arsenal, Chelsea, Everton, Lille and Bayern Munich all interested in him, according to the Sun.

Among wingers and attacking midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues and continental competitions over the last 365 days, he ranks in the top 5% for crosses per 90 (3.71), top 6% for progressive carries per 90 (9.82) and top 2% for assists per 90 (0.46).

Not only has he become one of the top young talents in the world, but also a key player for Palace, and they will certainly miss him.

In other news: Vieira set for huge howler as CPFC plot bid for “terrible” £91k-p/w dud who’s “so bad”

A number of West Ham supporters are ecstatic after centre-back Kurt Zouma was pictured training outside on Friday.

The Hammers have enjoyed another excellent season to date, proving that last term was no fluke as they look to finish in the top four in the Premier League.

David Moyes has been tested in the injury department of late, however, with Zouma and Angelo Obgonna both out injured, having been the go-to centre-back pairing.

While Obgonna is expected to miss the rest of the season with a serious knee problem, Zouma’s situation looks far more positive, acting as a big boost for West Ham.

On Friday, the club’s official Twitter account shared images of the Frenchman back on the training pitches, suggesting his return to the fold is not too far away.

West Ham fans love Zouma latest

These Hammers fans reacted in delighted fashion to the news on Twitter.

“ZOUUUUUUUUUUUMA”

Credit: @connorahumpage

“Things you love to see big Zouuuuuu is back let’s go lad”

Credit: @DannyMeates8

“TITLE CHARGE IS BACK ON!”

Credit: @billy_grimmel

“What a sight”

Credit: @samthomas97_

“Never needed a player as much as we need Big Zou rn”

Credit: @yshealthyv2

“Zouuuuu I’m so happy we got our main man back”

Credit: @JackSeaward69

In other news, some West Ham fans are excited over a transfer claim that has emerged. Read more here.