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West Brom are heading into the international break in the perfect position.

The west Midlands club sit top of the Championship on goal difference after 11 matches – with the team behind them being Nottingham Forest, who they defeated on the opening day.

Slaven Bilic’s men responded well to losing their unbeaten streak by defeating Cardiff City 4-2 just a matter of days later over the weekend.

Now the next week or so gives the Croatian time to regroup ahead of what usually can be a tough festive period, but for some, it could actually bring some valuable game time.

None more so than with Ahmed Hegazi, who is expected to make his long-awaited return from injury on Monday when Egypt host Botswana in a friendly.

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The 28-year-old has missed the start of the Baggies’ campaign after it was decided he needed surgery on a long-term ankle injury, which he had been playing on for quite some time.

Hegazi featured for the U23s two weeks ago in their victory over Newcastle United, but this would mark the first competitive fixture since the operation.

Bilic has said the defender is “in good shape” ahead of his return.

Albion have managed to keep just one clean sheet all season which came against ten-man Queens Park Rangers, the last win of their nine-game unbeaten run.

They have struggled defensively throughout the season so far, conceding 13 goals, meaning eight teams have let in fewer, per WhoScored.

Summer signing Semi Ajayi has looked like a fantastic acquisition considering he cost just £1.3m, but on the other hand, Kyle Bartley has been somewhat inconsistent.

Therefore, the Egyptian’s return could be coming at just the right time, considering Bilic’s side will need to be tighter at the back as the season goes on if they genuinely have ambitions of regaining their place in the promised land of the Premier League.

Last season he was an influential member of the squad, playing in 40 Championship matches on their way to the playoffs.

During that time, Hegazi won 4.1 aerial duels per game on average on top of 6.1 clearances and 4.6 long balls per game too.

If he were to record similar exploits this campaign, it would currently put him second for aerial duels won and first for clearances, which suggests he may well be a better option at centre-back.

His ability to pass from the back would also suit Bilic’s style of play too.

Keep an eye on Monday, Hegazi may well be back in the blue and white stripes sooner rather than later.

The future for Marco Silva at Everton could be becoming increasingly doubtful with the club now in the relegation zone, on just seven points, and far away from Farhad Moshiri’s aim of Champions League football.

As per the normality in these situations, the rumours have been doing the rounds and it seems the entire fanbase is split on who they want to see at the helm. However, one man has sparked up a debate like no other – Rafael Benitez.

The former Liverpool boss is currently in China with Dalian Yifang FC after leaving Newcastle United, and it seems that fans are split on whether they’d take him at Goodison Park or not.

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Benitez has done the lot – league titles, a Champions League, relegation scraps and even promotion to the Premier League. With the Magpies, the Spaniard kept them up from the drop twice and even finished 10th two seasons ago, and considering Everton’s current situation, perhaps this type of manager is exactly what they need.

Based solely on Benitez’s managerial history, it would surely be a monumental signing for the Toffees.

But sometimes there is more to football than just someone’s CV, and some Everton fans have made this very clear, whilst others would love to see him at the helm…

It was just written in the stars, wasn’t it? The moment Gareth Southgate took the decision to drop the forever young Jesse Lingard from his England squad, the writing was on the wall for the Three Lions.

The Manchester United man has been in shocking form for a number of months now, and has produced just one assist in nine appearances across all competitions this season.

It was therefore no surprise to see Southgate leave the 26-year-old out from his latest England squad, but on Friday night against the Czech Republic, that decision rather back-fired somewhat.

The Three Lions slipped to a surprising 2-1 loss in their EURO 2020 qualifying clash, and United fans subsequently flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the matter.

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Many Red Devils supporters insisted the result wasn’t a coincidence, and that they knew that was exactly what was going to happen.

Some fans of the Manchester side had a comical reaction to the whole situation, and one fan in particular remarked “no Lingard, no party”.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Some Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter after they heard that Mohamed Salah would not appear at Old Trafford with his teammates on Sunday due to injury, and have directed their fury at Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury as a result.

Why, you might ask?

Well, the England U21 man was at fault for Salah’s absence after it was his horrendous tackle in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over the Foxes before the international break that had damaged the Egyptian’s ankle.

It was not the first time that the 22-year-old has seriously hurt an opponent.

The 5 foot 10 midfielder went in recklessly on Matt Ritchie in Leicester’s Carabao Cup win over Newcastle, causing Steve Bruce to criticise Choudhury. In addition to that, he was also sent off for the England U21 side at the U21 European Championships back in the summer after a horror challenge on Jonathan Bamba.

Let’s take a look at what some visibly infuriated Liverpool fans on Twitter have been saying…

Manchester United produced a decent performance to pick up a 1-1 draw against Liverpool on Sunday (via BBC Sport).

The Red Devils became the first team to stop the Merseyside club from winning in the Premier League this season, (BBC Sport) and it was a much better display from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men than against Newcastle a couple of weeks ago.

However, after the match, former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Rafael van der Vaart launched an astonishing attack on United centre-back Harry Maguire.

“If he [Maguire] is worth so much money, Virgil van Dijk is worth £300m,” said van der Vaart (via Daily Mail).

He continued: “If I am going to play with the amateurs on Sunday afternoon, I can easily find three who can do this (play like Maguire). I mean that seriously.”

The comments from the Dutchman seem extremely harsh, especially given that the England international actually played well against Liverpool. Indeed, he made a huge 10 clearances in the game as well as also making one interception (via WhoScored).

Several football fans have been reacting to the former Real Madrid man’s comments. Whilst most don’t agree with his Sunday league assessment, a few do think that he was overpriced at £80m. Meanwhile some – mainly United fans – disagree with van der Vaart completely and suggest that the former Sheffield United man has improved them defensively.

Here are some of the best responses…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Real Madrid are on a hunt for a big-money signing in the not so distant future. And according to the new reports coming from AS, Florentino Perez has already made up his mind – he’s going for Kylian Mbappe.

What’s the word, then?

Mbappe to Real Madrid is not really a fresh story.

After all, the young French prodigy has been on Real Madrid’s wishlist for quite a while now. In many ways, he represents exactly what the club needs to become Galacticos once again – a star signing, both in cost and quality.

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The same source also mentions that this would indeed be a costly venture.

After all, we’re talking about a super talent who has already lifted the World Cup and for that reason, it could take around €300m (£242m) to convince Paris Saint-Germain to part with their gem, as AS explain.

But at the end of the day, you can’t really put a price on a revolution, can you?

Galacticos once more

Throughout the summer, we were all expecting Real Madrid to pillage the best clubs in Europe and build a formidable squad capable of conquering the world.

And despite spending around €300m (£242m) in the summer transfer window of 2019, no such thing has happened and the media were quick to bash the club for it – especially as they missed out on Neymar and Paul Pogba, two players with huge Galactico-esque reputations.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

Whether their rocky start to the campaign – winning only five of nine La Liga games and losing twice in the Champions League – has been a direct result of that or not is a story for another time but quite clearly, they are still in need of reinforcements and someone to usher a new era at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Mbappe truly represents a top prospect that Real Madrid can build their squad around; someone who’s both young and already well-developed to lead.

After all, we’re talking about a kid that already has six goals and four assists in eight games played across all competitions this season, and 39 goals scored in the 2018/19 campaign for the French giants.

But Paris Saint-Germain are not really a selling club. It will take a lot of convincing but if someone can do it, then that’s “papa Perez”.

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…

Jamie Carragher has noticed a key difference between the two title contenders Liverpool and Manchester City after the Reds fought back to win against Tottenham Hotspur.

What did he say?

Liverpool went behind after 47 seconds against Spurs on Sunday but claimed all three points in a resilient fightback in the second half. An equaliser from Jordan Henderson and a penalty from Mohamed Salah ensured that Jurgen Klopp’s men remain six points clear of City.

However, the ex-Liverpool man believes the league leaders are a better team and are winning games differently and more convincingly than the champions this season.

Asked if Liverpool looked like title winners against Spurs, Carragher told Sky Sports (as quoted by The Liverpool Echo): “I agree. I thought Liverpool were superb in the game. The manager has just mentioned it. The goal so early didn’t really affect them.

“At no time in that game, did I think Liverpool weren’t going to win. When we went air at half-time I said Liverpool will still win this game. I feel as soon as they got one they would get, if that goal came at 70/75 minutes, I thought they would go on to win the game.

“But Liverpool are just the better team. They just steamrolled them. That’s a Liverpool performance. Man City don’t win games like that.

“Man City win games differently and they look better on the eye so you think that City are a better team when you watch them in terms of how they play and the amount of chances they create.

“But actually playing against Liverpool is non-stop. Every time they couldn’t get out, someone is on top of them every time they get the ball out. Win the ball back and they go again.”

Title-winning mentality

As Carragher touched on, Liverpool always looked like they could get three points, despite trailing after just 47 seconds. The intense pressure from the likes of Henderson and Fabinho was too much for Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko to deal with.

Down the flanks, Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold consistently cause a threat, whilst there is always the chance that a piece of magic will come from the front three.

There are many different ways this Liverpool side can trouble you, and as a result, they never look like losing. Against Manchester United, a late Adam Lallana equaliser was proof that Klopp’s team will never stop and most likely claim something from a game.

The champions will travel to Anfield in two weeks in what promises to be a fascinating clash of England’s footballing Goliaths.

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…

Venezuelan journalist Carlos Ponte believes Manchester City’s loanee Yangel Herrera will move to a top European club in the near future.

What did he say?

Herrera has been on loan at Granada this season and has already made an impact on the Spanish club. Remarkably, Granada sit third in La Liga after 10 games, and are just two points off leaders Barcelona. Herrera has helped them get to this point, starting seven games and coming off the bench for another.

Ponte has spoken very highly of the 21-year-old and stated that he could move to a top European club if he continues his current form

He told talkSPORT: “At New York City FC his coach was Patrick Vieira, and he took Andrea Pirlo’s place in the team, so he must have learned something.

“He has a lot of energy and stamina, is great at providing cover and a true team player. He’s good at bringing the ball out with a certain degree of elegancy.

“He’s not Sergio Busquets or Rodri, but does that job quite well. He’s very reliable and rarely commits mistakes that leave the team in a bad position. And he’s aggressive: plays in your face without any nastiness, though does get a lot of bookings.

“To be a Guardiola-style midfielder he needs to improve his use of the ball – that style requires so much precision and speed in decision making.

“If he continues his development he’ll end up at a big European club.”

A potential replacement for Fernandinho

The signing of Rodri has made City well equipped in the defensive midfielder role. Rodri joined the Brazilian and Ilkay Gundogan at City, inevitably forcing Herrera elsewhere to gain experience.

However, as Ponte stated, he has massively improved in Spain this year and rarely makes any mistakes. Plus Fernandinho will be 35 come May, and surely does not have many years left at the Etihad as a result.

If Herrera can continue to perform in Granada’s midfield, Guardiola may see him as a long term replacement for the City legend.

If not, City may lose out on a potential star of the future, and the Venezuelan might not be short of offers in the summer if Ponte’s assessment is anything to go by.

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…

Chris Wilder believes it is right that Heung-Min Son is available to play for Tottenham Hotspur when they take on Sheffield United this weekend, per Sky Sports News.

What’s the word?

Son made a slide tackle that led to Everton midfielder Gomes sustaining a fracture-dislocation of his ankle on Sunday as Spurs drew 1-1 with the Toffees.

The South Korea international was left distraught by the extent of the injury and was sent off by referee Martin Atkinson.

The red card has since been rescinded and Son will subsequently be available to play against the Blades at the weekend.

And Wilder, who was at Goodison Park scouting this weekend’s opposition, believes that it was the right decision to overturn Atkinson’s original decision.

He said, when asked if he expected Son, who scored twice in the 4-0 win over Red Star Belgrade on Wednesday, to play: “Yes, I would have done. We went to watch Tottenham and we were right in front of it.

“Straight away you knew the severity of the injury. I imagine all managers and fellow players will be wishing Andre a really speedy recovery but it’s just one of those unfortunate situations.

“From our point of view [Son] is obviously a quality player but he seems a right down-to-earth lad as well.

“But we’ll be up not just against him but some other very high-quality players on Saturday afternoon.”

Initial VAR failure

Wilder is absolutely right.

Atkinson, in completely understandable circumstances, officiated on emotion following the horror of Gomes’ injury.

Even still, VAR is there for occasions like that and the red card should have been overturned on the pitch.

While Son was probably too distraught to carry on anyway and would have needed to have been substituted, the red card irreversibly altered the flow of the game.

Spurs went on to concede in the 97th minute, as Cenk Tosun rescued a point, and those points won’t be coming back, even if Son will.

That Wilder, the manager Spurs will be facing this weekend, instantly knew the decision would be overturned speaks volumes to how VAR failed both Spurs and Atkinson.

The winter transfer window is slowly but surely getting closer with each passing day and Barcelona could have their hands full once it finally opens in January.

And according to Mundo Deportivo, the Catalans are eyeing a very familiar name.

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Chelsea’s experienced winger, Willian, seems to be on their radar once again as the club value some of his great skills and his versatility.

Even though he is already 31, the Brazilian could come for free since he is now into the last year of his contract at Stamford Bridge, with his influence showing no signs of detriorating just yet.

This season alone, Willian has scored three goals and assisted a further three in 15 games across all competitions and he still seems to be on top of his game.

Many of the Barcelona fans, however, don’t seem to think this transfer is a good idea.

In fact, they don’t really see a point in even looking at the Brazilian and have slammed the board for bringing this idea back to life.

You can see some of their reactions and comments on Willian and the club down below: