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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…

It appears that West Bromwich Albion will see the return of Oliver Burke at the end of the season as Spanish football journalist Alex Kirkland believes his loan club, La Liga side Alaves, won’t make the move permanent.

What’s he said?

Burke joined the Hawthorns for a club-record £15m fee back in 2017 when ex-manager Tony Pulis signed him from Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig.

Ever since then, the 22-year-old has failed to live up to the expectations that such money commands, scoring just once in 24 appearances.

After Slaven Bilic joined the club in the summer, it was soon clear to understand that Burke was never going to feature in his plans as academy prospect Kyle Edwards was promoted to the senior side, leading to him starting the first three Championship matches.

He was soon shipped out on loan to Alaves, where he has played just 332 minutes across nine appearances.

Speaking to the Express & Star about his temporary spell, Kirkland – from the Spanish Football Podcast – said:

“I’d say at this stage a permanent deal is quite unlikely.

“He’s probably not starting enough games to warrant that or contributing enough in the final third.

“But there’s still plenty of time for him to make an impact, it’s early days.”

Bad news Burke

It seems likely that the Scotsman will return to the west Midlands this summer, which would put Bilic in a bit of a predicament.

The Croatian clearly doesn’t fancy Burke in his side, for whatever reason that may be, as he made measures to sign a trio of wingers on deadline day in Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana and Chris Willock.

Come the end of the current campaign, the Baggies flop will still have two years remaining on his contract, which is a potential source of bad news for Bilic.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

If the 14th-placed La Liga side were the only team willing to take him, what hope does he have in recuperating the extortionate fee they paid for him?

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It will be more problematic if they gain promotion too as if he can’t get in their Championship side, then there’s next to no chance he does it in the top-flight.

This is something that Bilic could probably do without.

[ad_pod ]Ah, Michael Owen.Who’d have thought that a man with as much charisma as a milk-less bowl of Weetabix could ruffle so many feathers?For those who haven’t yet caught up with Owen’s recent biography release ‘Reboot,’ and why it’s recently captured a fair bit of publicity, the ex-Premier League forward had some very harsh words for his former employers.Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Here’s a short taster (courtesy of The Mirror): “My move to Newcastle was one I really regret – I should have followed my gut instincts from the start. I didn’t want to go there – my heart was still set on a return toÂLiverpool.

“NewcastleÂmanager Graeme Souness called me roughly every two weeks for almost the entire year I was in Spain and I can’t deny I liked the attention.

“As the year wore on, he’d call me and say things like: ‘Michael, I see you didn’t start last weekend. Would you think about coming to Newcastle?’

“While I don’t think I led Graeme on, with hindsight, I might have handled his first phone call differently.â€

Bear in mind, these are the words of a Ballon d’Or winning 39-year-old, not a high school student wading through the trials and tribulations of puberty and relationships.

Needless to say, Newcastle legend Alan Shearer wasn’t particularly pleased with his former teammate’s attempts to besmirch his beloved club. So championing the Magpies, he took to Twitter for the latest episode of Shearer and Owen’s 10-year feud…

Advantage Owen?

Gary Lineker couldn’t help himself…

And another big nibble from Michael to finish it off…

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So there we have it – two of England’s greatest ever strikers taking digs at each other on social media. Cheap entertainment at its finest.

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[ad_pod ]Just as Leeds fans were getting excited about a potential new arrival, Phil Hay has once again poured cold water on transfer speculation as he stated that he doesn’t expect Luke Freeman to join the club this summer.The QPR midfielder had been linked to the Yorkshire outfit earlier in the week, but Hay believes that the speculation was nothing more than rumours.

What’s been said then?

Hay kept his message to Leeds fans short and sweet, immediately quashing any rumours of a move for Freeman.

A fan asked if there was any substance in the rumours that the Whites were in for the QPR star to which the Yorkshire Evening Post writer replied: “Don’t see that one happening.â€

This is obviously a massive disappointment for supporters as Freeman looks like he would be a strong addition after notching up seven goals and six assists last season.

Sticking to the story

The journalist isn’t straying far from the line that he has been sticking with for this entire transfer window. Hay has often stated that Leeds will go heavy on Premier League loans and he has also noted that the club usually sell players for significant fees to fund recruitment.

This should be a warning to supporters who are susceptible to getting caught up in speculation about any reported arrivals at the club.

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Hay has told fans what the transfer policy will be this summer, and any reports that stray too far from that formula should be taken with a pinch of salt.

Hay is often looked upon as the final word when it comes to reporting United news, and if fans had kept up with his reports so far this summer, they would have seen that the Freeman story was always unlikely to come to fruition.

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Gareth Southgate should switch to a one-man defensive midfield by drafting in Declan Rice for both Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier, which would then allow Callum Hudson-Odoi to be part of the starting lineup.

Good enough to do both jobs

Rice has shown for West Ham this season that he can be trusted to do almost everything in that centre-defensive midfield position.

The 20-year-old is a dominating presence physically, but one who is extremely comfortable on the ball and can also tackle effectively, making him a well-rounded player in the middle of the park.

Matty from the Magpie Channel looks ahead to this weekend’s England fixtures in the video below…

All of these qualities can be found between the pair of Henderson and Dier, who, on their own, have some good traits but are lacking in other areas – Henderson physically, and Dier in terms of his quality on the ball.

Would allow Hudson-Odoi to come in

In his 20 minutes on the pitch, Hudson-Odoi managed to have two shots – both of which were on target – whilst also providing a constant, direct threat down the left flank.

It was his saved effort that led to the fifth goal, diverted into his own net by Tomas Kalas, and Hudson-Odoi provided the perfect foul for Jadon Sancho out on the opposite flank throughout – the pair of them gave the Czech Republic backline plenty to think about.

The Chelsea academy graduate began the evening on the bench, with Raheem Sterling out on the right flank, although the hat-trick hero on the night has shown in Manchester City colours that he can play anywhere across the front free.

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If Rice is drafted in, Southgate can try a 4-1-4-1 system with the Hammers academy graduate holding, Dele Alli ahead of him with Sancho, Sterling and Hudson-Odoi alongside him, whilst Harry Kane plays a lone striker role.

Just uttering those names and the quality that they carry should spark excitement for England fans – that attacking quartet, with the outstanding Rice mopping up behind, could go on to do great things in the near future.

Rangers boss Steven Gerrard should make an ambitious loan move for West Ham talent Grady Diangana, as the 20-year-old could be pushed down the pecking order at the London Stadium if Samir Nasri joins the club.

What’s the situation?

According to a recent report from The Mirror, the Hammers have offered Nasri a six month contract that is worth £80,000 per week in order to reunite him with his former boss Manuel Pellegrini.

The pair worked together at Manchester City and won a Premier League title during the 2013/14 season, but Nasri will not be able to play for the East London side until his 18-month doping ban ends on December 31.

The 31-year-old has been training with West Ham in recent weeks and it is no surprise to see the club offer him a contract. However, the Frenchman potential introduction into the playing squad could spell bad news for the game time of youngster Diangana.

Perfect opportunity

Rangers though could capitalise on this by bringing the England U20 international to Ibrox for the rest of the season. Steven Gerrard’s side are currently second in the Scottish Premier League table behind bitter rivals Celtic, but they can make up ground with the Old Firm derby on Saturday.

The Gers though have been lacking quality in the final third all season, and are far too reliant on Alfredo Morelos for goals.

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Diangana then could be the perfect signing. A tricky winger, he has broken into the West Ham first team having come up through the ranks and would be able to provide assists as well as chipping in with goals from out wide, something that Gerrard has been lacking in this campaign.

So, Rangers fans, would you like to see the club move for Diangana in January? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

After years of serial underachievement, Rangers seem to finally be back on track with new boss Steven Gerrard at the helm. 

The Gers brought in a raft of new faces over the summer and so far it looks as though those new players have had a huge effect on the club as Rangers currently sit sixth in the table and impressively, held Villarreal to a draw after a long and arduous qualifying campaign.

Among the new faces to join the club over the summer was former Hearts striker, Kyle Lafferty.

Ahead of the international break, Lafferty had declared himself unfit to travel although Rangers had informed the Irish FA that he was indeed fit. While it may anger Northern Ireland boss, Michael O’Neill, Lafferty’s decision to put his club career ahead of his international one is only going to benefit Rangers.

The Breakdown

Due to his decision to not play in the international break, Lafferty will miss Northern Ireland’s games against Austria and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The former Hearts striker has scored three goals in six games in the Premiership and crucially scored a goal against Villareal.

At the moment Lafferty and Alfredo Morelos have been a deadly duo for Steven Gerrard, which has been needed considering the poor form of on-loan striker Umar Sadiq.

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While he may not voice his pleasure at his star striker deciding to stay in Glasgow, Steven Gerrard will surely be pleased that his forward can use the week to recover rather than face two European trips.

Thoughts rangers fans? 

It has not exactly been the best of seasons for Leeds United, with a total of 57 points from 45 matches leaving them down in 14th position in the Championship table.

The Whites have only won once in the Championship since the end of March, and suffered a 2-1 defeat at Norwich City last time out.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side will be looking to end on a positive note when they welcome Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, although even a victory in that match would not exactly make the fans forget what has been a poor campaign.

A number of the club’s players have taken criticism from the supporters this season, and perhaps none more so than the skipper Liam Cooper.

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The 26-year-old has made 30 appearances in all competitions during the 2017-18 campaign – scoring once in 28 Championship fixtures.

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Cooper’s suitability for the captain’s role has long been called into question, however, and the centre-back has once again faced scathing criticism from his club’s own fans.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

West Ham United picked up three vital points away to Stoke City on Saturday, winning 3-0 in the English Premier League.

The Hammers looked as good as they have all season against the home side and the performance gives David Moyes’ side a massive confidence boost heading into the busy Christmas period.

Mark Noble, Diafra Sakho and Marko Arnautovic were the goal heroes on the day, blitzing a Stoke defence who struggled to contain the visitors all afternoon.

Arnautovic was in particularly sparkling form and after hitting the woodwork twice, he found the back of the net with a smart low finish after combining with Manuel Lazini 15 minutes from time.

Scoring against his former club was probably written in the stars and it appears he’s finally found his feet at his new club after a difficult start to the season under Slaven Bilic.

Supporters took to Twitter to enthuse about his performance…

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Celtic have had an obscenely good season by anyone’s standards. Even taking into account the financial advantage they have over every other club in Scotland, they had no right to absolute destroy the opposition in the manner they did. Unbeaten, winning every trophy, playing fantastic football, big derby wins, beating Aberdeen in every match; their list of amazing moments across the entire campaign has dozens on it.

Still, no football season is perfect and for some Hoops fans there may still be some niggling things from the campaign that they’ll be hoping Brendan Rodgers can fix in his second season. Football would be boring if your team didn’t continually strive to improve, after all.

Predictably most of these regrets come from Europe, which wasn’t quite the stellar campaign that their domestic season turned out to be. Here are FOUR regrets from the Celtic season that they’ll be striving to make amends for after the summer…

Callum McGregor’s miss in Germany

If you had to distil any regrets Celtic have from the last 12 months into a single moment then it would probably be Callum McGregor’s miss away to Borussia Monchengladbach in the UEFA Champions League Group Stages. With the game poised at 1-1 and the Germans down to ten men, the scene was set for the Hoops to steal a famous win.

The ball was at McGregor’s feet and instead of guiding it past the goalkeeper, he flashed it wide of the far post. For a midfielder that is usually so reliable in front of goal it was a glaring miss. Unfortunate yes, but ultimately a moment that partially cost the Hoops progress into the UEFA Europa League.

How do they rectify it next season? Well, finishing at least third in their group stage next season, should they get there, would represent fantastic progress under Brendan Rodgers. Celtic love nothing more than European football after Christmas and securing it next term would destroy any memory of this miss.

Not whitewashing Rangers

Of course, it goes without saying that Celtic’s dominance over Rangers this season was an absolute highlight for many fans. However, think how much better the gloating may have been if they’d beat the Light Blues in every single derby match over the last season. The city rivals played six times in all competitions and Brendan Rodgers’ side bodied them completely in five of those.

However, a late equaliser at Celtic Park is a blemish on the record as a whole. In terms of city dominance, there’s nothing better than winning every single match against the other, a green and whitewash if you will.

It doesn’t happen often and letting their lead slip so late against what was Graeme Murty’s eleven must niggle a wee bit. It’s easily rectified next season – simply beat them in every game!

Not winning a home Champions League match

It’s true that Celtic’s group draw was especially tough this season. Facing teams from Europe’s top three leagues is an especially cruel fate for a side that were hoping to find their feet in the competition again after a multi-year absence.

However, no matter who Celtic have gone up against in the past, they’ve always found ways to win against even the elite teams on the continent. Manchester United, AC Milan, Juventus; all teams that have wilted in the pressure cooker that is Celtic Park over the last 15 years.

The main thing missing from the Hoops’ European campaign was that home win in the group stages, the first time they’ve ever failed to win at home in the competition. Had they picked up three points at some stage they may have finished third and progressed beyond Christmas.

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That’ll be a key aim of Brendan Rodgers next season. Even if they do not progress from the groups, he’ll at least want to see his side live up to the legacy at Celtic.

Suffering a record European defeat

Another big blotch on the Hoop’s European record last season was suffering their biggest ever European defeat, at the hands of Barcelona. While it’s true the Catalan giants are capable of inflicting such misery on many, many good sides, it’s still a defeat that stings for many Hoops fans.

The gulf between the two sides in terms of talent is huge but what was most frustrating was the lack of fight in the Celtic side. They looked like they were not up for the battle and that battle is something Celtic teams must always bring to the table.

They did show progress in subsequent away matches in the competition, drawing both in Germany and away to Manchester City. That progress needs to continue next season, even against pot one sides.

This weekend’s Premier League fixture list is, for us at FFC Towers, dominated by the latest London Derby: Chelsea vs. Spurs. In fact, we’re so excited that we’ve made it our Fixture In Focus, and you can read some more great content surrounding the big match by clicking here.

As is the case with many local rivalries, Spurs and Chelsea don’t exactly have the most healthy of relationships, and the fires are sure to be fed plenty of fuel by the added title context of this clash at Stamford Bridge.

Even though it’s early in the campaign, the away team cannot really afford to be swatted aside, while the Blues know that anything other than a win will likely see them knocked off top spot in the Premier League table – a state of affairs they won’t want considering Manchester City await them next weekend!

Despite all this, we’re sure each fanbase would gladly welcome a few players from their rivals, so we put the question to Spurs fans earlier this week in our exclusive poll, and here are the FIVE Chelsea players they want the most…

5 – N’Golo Kante

The reigning Premier League champion comes in at five, with his all-action style of play having seemingly won over a fair few Spurs fans as Leicester beat their side to the title last season. The Frenchman would, on the surface, work well alongside the likes of Mousa Dembele and Dele Alli and could help form one of the best midfield trios in European football.

4 – Willian

Perhaps an underrated member of Conte’s Chelsea team, Willian certainly is a player Spurs fans appreciate. The Brazilian is a versatile option that would fit well in a Pochettino team, with his willing running well-suited to the Argentine’s high-tempo approach, while his technique would surely make the north Londoners a more creative force in the final third. Credit to Spurs fans for not holding grudges after Willian famously snubbed them to sign for Chelsea in 2013.

3 – John Obi Mikel

Yep, you read that right. We’re not sure if Spurs fans are having us on, but Mikel comes in at a shockingly high third. The Nigerian is by no means a bad player, but his best days are probably behind him and he’s always a somewhat limited midfielder. Mikel may be available before too long when his contract comes to an end, so this transfer could, perhaps, be a surprisingly realistic one.

2 – Eden Hazard

No, he’s not top of the tree! The Belgian is arguably Chelsea’s best player and certainly a name in the discussion regarding the Prem’s all-round top stars, but Spurs fans are seemingly split on him. The former Lille man is a real threat on either the left of right flank and has been known to operate as a No.10, yet it may be his perceived lack of defensive effort that puts off Lilywhites supporters, with Pochettino’s team known for their fierce work ethic.

1 – Michy Batshuayi

Aaaaaaaand in at No.1 is a player that barely ever starts for Chelsea in the shape of summer signing Batshuayi. The Belgian striker was a mooted target for Spurs over the summer, and it seems that a fair few fans have not gotten over that whole episode. In fairness, he would be a good fit and would provide a better alternative option to Harry Kane than the misfiring Vincent Janssen, who is yet to find a Spurs goal in open play since arriving from the Eredivisie.

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