Leeds United continue their promotion charge against Swansea City this evening in a fixture which will give them the opportunity to move into top spot after just 4 fixtures. 

It’s been an immensely promising beginning to life under Marcelo Bielsa this season following months of hype surrounding his appointment. The Argentine has certainly delivered the goods so far with his unique brand of football, as his side have managed to find the back of the net 9 times from their first 3 fixtures.

With a record that impressive it would seem almost foolish to suggest that Bielsa should consider the possibility of signing a new attacker before the loan window shuts this month, but plenty can change in a short space of time in football.

Despite being a winger by trade, Kemar Roofe has been in red hot form at the spearhead of the attack by notching 3 goals from his first 3 appearances this season and adding an assist for good measure.

But with Patrick Bamford the only competent striker otherwise available to Bielsa, Leeds should be on high alert now that Ross McCormack is free to leave Aston Villa this month according to The Daily Record.

The report claims that McCormack’s fractured relationship with Steve Bruce will ultimately drive him out of Villa Park.

Rangers, Sunderland and ‘several English clubs’ are all in the running for his signature, but Leeds should certainly be joining the race.

In a 4-year spell at Elland Road between 2010 and 2014, McCormack managed to bag 58 goals and provide 31 assists from 157 appearances before moving to Fulham.

His career has since fallen off the upwards trajectory it was on during his time at Leeds, but his return of 14 goals from 17 games for Melbourne City last season during a short term loan spell suggests that he still possesses a clinical poachers instinct even at 32-years-of-age.

McCormack’s tendency to roam in the final-third is well suited to Bielsa’s free-flowing philosophy, but whilst Roofe and Bamford are both fit it’s unlikely he will acquire the game time he is searching for.

However, a serious injury to either of Leeds’ first-choice strikers before the end of the month would leave Bielsa desperately short of quality in attack, and if that unfortunate circumstance arises there is no doubt that McCormack should be brought in to solve the potential crisis.

Leeds fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

It is two defeats on the bounce in the Premier League for Crystal Palace following their 2-1 loss against Watford yesterday, and manager Roy Hodgson now has some big decisions to make.

The Eagles were hoping to get back to winning ways at Vicarage Road after losing 2-0 to Liverpool last Monday, but simply did not have the firepower to do so in another game where Christian Benteke was extremely disappointing.

The performance from Hodgson’s men as a whole was not the greatest and, other than Wilfried Zaha who scored Crystal Palace’s consolation goal in the 78th minute, the team can often be wasteful in front of goal.

And, while it is not fair for one player to get all of the flak, Benteke is deserving of much of the criticism he receives from Crystal Palace supporters.

It was another bad day in the office for the 27-year-old at vicarage road; he put in another goalless display, and his overall centre-forward play was also not up to scratch.

Furthermore, it is time for Hodgson to finally throw loan signing Jordan Ayew into the starting line up — a player, who at this moment of time, would undoubtedly offer a greater output.

While £7.2m-rated (via Transfermarkt) Ayew does not have the characteristics that Hodgson perhaps prefers his first-choice No.9 to have, bringing the 26-year-old into the starting XI could completely rejuvenate Crystal Palace’s attack.

With the pace he possesses, Ayew can run in behind defenders and onto through balls from the likes of Zaha, Andros Townsend and Max Meyer once the German is fully fit, unlike the static and less mobile Benteke.

Most importantly, though, Ayew is a better finisher than his Belgian team-mate and can help take some of the goal-scoring burden off Zaha.

With the squad they have, Crystal Palace are capable of achieving a finish in the top half of the Premier League table, but Hodgson could jeopardise that if he continues to persist with Benteke up front instead of utilising Ayew.

Gareth Southgate announced on Thursday his first England squad since the 2018 World Cup, with five changes from the cohort that represented the Three Lions so well in Russia. On the most part, Southgate has given opportunities to youngsters like Luke Shaw and James Tarkowski – but which players that should be part of this team did the England gaffer somehow overlook? Football FanCast’s expert writers give their verdicts below…

Josh Challies – Declan Rice

“A stand-out player in a forgetful season for West Ham last year, Rice showed maturity beyond his age and is expected to have a bright future. While he is still a way off being a regular for the Three Lions, naming him in the squad would have been a good call if only to stop him committing to Ireland.”

James Beavis – Jadon Sancho

“There was a lot of talk that youngsters like Jadon Sancho could get their opportunity in this England squad with Southgate keen to look to the future, and while he is still only 18 years of age it seemed like the ideal opportunity to give him a shot given his impressive performances for the Borussia Dortmund first team. The fact that Danny Welbeck has got in ahead of him must be even more galling for the talented teenager, and it is a decision that casts some doubt on Southgate’s long-term vision for the Three Lions.”

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Greg Potts – James Maddison

“Leicester’s new signing James Maddison can feel aggrieved that he has missed the cut for Southgate’s first squad of the new season. The 21-year-old joined the Foxes this summer and has impressed in his first four games, netting his first goal for the club thanks to a deflection against Wolves.

“Last season in the Championship he racked up 14 goals and eight assists for Norwich from midfield and there is no doubting he has the quality on the ball to be able to fit straight into Southgate’s system. With only three caps for the U21 side it may have been a risk, but Maddison certainly looks ready to make his England debut.”

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Will Jones – Jack Wilshere

“Jack Wilshere is back playing regularly in the Premier League and should also have been returned to the international frame. Whilst he still has plenty to do to prove his long term fitness and get back to his best form, his attributes and style of play are currently lacking in Southgate’s squad. At the World Cup, the Three Lions could have done with a ball carrier able to dribble between the lines and retain possession in tight areas. Wilshere can still be that man for England, and selection here would have been a welcome confidence boost for the ex-Arsenal man.”

Ben Goodwin – Callum Wilson

“Wilson has had an electric start to the season. The 26 year-old has scored twice and grabbed an assist, has superb pace, is full of confidence, and most importantly he knows where the back of the net is. It’s two harmless friendlies, why not give a chance to a guy who could catch fire and earn himself a spot in the next squad?”

West Ham United should feel like they missed out after hearing reports from The Mirror that Eddie Howe is set to sign a new bumper contract at Bournemouth.

What’s the word?

A sense of stability has been lacking at the London Stadium over the last year due to the constant changing of managers.

In the past 11 months, the Hammers have had three different coaches, starting with Slaven Bilic, who was replaced by David Moyes.

At the end of last season, the club opted against keeping hold of the Scotsman and instead turned to former Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini.

It has been a poor start to the season as the East London club have lost their first four Premier League matches.

They are the only club not to have picked up a point in the division so far.

Bournemouth, on the other hand, have won two, drawn one and lost one, which has put them sixth in the table.

According to The Mirror, the Cherries intend to reward manager Eddie Howe with a new contract worth £4m a year.

Should West Ham have targeted Howe?

The 40-year-old’s name may not be the most glamorous in the coaching world, but he has earned plenty of respect.

The young coach has only managed Bournemouth and Burnley during his career, but he has become quite the hero at the Vitality Stadium.

Across two spells, which amounted to eight years, Howe guided the Cherries from League Two to the Premier League.

Since earning promotion to the top flight in 2015, Bournemouth have retained their status each year, and for the most part have not looked in serious danger of suffering relegation.

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Of course, West Ham’s aspirations are higher, but Howe’s management style and ability to build from the ground up are qualities that the East London outfit could do with.

The club should not be focusing on a quick fix, but more on a plan and structure for sustained success.

Howe could have been that man to guide them into a new era, but they missed their chance.

Queens Park Rangers defender Osman Kakay made his international debut for Sierra Leone in their 1-0 defeat to Ethiopia at the weekend.

Indeed, Kakay was a late substitute at the Hawassa Stadium in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier, and the QPR fans have been on social media hailing the 21-year-old.

Kakay came through the youth system at QPR, and has since made 10 first-team appearances for the R’s in all competitions.

The defender has already made three Championship appearances this term, although has not featured for QPR in the league since the 7-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion last month.

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It would be fair to say that the QPR fans are feeling much better about themselves at the moment due to their team’s three-match unbeaten run.

It is still shaping up to be a difficult campaign for the London club, but they managed to secure some clever signings before the transfer window closed.

A selection of the Twitter reaction in relation to Kakay can be seen below:

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Two late goals spared Leicester City’s blushes somewhat but weren’t enough to prevent defeat at the hands of a rampant Bournemouth side on Saturday. Whilst the home side at the Vitality Stadium played clinical and fast-paced attacking football, the Foxes were ponderous and defensively shambolic. Captain Wes Morgan’s red card was indicative of the sloppiness and carelessness of Leicester’s game.

The result marked Leicester’s third defeat of the campaign so far and manager Claude Puel may now come under some pressure at the King Power Stadium. The French boss certainly can’t afford many more performances like yesterday’s before he finds his job on the line. 

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For many Leicester fans, Puel should be out of a job already. Yesterday’s performance and result only served to further intensify the feeling of disillusionment with Puel being felt by this group of supporters. After the final whistle, plenty of frustrated Foxes fans took to Twitter to criticise the manager and question his future at the club.

Chelsea saw their winning run in the Premier League this season come to an end this weekend as West Ham held the Blues to a goalless draw the Olympic Stadium.

New manager Maurizio Sarri has seemingly instilled an excellent attacking mentality into the players at the Bridge, and they look like genuine contenders to win the Premier League this term despite not picking up the win this afternoon.

However, with a squad so talented, there is a couple of players in there who are simply not cutting the mustard so to speak, especially striker Alvaro Morata, who for a player who cost in excess of £70m, has hardly repaid that money in kind with goals.

The Spaniard seems to go through phases with his form, and either looks like a world beater or simply a poor, out of sorts striker who can’t buy a goal.

For Chelsea, it must be seriously frustrating, but there is still value in Morata if they wish to sell the former Real Madrid and Juventus man, and January could well be the time the Blues look to cash in on the big striker.

There is little doubting Morata’s talent, but his form, coupled with how well Olivier Giroud is playing, could well see Sarri turn round and decide to sell the Spaniard before he loses too much value.

Chelsea fans, what do you think? Would you sell Morata? Let us know in the comments!

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Lucas Perez probably would have been expecting to be a regular starter for West Ham United having signed for them in a £4m deal from Arsenal during the summer transfer window, but it hasn’t been the case at all.

The Spaniard left the Gunners having failed to nail down a spot in the starting XI, and the early signs are that it could be a similar situation for him at the London Stadium.

Manager Manuel Pellegrini has preferred to use a system that only incorporates one striker so far this term, and with Marko Arnautovic the undoubted first-choice it means that the likes of the 30-year-old and Javier Hernandez will largely have to settle for a spot on the substitutes’ bench.

The former Deportivo La Coruna attacker will be relying on winning his Chilean boss over with cameos from the bench in the Premier League and from the start in the Carabao Cup as things stand, and while he has made an impression in the latter with one goal in two appearances, he has featured in just 65 minutes of top-flight football across three outings – he was an unused substitute in the 3-1 win against Manchester United on Saturday.

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The versatile forward is reportedly earning £80,000-a-week wages with the east London outfit, so we decided to ask Irons fans to vote on our poll to see whether they feel that Perez is worth that eye-watering fee.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, a whopping 85% of those supporters said he isn’t, and it looks to already be another poor financial decision by the Hammers.

West Ham have had a rather mixed opening to the campaign with a lack of consistency characterising their early season form.

Manuel Pellegrini’s start to life at the London Stadium has not gone as swimmingly as would have hoped for, but the club have been moving in the right direction since the last international break despite suffering a 1-0 defeat away at Brighton on Friday evening.

The result has left them in 15th place after 8 fixtures with only 8 goals to their name and, whilst it’s fair to say their over-reliance on Marko Arnautovic has been reduced by the likes of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko, they are still missing the creative spark of Manuel Lanzini in midfield.

When fit, the Argentinian playmaker is central to everything positive the Hammers do in the final-third and his absence is proving detrimental to the extent of their spark.

Moments of incisive magic are common place when Lanzini is in full flow and with Jack Wilshere also sidelined through injury Pellegrini is missing a creative hub in the centre of midfield.

Lanzini is expected to be sidelined for the vast majority, if not the whole season, so Pellegrini should be open to the prospect of signing a new number ten in January.

With that being said, he should be monitoring the form of Bradley Dack at Blackburn following his impressive opening to life in the Championship.

The 24-year-old attacker played an instrumental role in Blackburn’s promotion bid last season and he has made a seamless transition to the second-tier by scoring 7 goals and providing 5 assists from just 9 appearances in all-competitions this season – a record which illuminates his clinical instinct.

Reasonable sceptics could point towards the fact he is plying his trade in the Championship as justification to question his credentials, but James Maddison’s form since joining Leicester in the summer proves that it’s possible to thrive after making the step up to the top-flight.

A series of impressive performances recently earned Maddison a deserved England call-up, and if Dack was given the chance to showcase his quality in the top-flight then he could find himself on a similar path to Maddison in the coming years.

An elusive talent by nature who naturally floats into space between the lines of midfield and attack, Dack is the type of player which Pellegrini is missing in Lanzini’s absence, but a January deal would solve that problem and hand the club a huge talent for the future.

West Ham fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Manchester United captain Antonio Valencia caused quite a social media storm after it appeared that he liked an Instagram post suggesting manager José Mourinho should leave the club.

The 33-year-old liked a fan page post following United’s 0-0 draw against Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday evening, with the post concluding, ‘Something needs to change. It’s time for Mourinho to go.’

A screenshot of the post (BBC) clearly shows the name of Valencia’s personal account as an user that liked the post.

The 92-cap Ecuadorian, however, took to Twitter on Wednesday morning to apologise for the incident, saying that he only saw the picture of himself in the post without reading the caption. Valencia emphasised that the manager has his full backing and that the team is committed to changing things around after going four games without a win.

Here are some of the reactions to Valencia’s Twitter post from United fans:

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