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At 22-years-old and with three direct Premier League goal contributions to his name this season, James Maddison is a key element of Leicester City’s excellent team.Maddison could’ve quite easily let his form slip after rumours emerged, which Brendan Rodgers addressed last month, that Manchester United were monitoring his progress as they search for a new attacking threat.However, the rising star has done anything but, and that’s got to please Leicester fans, who will really feel they’re on the precipice of something special with Rodgers and his band of youthful talent.Watch Leicester City Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In fact, if his latest interview is anything to go by, it sounds as if Maddison’s desire for the game, and more importantly his desire to achieve with the Foxes, is as strong as ever…

Leicester currently sit in third position and travel to Rodgers’ old stomping ground, Anfield, to face Liverpool at the weekend.

Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha has defended Ivory Coast compatriot Nicolas Pepe after an underwhelming start to life in the Premier League for the £72m summer signing from Lille.

What’s the word?

Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign Pepe from the Ligue 1 outfit, but so far the 24-year-old has scored just one Premier League goal in the 2019/20 campaign.

The Ivorian, who scored 22 goals and registered 11 assists during the 2018/19 season, has struggled to adapt to life in the English top-flight, but his teammate and Palace forward Zaha has backed the 24-year-old to show the ability that attracted Arsenal’s interest in bringing him to The Emirates.

“I see the social media, I see everything and it’s a thing where he needs time. He’s come from another league, he’s young,” Zaha told the BBC (via Daily Star).

“There’s this price tag that he has not put on himself, people have put that on him because of his performances, so you’ve got to give him time for him to reproduce that, it’s not going to come like that.

“I have got nothing but faith in him, I’ve got confidence that he will produce the same thing that he did before, because we both play for Ivory Coast, I’ve seen the talent he’s got, but not everyone sees it.”

Patience required for £72m Pepe

Zaha’s passionate defence of his international teammate could arguably be rooted in his own personal experiences of struggling with the transition to the demands of a top-six Premier League side, after the forward secured a £15m transfer to Manchester United in 2013 only to move back to Palace in 2015 for a fee as low as £3m.

The 27-year-old’s steady ascent having returned to south London illuminates how players whose game is based on flair, trickery and a decisive end product is rarely a straightforward process; there will be bumps in the road and scrutiny will be relentless.

Zaha and Pepe’s playing styles are similar, and given their experience of having played together with Ivory Coast, the Palace forward clearly believes that Pepe is capable of defying the “social media” critics, as alluded to by Zaha.

There can be no doubting Pepe’s abilities after such an impressive spell in Ligue 1 with Lille, and Zaha’s passionate defence of his international colleague is likely to fuel the Arsenal man’s confidence as he bids to find form and propel the Gunners into the realms of Champions League qualification.

Scotland got back to winning ways on Sunday, thrashing minnows San Marino 6-0 at Hampden Park.

It was a routine evening for Steve Clarke’s side, who never really had to get out of second gear against the lowest ranked country in the world.

You can never read too much into games like these, but one thing that will have pleased Clarke was the performance of midfielder John McGinn.

The 24-year-old has made a brilliant start to life in the Premier League with Aston Villa, netting three times and creating one assist already after just eight matches (via Transfermarkt).

He certainly took his club form to the international stage and was superb on the evening against San Marino, scoring his first career hat-trick.

All of his goals were in the first half of the match, which meant that he became the first player to score a first-half treble for Scotland since Lawrie Reilly back in 1952.

McGinn’s excellent form for both club and country are earning him plenty of plaudits, and he has even been linked with a move to Manchester United.

It would be fair to say that the Aston Villa faithful were not surprised at McGinn’s performance for Scotland given how well he has been doing for them. There was plenty of love for him after the game, and here is how some Villa fans reacted to his hat-trick on Twitter…

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…

Takefusa Kubo is one of Real Madrid’s biggest talents at the moment. And the 18-year-old prodigy recently talked to Marca and discussed all the details of his career, his past and his big move to the Spanish capital.

What did he say?

Kubo joined Los Blancos in the last summer transfer window and arrived as one of the brightest young talents in the world.

Dubbed as the ‘Japanese Messi’, the 18-year-old player spent the pre-season with Real Madrid before heading out on loan to Mallorca, where he currently plays his football.

But interestingly enough, Kubo revealed what exactly convinced him to sign for the Galacticos, especially considering his past ventures with none other than Barcelona.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It seems that the royal Whites had a clear plan for his future and that their sporting project was the very thing that sealed the deal in the end.

Here’s what he said in full:

“I really liked Real Madrid’s goal in a sporting sense, the plan they had for me for the next few years, and what they thought about me for the future. Real Madrid were clear that they wanted to sign me. They showed me the plan they had for my career and I really liked it; that convinced me.”

Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona

It’s always a big victory when you manage to snatch one of the biggest talents out there, but what makes this particular triumph that much sweeter is the sour aftertaste it leaves in Barcelona’s mouths.

After all, Kubo was their big asset, having joined La Masia in 2011 and stayed there until 2015, but Barcelona’s transfer ban meant that the youngster had to abandon Catalonia and move back to his homeland.

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

Four years later, here he is, donning the royal white kit of Real Madrid and doing so with pride.

But what will hurt Barcelona the most is the fact that their biggest rivals seemingly had a better long-term project in place, which ultimately made the difference with Kubo’s signature.

After all, Marca do mention that the likes of Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain tried luring him away from Madrid.

Even though the now 18-year-old didn’t mean any disrespect to the Blaugrana, this is very much a big blow to their overall plan and policy, and Kubo’s revelation will surely sting..

And now that Real Madrid hold all the cards in their hands, they can use the ‘Japanese Messi’ to start their revolution.

The ball is in their court. Let’s see how they play it.

Mohamed Salah has been included in the Liverpool squad for Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Genk in Belgium.

The Egypt international was absent for Sunday’s Premier League game against Manchester United with an ankle problem, and the Reds missed the attacker as they dropped their first league points of the 2019/20 campaign.

The 27-year-old is set to make his return on Wednesday, though, which will be a huge boost for a Liverpool side looking for their second victory in Group E.

It remains to be seen just how many changes Jurgen Klopp decides to make, particularly as the Reds face Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League this weekend.

Salah’s return, as expected, has delighted the Liverpool supporters, with many drooling over the fact that the attacker will be available to take on Genk.

The Egyptian has managed six goals in 12 appearances for the Reds this season – including two in two Champions League outings.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Merseyside club’s fans can be seen below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Eric Dier has found first-team minutes hard to come by under Mauricio Pochettino this season, with his first Premier League start of the season not coming until the clash against Brighton and Hove Albion prior to the international break.

Following the disappointing 3-0 defeat at the Amex, a report emerged in The Times that the England international tops the list of players his Argentine manager is looking to move on during the January transfer window, as he looks to shake up his squad.

Judging by that, the 47-year-old wants the versatile player – who can feature in midfield or defence – gone in the New Year, but he certainly made an impressive cameo from the substitutes’ bench against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The north London outfit ran out comfortable 5-0 winners against the Serbian outfit at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the former Sporting Lisbon man on the pitch for the final 23 minutes – coming on and getting up to speed can be difficult in games like that.

However, impressively all of his 26 passes were accurate, while he also had a shot at goal too, according to WhoScored.

Perhaps what was most impressive was the range of passing he showed, with one particularly impressive long ball forward finding a teammate, which is exactly the type of quality Spurs require from those central positions.

Given the 25-year-old now faces competition from the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko for a spot in Pochettino’s central midfield, he certainly has an uphill task ahead of him.

However, unlike those three he can act as an out-and-out defensive midfielder who can sit and protect the backline, and perhaps that is what they need having conceded seven times at home to Bayern Munich with the aforementioned trio playing instead of him, for example.

Pochettino may want to axe him, but Dier showed there could still be life in him at Tottenham yet with his impressive display against Red Star.

Some Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to react after The Mirror’s David Maddock provided an injury update on Mohamed Salah, following the 2-1 win over Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday.

The Egypt international scored the winning goal from the penalty spot, but left the pitch in the 85th minute after staying down on the turf holding his ankle.

Salah recently missed the 1-1 draw with Manchester United due to an ankle injury suffered in the 2-1 win over Leicester, sustained after a horror challenge from Hamza Choudhury, but recovered to face Genk in the Champions League and Spurs on Sunday.

Maddock revealed that the former Chelsea and Roma forward was walking down the Anfield tunnel with a huge ice pack on his ankle, and it is an injury that could see him miss the crucial league game against Manchester City in two weeks – on the basis that his last ankle issue saw him miss three weeks, as Maddock reports.

Let’s see how the Liverpool fans on Twitter reacted to the news…

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…

As quoted by the club’s official website, Manchester United star Anthony Martial has delivered an encouraging insight into his progress as a central striker.

What did he say?

The France international started the current campaign on fire, registering two goals and an assist in his opening three Premier League games. However, the forward suffered an injury that kept him out of action for the best part of two months, but has since made a goal-scoring return to the first-team.

And now, the 23-year-old has provided an insight into how he is continuing to develop as a starting striker for the club, and insisted his attitude and commitment to the craft is the key to success.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “Frankly, playing as striker, you’re not there to make blinding passes or massive runs. I’ve come to understand that to score, you have to be obsessed, to be fixated on just that, scoring goals. That’s how you enjoy yourself as a striker. That’s not a choice – that’s how it has to be.

“It’s all about scoring goals for me. That’s my number one aim. It has to be. These days I am very focused on my central striker role, getting my scoring stats up and helping the team that way. It’s important to keep learning new things, new elements that can widen your range of options and make you more efficient as a player when you’re out there on the pitch.”

Encouraging

Make no mistake about it, Martial’s insight into how he is looking to improve his skills as a striker is great news for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and his side. The departure of Romelu Lukaku earlier in the summer – a man who scored 113 goals in the Premier League – robbed the Red Devils of a proven marksman.

And with no replacement being signed, the burden of scoring the bulk of the side’s goals has been firmly placed on the shoulders of Martial and Marcus Rashford. The former struck twice in successive games against Partizan Belgrade and Norwich in his come back from injury, and if he continues to hone his craft in the way he has revealed, then there is no reason why the Frenchman cannot be the long-term successor to Lukaku.

Everton fans are once again sending their best wishes to Andre Gomes after he endured a nasty ankle injury during the 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.

A tackle from Son Heung-Min and then a collision with Serge Aurier fractured Gomes’ right ankle, forcing the 26-year-old to be stretchered off the pitch. It was a truly horrific event that will no doubt see the Portugal international ruled out for many months.

Everton released a statement, providing an update on Gomes’ situation, which read: “Following a successful operation yesterday, Andre Gomes has now been discharged from hospital and will continue his rehabilitation under the care of the Everton medical team.

“The Blues midfielder underwent surgery to repair a fracture dislocation to his right ankle yesterday, with the procedure going extremely well.”

The £22m star has been in decent form for the Toffees this season and played a dominant role in the club’s last two Premier League wins over Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United.

In both of those games, the former Barcelona man put in a 7.07 rating and proved he is of great importance to Marco Silva’s squad.

No doubt he will be a huge miss for the team, and fans are right now are just hoping he gets better and comes back stronger.

One supporter said, “thank goodness” with many over fans simply putting “get well soon”.

Here’s what they have had to say about the recent update…

Manchester City fans have stood by Bernardo Silva after the winger refused to speak in his post-match interview with Sky Sports.

Silva was involved heavily throughout the defeat at Anfield, which now leaves the champions trailing Liverpool by nine points.

As the game got off to it’s expected frantic start, a deflection off of Silva was seen to hit the hand of Trent Alexander-Arnold inside the penalty area.

This resulted in immediate protests from himself and Sergio Aguero, but both were ignored by referee Michael Oliver and the officials. To make matters worse, Fabinho would go onto score at the other end for the home side moments later, resulting in frenzied reactions from Pep Guardiola and his men.

After the game, Silva, who signed for the club for £43m in 2017, was asked by Sky Sports about the handball, to which he replied: “If I speak, I will be in trouble. I don’t want to speak.”

Just last month the Portugal international was charged with misconduct by the FA, after a tweet he sent to Benjamin Mendy, which the FA deemed a breach of FA Rule E3.

Now, it seems Silva is reluctant to talk about the potential handball situation, to which the City fans have got behind him.

One fan said it was a “clear and obvious” penalty, whilst many other supporters have alluded to the belief that the players are scared to talk now.

Here’s what the fans have had to say after Silva’s interview…