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At time of writing, Luis Suarez hasn’t been ruled out of the World Cup. The Uruguayan FA have confirmed surgery on the player’s knee and that the injury was sustained during Liverpool’s last league game against Newcastle.

The news of Suarez’s race against time to be fully fit for the World Cup would have been music to the ears of England and the nation’s supporters, who are set to meet Uruguay in the second group game of the tournament. Liverpool fans won’t mind a potential summer off for their star striker, either. A chance to recuperate and keep himself out of the shop window – though not entirely, of course – is a bonus to Brendan Rodgers and the club.

Of course, there is the other side of the argument to say Suarez could return to Liverpool later this summer completely deflated at having missed out on a South American World Cup. Let’s not dismiss how important this event is for the entire continent. The last South American World Cup was Argentina 1978. Suarez is a competitor and a winner; there’s absolutely no doubt he’d want to be a part of this tournament.

But in the event this setback keeps him out for good, is it really what fans of football in general want? We saw a similar situation come up late last year when Portugal went head-to-head with Sweden in a playoff for a place at the summer tournament in Brazil. One way or another football would lose out on a global superstar and the tournament would be worse off for it. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, at 33, has more than likely missed his last chance to play at a World Cup finals.

The same isn’t the case for Suarez on a personal level, but the World Cup is a celebration of the game and a part of it would remain in the shade without the standout player from the Premier League this past season. There’s understandable selfishness from England and Liverpool supporters over the news of the player’s injury, but really, we do want to see stars like Suarez perform on the game’s biggest stage.

It should also not be overlooked that this is a sizeable blow to Uruguay ahead of kickoff on 12th June. It goes without saying that Suarez is a key piece of the Uruguay team, but his importance goes beyond his obvious star-status in world football.

Uruguay at times use all three of Suarez, Edinson Cavani and Diego Forlan in attack, with Forlan playing through the middle as a striker or deep-lying forward, and the other two able to play anywhere across the front three. It’s part of the mystery surrounding Uruguay’s tactics, in that you never know what formation they’ll deploy. Naturally it’s a key aspect to their success.

Throughout the day, there have been recollections and further analysis of the injury suffered by the Liverpool forward. The surgery will reportedly require three weeks to heal before Suarez can compete, meaning he should be fit for the majority of the tournament.

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It’s still early days in regards to this news and it will take some more time to understand whether we’ll see Suarez at the World Cup and if he’ll be fully fit. But the disappointment for him would be huge if he can’t effectively take part. England supporters will find some comfort in his potential absence from the group stages, but I can’t buy into the idea that Liverpool will benefit from a broken and dejected Suarez later this summer.

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Ezequiel Lavezzi has been one of a small handful of strikers linked to Liverpool after the club’s move for Loic Remy broke down.

Lavezzi had a good World Cup for Argentina, and with Paris Saint-Germain desperate to offload Lavezzi, among others, now is the time to capitalise on the 29-year-old’s availability.

But it would be a complete contrast to what Liverpool have bought thus far into the summer. Lavezzi may only be three years Adam Lallana’s senior, but the Argentine, with his age in mind, doesn’t represent good value for money for Brendan Rodgers; certainly not in the way you can explain away Lazar Markovic’s transfer fee.

In addition, Lavezzi is coming off a particularly underwhelming two seasons in Paris. He may have held importance for Argentina on their right flank, and scored the opener at home to Chelsea in the Champions League last season, but the forward doesn’t offer Liverpool anything they don’t already have.

With Daniel Sturridge and Rickie Lambert the only centre-forward options in Rodgers’ squad, the team are worryingly light of numbers, and Lavezzi wouldn’t really do much to address that problem. Yes, he does have a history of playing through the middle, but he is most effective playing wide of a centre forward and, based on his two years in France, doesn’t have the scoring record that would warrant the fee PSG are likely to demand, said to be in the region of £16 million.

His upside, however, is clear. Lavezzi does have experience in European football with both PSG and Napoli, and has lifted silverware with both clubs. With a youthful and inexperienced squad at Anfield, someone of the Argentine’s experience would be of use in the Champions League.

The problem for Liverpool is that they need to be shrewd with their remaining purchases, having already spent a combined £45 million on Lallana and Dejan Lovren from Southampton, and a further £20 million on Markovic, who occupies the same position as Lavezzi.

That’s why there should be some degree of regret over the Remy deal. At £8 million, the Frenchman would have added the goals needed in Liverpool’s attack, as well as the versatility to effectively play in Rodgers’ system. Lavezzi, at double the price, doesn’t offer that, and at 29, he will naturally need some time to adapt to the Premier League.

There are other options available to Liverpool, with Wilfried Bony available and Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette an exciting forward who scored 15 league goals for the French side last season.

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Juventus are also said to be interested in Lavezzi, which will suit him far more than Liverpool considering his experience of playing in Serie A.

But as for Brendan Rodgers, unless the deal is too good to pass up, he should be looking for a striker who can offer Liverpool something much more long term than the Argentine, as well as the ability to play effectively through the middle as an alternative or partner to Daniel Sturridge.

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On summer deadline day 2014, Arsenal Football Club found themselves a new hero. Not £16million signing Danny Welbeck, but the anonymous character whom, either by fortune, fate or design, kept Arsene Wenger out of north London for the final day of the transfer window.

The former Manchester United forward is by no means the greatest signing in Arsenal’s history. That may seem rather presumptuous, but compared to their £11million swoop for Thierry Henry, £2.7million signing Robin van Persie or £3.5million former skipper Patrick Vieira, clearly there have been better pound-for-pound acquisitions over the years.

He is, however, the signing Arsenal desperately needed as they approached the end of the summer window. With Olivier Giroud picking up an injury against Everton that will see him sidelined until at least the turn of 2015, the Gunners’ attack would have been left without a vocal point for the next six months. One can easily envisage the role being passed between Alexis Sanchez, Lukas Podolski, Theo Walcott and Yaya Sanogo, none providing the potency, physical presence or hold-up play required. That would have ended Arsenal’s planned Premier League title charge before it had even started.

Likewise, £16million is a sensational price for an established England international. Welbeck boasts ten goals and 28 appearances for the Three Lions, yet Luke Shaw on three caps and Adam Lallana on nine, joined Manchester United and Liverpool respectively this summer for a combined £55million. In fact, Arsenal paid the same for Welbeck as they did Calum Chambers, an Englishmen – albeit laced with enormous potential – who had made just 25 competitive league appearances in his entire career before moving to the Emirates.

Not bad for a 23 year-old  who has proved himself useful in every attacking role, possesses a physique as godly as Cristiano Ronaldo’s, a work-rate as intense as Roy Keane’s and has already experienced the top level of the game with the national team and Manchester United. Inconsistencies exist within Welbeck’s game, but his potential is equally evident.

Rather surprisingly however, Wenger has since revealed that the England forward wouldn’t be an Arsenal player right now if he was in London on deadline day – fortuitously, some bright spark had organised for the Frenchman to referee the ‘Match for Peace’ charity event in Rome, an idea spawned from the mind (or channelled to him directly by God, depending upon your personal beliefs) of the impeccably popular Pope Francis.

Wenger wanted a loan deal instead; arguably a more sensible option, but all-the-more an incredibly unrealistic one, considering United will expect to challenge for the same league spots as Arsenal this season and van Gaal’s pejorative opinions on Welbeck are unlikely to be any different in a year’s time.

In short, if the Gunners gaffer had been in London to insist upon a temporary switch as per his wishes, the nightmare of a striker-less Arsenal for the next half-season, or at least an Arsenal dependant on wide-men to play up front, would now be a reality. Forget the Premier League title – even the chances of retaining fourth spot for the third season in a row  and preserving Wenger’s impeccable record of Champions League qualification would have taken a significant hit.

The Arsenal manager clearly has faith in his players to overcome any obstacle, often wearing that loyalty like a badge of honour. But this is just one instance in a dangerous pattern that continually limits Arsenal’s potential as a top European side, that pattern being Arsene Wenger’s  idealistic, unrealistic and thoughtless approach in the transfer market.

The Gunners spent over £80million this summer, making it by far the most lucrative transfer window in the club’s history, and the need for an alternative to Olivier Giroud at the spearhead of the attack has existed for some time. One could even argue it’s existed since the France international moved to the Emirates in summer 2012, considering he was never likely to singlehandedly parallel the 37 goals scored by Robin van Persie the season previous.

Since then, Wenger’s failed to capitalise on opportunities to sign Loic Remy, Gonzalo Higuain, Mario Mandzukic, Mario Balotelli, Stevan Jovetic and Radamel Falcao to name a few. Yet the brief moment transfers are out of his control, a striker turns up in North London; none of the £80million spent in the summer  was reserved for an out-and-out front-man, and it took other sections of the club, acting without Wenger, to find a pragmatic solution to Grioud’s injury.

This isn’t even the first instance this summer of Wenger overlooking drastic flaws in his squad  – Arsenal needed a holding midfielder and extra bodies in defence too, and now, after just six games into the new season, they’ve already been forced to maximise their defensive depth. Youngster Hector Bellerin could resultantly be forced to start against Borussia Dortmund tonight, making a Champions League debut in only the tenth competitive fixture of his career.  Having faith in your players is all well and good, but that faith is futile when it’s spent on overcoming perpetual, self-inflicted injury crises, rather than challenging for silverware.

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But fear not Arsenal fans for the solution is clear, and provided unto you by God himself – just get rid of Arsene Wenger on deadline day every September and August, and you might actually start signing the players you need.

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Liverpool’s season has been extremely eventful thus far. After the last campaign where the Reds were unlucky not to win the Premier League title, Brendan Rodgers has struggled to emulate that form so far. Currently sitting in fifth place and 13 points, level with West Ham, the Anfield outfit have experienced unexpected losses, including defeats against the Hammers and at home to Aston Villa.

Once more, the £70m sale of star striker Luis Suarez to Spanish giants Real Madrid has quite clearly derailed the Liverpool squad, and some of the confidence that was evidently flowing through the camp has been scuppered in 2014/2015 so far. The Uruguayan’s replacement, Mario Balotelli, has failed to score a single league goal since his £16m arrival from Italian giants AC Milan, and his sole striker in a red shirt coming in the Champions League at home against Ludogorets. Elsewhere, the likes of Adam Lallana, Rickie Lambert and Lazar Markovic have all failed to sparkle for their new club.

Another player that has recently been criticised for his performances for Liverpool is full back Glen Johnson. New recruit Javier Manquillo has been able to muscle in front of Johnson in the starting XI for the Reds albeit in part due to the England international struggling for fitness. The vast experience of the former Portsmouth defender would be priceless to most Premier League clubs, but with more English players being encouraged to ply their trade abroad, a move to another country could massively appeal to the former Chelsea defender.

The full back, who came through West Ham famed ‘Academy of Football’ where the likes of Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard have launched their illustrious careers, is out of contract at the end of the season, and Rodgers has already expressed his desire to cut the wage bill at the Merseyside club. As well as his Liverpool starting spot, his place in the England set up is also in jeopardy. Roy Hodgson has injected a lot more youthful legs after the disastrous World Cup campaign, with the likes of Arsenal’s Calum Chambers and Southampton’s Nathanial Clyne already in front of Johnson in the Three Lions pecking order.

Blessed with great dribbling skills, a good eye for a pass and has a stinging shot with either his left or right foot, there will be plenty of admirers for the England international, who is free to talk to any club in January. The 30-year-old recently told the Liverpool Echo:

“I’m very relaxed about my contract. There are no talks going on with the club at the moment. There were minor talks towards the end of last season but nothing else. I’ve loved playing my football here from day one. I’m more than happy here. But obviously I can only talk to the club about it when they want to speak to me.”

Let’s just hope Rodgers is listening because it currently looks like he won’t be at Liverpool in the long-run.

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Alan Shearer has revealed that he’s just as frustrated as the majority of Newcastle fans with the start his old club have made to the season.

The Tynesiders are currently joint bottom of the Premier League after seven games in which they have failed to register a single win.

This poor form has led to calls from large sections of the St James’ Park crowd for the sacking of manager Alan Pardew, while owner Mike Ashley has come in for serious criticism following the sales of star players.

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Shearer – widely hailed as the greatest player to have ever played up front in the black and white shirt – watches his hometown side from his own box in their ground, and says that he’s just as frustrated as the rest of the club’s supporters thanks to the lacklustre showings Newcastle have produced in 2014:

“I don’t hold out too much hope for us,” he is quoted by the Daily Star.

“I think it could be a long, hard season.”

“It hasn’t been pleasant watching to be honest,” said Shearer, speaking ahead of a dinner next month which will be held in his honour to raise funds for the Stroke Association.

“I’m exactly the same as the fans, I’m one of them. I pay my ticket and am entitled to my opinion.

“It’s been poor since January and the quicker we can get out of it, the better.”

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“The harsh reality is that we haven’t been good enough and things have to improve pretty quickly or we could find ourselves in a hole.”

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April 27th, 2014, and Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers – clearly aggrieved after Chelsea had just dealt a colossal blow to his side’s title aspirations with a 2-0 victory at Anfield – had the following to say about the Blues’s tactical approach to the game:

“I don’t think it’s a tactic. Anyone can ask a team to just sit back and defend on the edge of the box.”

Fast forward seven months, and a subtle yet significant alteration to the 41 year-old’s claim is perhaps in order, as the painful reality appears to be that any manager apart from Rodgers himself is able to coax a solid defensive performance out of his players.

Liverpool’s dreadful 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday means that the Reds have now kept just two clean sheets in their last 24 games in all competitions. They have already lost as many league games this season as they managed in the entirety of the last, and a defeat against Ludogorets Razgrad in the Champions League on Wednesday would be their fifth in a row and would mark their worst run since 1953.

The small matter of Luis Suarez leaving the club in the summer – whose goals effectively deflected attention away from Liverpool’ defensive shortcomings – is no excuse for such damning statistics. Rodgers has been given considerable time and funds to improve his side’s defence, yet the Reds backline has actually regressed since the Irishman took over two years ago. In the 2011/12 season – Kenny Dalglish’s last as manager – Liverpool conceded a total of 40 league goals. In the two subsequent seasons under Rodgers, they let in 43 and 50 respectively, and the current tally for this campaign of 18 from 12 games – 1.5 goals per game – means that the Anfield outfit are well on course to break their record for most goals conceded in a Premier League season.

£63 million has been spent on defence alone by Rodgers since he became manager in June 2012. The fact that things have somehow worsened despite significant investment highlights the Liverpool boss’s two major managerial flaws: his inability to find value in the transfer market, and his lack of expertise in defensive coaching. Simon Mignolet has been woefully out of his depth since he joined the Reds from Sunderland in the summer of 2013 and is clearly a mid-table Premier League goalkeeper at best, while Dejan Lovren’s status as a professional footballer continues to beggar belief, such has been the Croat’s embarrassing incompetence in central defence. The pair cost a combined £29 million; to put this into context, Hugo Lloris – a genuine world-class goalkeeper – was bought by Tottenham for just £12 million, while Vincent Kompany was priced at £6 million when he signed for Manchester City.

Rodgers would argue that every manager has his weaknesses, and that his own strengths lie elsewhere. It is hard to dispute this; last season’s LMA manager of the year is undoubtedly very talented, and the attacking prowess of his Liverpool side has at times been breathtaking. However, his continued refusal to accept that his defensive approach simply isn’t working is having a damaging effect on the club’s on-field performances. There has been no sign whatsoever of an improvement in the Reds’ backline solidity, and until Rodgers bites the bullet and hires a defensive coach – as Dalglish did when he brought in Steve Clarke to help him out – Liverpool’s problems will persist.

The Liverpool boss is highly unlikely to do so, which is why he must go. Although the man from Ballymena is one of the most intelligent, progressive and tactically astute managers in the game, his stubbornness with regard to his clearly faulty defensive methods is sending Liverpool into freefall. A questionable record in the transfer market is just about excusable – Rafael Benitez hardly covered himself in glory with his signings, and neither did Kenny Dalglish. However, these two men at least ensured that the Reds defence retained a degree of respectable solidity.

Liverpool’s backline woes need to be addressed urgently if their season is to be saved. As talented a manager as Rodgers is, he does not seem to be the man to make this happen.

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Got any questions? Follow me on Twitter @GruffuddOwen

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Sir Alex Ferguson, although one of the greatest managers of all time, made his fair share of transfer boo-boos. Anderson, Bebe, Massimo Taibi… all three of these were pretty terrible additions, but right now it looks like one of the players he let go was the biggest error of all – Paul Pogba. The Frenchman was only a youngster at the time – and still is now – but the Scot’s reluctance to field him left the midfielder frustrated to the point that he slipped out of the Old Trafford exit door and right into the arms of Juventus.

At the time, the deal didn’t look such a big issue. Pogba was largely unproven and had some way to go to justify his tag as the ‘new Patrick Vieira’, yet he has gone the distance in Turin. With Serie A titles, a spot in Les Bleus’ senior squad and Champions League experience, the 21-year-old is now one of Europe’s best enforcers, and United are considering righting the wrongs with a £60m+ deal.

Such a fee would just about usurp the cash paid for Angel di Maria – the current British record buy – and is the sort of money many clubs can only dream of. Given United’s £150m summer spend, there are some opposed to a deal, but the Red Devils need to splash the cash for Pogba…

In terms of the major stats needed for a top class central-midfielder, Pogba simply wipes the flop with United’s current offerings. Although he’s played more minutes in league action than the likes of Michael Carrick, Daley Blind or Marouane Fellaini, the Frenchman boasts much better numbers in terms of chance creation, key passes and goals scored. Although these are ‘forward thinking’ attributes, he also takes the plaudits defensively, winning more tackles and more duels (both aerially and on the ground).

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And with goals in mind, Pogba scores some absolute crackers. Midfielders are required to weigh in with the odd effort that hits the back of the net, and when the Juve man does this, he does it with swagger and style. From long-range thunderbolts, to neat finishes and headers, Pogba can do it all.

The real irony with all of this is that United need a midfielder of the starlet’s quality more than ever and they let him go. The money received was minimal by football standards, and paying over £60m for him now could look like an admission of the mistake – which is not something a giant of the game will want to confess to.

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However, it’s time to put aside any reluctance and start spending that £750m adidas are set to hand over…

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Sunday wasn’t the greatest day for Liverpool, they were shut out by a disciplined and resilient Blackburn side who hassled them all game with a rampant physicality.

Liverpool’s slick passers found it difficult to break down the well-drilled defence, but it was admirable how Liverpool’s own defence dealt with the threatening height and strength of Rovers striker Rudy Gestede.

Martin Skrtel fell awkwardly early on and had to leave the game. His injury looked bad and almost certainly could have been much worse, and at the time I thought that Liverpool were going to have a tough day defending the menace of Gestede without their designated ‘hard-man’. As it turned out though, Dejan Lovren, Glen Johnson, and Skrtel’s replacement Kolo Toure were able to deal with the physical battles and counter attacks.

Liverpool weren’t as impressive going forward as they have been in recent weeks, but they were solid at the back and kept possession well, and that solidity has been the basis for a run of form that’s seen Brendan Rodgers’ men unbeaten in the league since they were humbled 3-0 at Old Trafford on December 14th.

Their impressive performances in this time have turned around their difficult start to the season and put them into the mix for a Champions League place, and this is down in no small part to Brendan Rodgers’ courage in his team selections.

Yes, the man from Carnlough on the north coast of Northern Ireland is a brave man. He has some serious cojones.

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It actually started even earlier than December. Selling Luis Suarez was a decision almost unanimously agreed with. His last misdemeanour as a Liverpool player left a bad taste in the mouth and it was time to sell for the good of the club’s image. But it does take courage to do the right thing even when it means losing one of the best players in the world.

What happened since then has been tough, though. Accused of spending the reported £75m transfer fee on lots of underperforming players – ‘doing a Spurs’ – there were rumours of Rodgers’ being under pressure, that the board were considering his position as the club floundered in the league and crashed out of the Champions League.

Since then, though, the new side have turned their form around and it was the defeat at Old Trafford that sparked the revival.

That was the time this season that Brendan Rodgers went with three at the back. That was his first real gutsy play. The Northern Irishman started with the same back-three that started the Blackburn game this weekend, but Jordan Henderson started at right wing-back. This was also the first game in which Simon Mignolet was dropped. A goalkeeper was the difference on that day, as Liverpool had almost double United’s shot count, but De Gea was a match for all those on target, while Brad Jones conceded 3 of United’s.

Rodgers, however, was impressed by the energy of his team and stuck to the back three against Arsenal in the next league game. It has been that way ever since with the addition of Lazar Markovic at wing-back and Emre Can coming into the back three.

Since then Liverpool have looked back to their flowing and lightning-quick best in attack, but it is a more solid base, and one that allows them to play out from the back, that has helped their attack.

Emre Can has come into the defence – and this was the next gutsy move. Can wasn’t seen as a defender when he was signed but there he is playing regularly at centre back. A cultured midfielder playing in a back three is an interesting idea, and since he already has two team mates alongside him Can has a licence to take the ball out from the back, and has time on the ball to pick a pass or come into the midfield to start attacks.

Against Blackburn he was used in midfield, but Rodgers knew that the game was going to be played almost exclusively in the Blackburn half, so Liverpool needed to start attacks from higher up the pitch. Usually it is Can’s passing range and vision that helps launch attacks from deep, and this has been one of the reasons for their success.

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This one tactical change has had a huge effect on the morale of the players too. Underperforming players are now performing well, and even the previously-dropped Mignolet is back to good form as the team, on their day, are solid at the back and sometimes sensational up front.

Putting the theory into practice is difficult, but having the balls to do it in such big games is quite another thing. It took tremendous bravery from a young manager, while he was under huge pressure, to make the difference to Liverpool’s season. They now have a realistic hope of silverware if they can make it to the Cup semi-final against Villa, and they look on course for a top-four place and maybe a better crack at the elite European competition next season with a side that is already gelling.

The reds’ recent run can be traced back to that awful day at Old Trafford. Even though there were glimmers of bravery in the summer, that was the day when Liverpool finally laid the foundations of recovery, and the day that Brendan Rodgers’ showed the world his balls!

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After 11 years as Chelsea’s main shot stopper, the time has come for Petr Cech to leave Stamford Bridge.

Despite being relatively young, 32, for a goalkeeper and still considered to be one of Europe’s best, Cech has been given the option of either being using as Chelsea’s cup keeper or find a new club in the summer. For obvious reasons Cech is expected to choose the latter and look for a team where he can start regularly.

The Czech Republic international has been linked with numerous clubs, though the most persistent rumour doing the rounds is that city rivals Arsenal are a likely destination. The Gunners appreciate that Cech is a high quality keeper, the likes of which don’t come around too often. But Arsenal already have two capable goalkeepers, one of whom was brought in just last summer and the other who is expected to leave because he has had to share his place in the first team.

David Ospina, currently Arsenal’s first choice keeper, was signed in the last summer window on a four year deal believed to be worth £3million. He caught Arsene Wenger’s attention after a brilliant performance for Colombia at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Since arriving in north London the 26-year-old has made 18 appearances, dislodging previous starter Wojciech Szczesny. Szczesny has been with the Gunners since he joined their youth team in 2009 and used to hold court in Arsenal’s goal before the arrival of Ospina.

With Szczesny wanting to leave because he isn’t playing enough, then why would Cech want to enter this situation? Would Cech be happy to equally share responsibilities with Ospina or would his transfer signal the start of a much reduced role for the Colombian? Surely Arsenal would have to make a choice, particularly when it comes to their Champions League matches, as they are likely to want to stick with one or the other, and with Cech having much more European experience you’d expect him to get the job.

As tempting as staying in London and playing for a team he is already very familiar with Cech can avoid numerous problems by just signing for another club who would welcome him as their main goalkeeper from the off.

Paris Saint-Germain are reported to be interested in signing him and would definitely provide Champions League football next season, along with a huge wage. Their early offer has been around the £7million mark but could increase if they have to battle against teams like Arsenal for his signature.

PSG are on course once again to win Ligue 1 and made it into the quarterfinals of the Champions League after knocking out Cech’s own Chelsea in the previous round.

Perhaps Cech would be an ideal signing for Arsenal and maybe Ospina wouldn’t mind playing a mostly back-up role to him, but Cech has the chance to join the current champions of French football, a team who are getting closer and closer to the level of European heavy weights like Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

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PSG are a worthwhile project to join and after winning everything in England with Chelsea, it is the perfect time to try his luck somewhere else.

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It’s that time of year again when media outlets link any player to any side in order to get people talking. Kaka to Spurs? Tevez to West Ham? Sneijder to Man City? – You know the drill. And Man United are no exception to this rule, with are plenty of transfer rumours in the air at the moment. Are Falcao’s Old Trafford days numbered? And who will be replacing him?

As far as Radamel Falcao is concerned, it seems he has not got much time left in a red shirt. Failing to impress at Stamford Bridge against the league leaders Chelsea could well have made up Louis Van Gaal’s mind, with his late effort that crashed off the post a bitterly disappointing one. The loan deal with an option to buy at the end will likely not be fulfilled, and he will be playing elsewhere come the summer.

And there is no shortage of players to replace the Colombian. First up, Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke. The second half of his season has been outstanding, and he has not struggled to find the back of the net. He has scored a staggering six goals in his last four games: including a hat trick at QPR. If he is finding it easy to score goals with Aston Villa, he will have no problems at Manchester United. He’s already scored against them this season!

If Benteke cannot be lured away from the Midlands, there is a back up plan. That player being Burnley’s Danny Ings. Ings is on the verge of dropping down to the Championship, yet many believe he is destined to stay up – whether Burnley do or not. The media believes he has a big club signing lined up, with Manchester United showing interest.

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A Champions League goal has brought ‘Chicharito’s’ talents back to the spotlight. Chicharito’s dramatic late goal has gotten Real Madrid through to the Champions League semi-finals, and immediately questions of the Mexican’s Manchester United future were asked. Will he come back? It won’t cost anything (bar wages, of course) and he is a proven goalscorer for the Red Devils. One goal does not make a player – but what a goal to score.

Away from strikers, Hummels to United is one rumour that refuses to disappear. Manchester United need to strengthen their defence, and Hummels would be perfect. But, this could be just another Sneijder rumour that surfaces but nothing happens. However, Klopp’s Dortmund departure is adding fuel to the fire and Hummels could be a Manchester United player after all.

His Dortmund teammate Gundogan has also been linked to Manchester United as the perfect ‘replacement’ for Michael Carrick. Carrick has shown no signs of slowing down, and has been key this season, but he will not be at Manchester United forever. It seems Gundogan is on the radar in order to build for the future.

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