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Lots of Newcastle fans have been discussing their goalscoring woes, and they think the biggest mistake of the summer was allowing Dwight Gayle to leave the club.

Newcastle have scored just four Premier League goals so far this season, and there has been plenty of talk about the departure of Aleksandar Mitrovic.

The powerful Serbian international has scored five Premier League goals already this season, while new signing Salomon Rondon is yet to bag in the league.

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While Rondon’s lack of goals is an issue, it’s hard to imagine Mitrovic scoring many goals in the current Magpies’ side, which is why Gayle is actually a much bigger loss.

The 28 year-old joined West Brom on loan when Rondon came the other way, and has already scored six times in nine Championship games.

He scored 29 league goals for Newcastle in 69 appearances, and his endless runs down the channels always helped create space for others to flourish.

Fans believe it was a big mistake allowing the striker to leave, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Manchester United have suffered with a handful of deep rooted problems since Sir Alex Ferguson retired at the end of the 2012/13 campaign, one of which has been their fragility in central defence.

Even Jose Mourinho – a man who is famed for his rigid tactical approach and sturdy defensive solidity – has been unable to solve United’s defensive problems.

Naturally, the finger has often been pointed at the manager, but there is no questioning that the quality of Mourinho’s options are below what his rivals have at their disposal.

The glory days of a formidable partnership containing Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic are long gone, and United supporters are forced to settle for the likes of Chris Smalling, Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones.

It’s a sorry decline for a club who were once regarded amongst the world’s best, as not one of the aforementioned trio would get close to the starting eleven at Manchester City.

With that to consider, United will need to revamp their defence during the course of the next two transfer windows in order to solve their persistent woes, and beginning their transformation with the signing of Jamaal Lascelles would be the perfect place to start.

The 24-year-old enforcer is Newcastle’s captain and by far their most valuable asset, but if the Magpies continue to show a lack of ambition in the transfer market then he will surely be forced into a move away from the club in order to enhance his career.

Considering he is only on £40,000 per week at this moment in time (as per Spotrac), United are in an advantageous situation in which they possess the financial power to lure him away from Newcastle.

The natural leadership qualities, determination, and fearlessness which Lascelles would bring to Old Trafford would hand the club their most influential and trustworthy defender since Vidic.

He may not be the marque signing which United fans crave, but his glowing performances since arriving in the Premier League suggest he has the potential to thrive at a top-four club.

And with Man United set to go head-to-head with Newcastle United on Saturday evening, it’s the perfect time for supporters to take a closer look at Lascelles.

Man United fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

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Sheffield United signed Mark Duffy on a free transfer in the summer of 2016 just months after Chris Wilder had been appointed as their new manager, and it has proved to be a masterstroke addition.

The Liverpool-born attacker left Birmingham City for Bramall Lane following the expiry of his contract, and has been something of a regular in the Blades’ starting XI ever since, scoring 11 goals and providing a further 21 assists in 94 appearances in all competitions for the Yorkshire outfit.

Even though the 33-year-old primarily played on the wing during the earlier years of his career, he has been utilised as the individual that plays behind the strikers in Wilder’s preferred 3-4-1-2 formation in recent times, and he has excelled.

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Not only did he provide all three of the assists in his side’s 3-2 win against Millwall at The Den at the end of last month, but he also starred in the 1-0 victory against Hull City at Bramall Lane on Saturday as the club went to the summit of the Championship table.

Even though he didn’t score or assist and was not on the pitch when David McGoldrick scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot, he was still one of their biggest threats in terms of all-round attacking play.

Duffy looks to be one of the first names on Wilder’s team-sheet right now – and he will need to keep his form up following the return of Paul Coutts from injury – so we want Blades supporters to vote on our poll to tell us whether they think the 33-year-old is their most important player, or not.

Everton supporters have been pretty upbeat in recent times after seeing their team record a second successive Premier League victory at the weekend.

Marco Silva’s men went into their trip to Leicester City off the back of beating Fulham 3-0 in their previous league clash, although they did lose to Southampton in the third round of the Carabao Cup a few days later. Nonetheless, the Toffees kept their encouraging league form going with a 2-1 win at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, with goals from Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson either side of a Ricardo Pereira equaliser sealing all three points for the Merseysiders.

Thus, there have been many thrilled Evertonians up and down the country in recent times, several of whom have taken to Twitter in recent times to comment on the speculation linking Cenk Tosun with a move away in January, with many happy for the striker to leave.

Yet given his efforts last season for the club, alongside their distinct lack of out-and-out strikers and the difficulty in bringing a top-quality forward in during the January window, letting the £20.7 million-rated star (as per Transfermarkt) go could prove to be a big mistake.

Ultimately, the 27-year-old was drafted in by former boss Sam Allardyce back in January of this year in a bid to solve their goal-scoring woes at Goodison Park, and while Tosun took some time to get going, get going he did with five goals in 14 Premier League appearances for the Toffees.

And with four of those goals coming in three matches against Burnley, Brighton, and Stoke City, the striker appears to very much be a confidence player in that one goal could pave the way for a rich vein of form – he bagged against Fulham at the end of September, but hasn’t since had much of a chance to build upon that.

Yes, Richarlison’s efforts as a number nine against Leicester suggest that Silva may have stumbled upon something brilliant, but only time will tell whether the Brazil international is able to continue producing the goods there – thus, retaining Tosun for the season is vital.

Add in the distinct lack of other options in that area of the field, with Oumar Niasse and Dominic Calvert-Lewin hardly out-and-out goal-scorers themselves, and the Turkey international appears to be the best striker at Goodison Park.

Significantly though, letting Tosun go would pile the pressure on Silva to bring in a replacement, and January has proven to be a notoriously difficult time to bring in top-quality players, alongside the fact that a premium is usually paid given the time of year and desperation of the buying club.

Yes, there have been some very shrewd January deals in the past, but on the whole it is a very tricky month to get good business done, so at least sticking with what one already has, alongside possibly trying to bring someone in, means that Silva won’t be short of striking options in the second half of the season.

Thus, while Tosun does appear to be struggling for form and confidence at present, those Everton fans unfazed by his possible January departure are wrong, as it could turn out to be a big mistake.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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A huge majority of the Liverpool fans that answered our recent poll want Virgil van Dijk to take over from Jordan Henderson as club-captain.

The 27-year-old centre-back was named as his country’s captain by Ronald Koeman in March this year and has since scored two goals in impressive wins over Portugal and Germany respectively.

His goal against the Germans opened the scoring in a 3-0 win for the Netherlands last Saturday, and after his overall performance it would seem that Liverpool fans are desperate for him to take over from Henderson, who is no longer guaranteed to start every game after the money Jurgen Klopp spent on his midfield in the summer.

Van Dijk joined the Reds for £75m in January earlier this year and immediately set about tightening up the leaky defence. His 22 caps for the Netherlands and impressive performances for the Anfield club have clearly rubbed off on fans, with 92 per cent wanting him to be the club captain.

Check out the full results of the poll below.

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In recent weeks, Harry Winks has been quietly turning in very positive performances in big matches where his contribution has been overshadowed by the individual brilliance of others. 

First, the 22-year-old held his own in a midfield battle with the likes of Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic as Spurs fell to defeat against Barcelona in the Champions League. On that occasion, everyone was playing second fiddle to the sheer brilliance of Lionel Messi. There is, of course, no shame in failing to stand out whilst the Argentine genius is in such good form.

Second, in England’s historic Nations League triumph over Spain, so much attention was justly paid to the match-winning combination of England’s front three – Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane – that Winks’ own eye-catching display fell somewhat by the wayside. 

A succession of injuries last season led to Winks missing plenty of football at club level and ultimately the midfielder had to undergo surgery that meant he couldn’t enjoy a proper pre-season ahead of the new campaign either. With that in mind, Winks has done well to merely force his way back in Mauricio Pochettino’s first XI plans, never mind the national team set up.

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Yet, there is a very good reason why Winks ought to be fast-tracked back into the England picture, and evidence for that was given in his aforementioned performances against Spain and Barcelona.

Against two high-quality opponents, Winks demonstrated that he possesses the qualities to fearlessly go toe-to-toe with them and provide his side with a driving force in the middle of the park. A look at the stats highlights just how impressive he was on these occasions.

Against Barcelona, Winks recorded a pass completion rating 94.6%, and made 55 successful passes in total including four accurate long balls and one key pass. The Spurs man also chipped in with his defensive dues, making two tackles and one interception.

On the international stage, Winks was even more impressive. An 85.7% pass accuracy rating saw him rank once again amongst the most assured and reliable distributors on the pitch.

This time, Winks was far more aggressive on the ball too, completing three dribbles. He was able to take on his opponents with such regularity as he was robust in possession. The Spanish could only dispossess Winks once in the match, whereas he was dispossessed on five occasions against Barcelona. 

The youngster is by no means the complete midfielder, and there are certainly flaws in his game. His strengths, though, are in areas that England are otherwise lacking. His ability to pass or run with the ball between the lines is reminiscent of Jack Wilshere at his best (it is unlikely now that the West Ham man will ever again reach those heights he hit in his early Arsenal career). 

Southgate’s most trusted central midfield options – Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier – whilst they have their merits, both have a propensity for playing lots of neat and tidy sideways passes that lack penetration and invention. At his best, Winks can be the incisive, aggressive deep-lying playmaker that England need.

England recently made the mistake of for too long ignoring the perfect midfielder for their cause in favour of shoe-horning in more experienced options or higher profile stars. In that instance, Michael Carrick missed his chance to transform the Three Lions’ midfield contingent into something altogether more functional and cohesive.

Given time, patience and the correct guidance, Winks could also help to evolve the England midfield into a more efficient and balanced unit. He must be afforded that chance, and the mistakes made with Carrick’s international career ought not to be repeated. 

QPR are arguably the form side in the Championship at the moment, having only lost one of their past 11 league games and are on a three match winning streak. 

The Rs have climbed rapidly up the table after a disastrous start to the season, where they lost their opening four games and were rooted at the bottom. They now sit in 10th place, and are in touching distance of the play-off places.

One of the key figures in The Hoops’ revival this season is Geoff Cameron, who signed at the end of August on loan from Stoke. The American has been a rock in the midfield for The Rs, in both attack and defence, and has become one of the first names on the team sheet for manager Steve McClaren.

However, according to West London Sport, the American is 50-50 as to whether he will play this weekend against Blackburn. His absence will be monumental, and there is a massive ask of the man to step up and partner Massimo Luongo in the heart of the field.

The man to step up looks to be Josh Scowen. The 25-year-old has featured in 12 of the club’s 15 league games so far this season, but primarily from the bench behind the American and Australian. Scowen has a huge responsibility in aiding the defence, something that Cameron does expertly, but also transition the ball to their lethal attackers.

Cameron is vital to QPR, and fans will be sweating over his fitness. But whomever steps up must do a great job, as the club do not want to drop points in what will be a tough game at Blackburn.

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According to Calciomercato, Tottenham Hotspur have emerged as the favourites to sign Roma attacker Cengiz Under, and could complete a deal in the January transfer window.

Under, 21, has scored three times and registered five assists in 12 appearances for Roma during the 2018-19 campaign.

Arsenal and Bayern Munich have both been linked with moves for Under, but according to Calciomercato, Tottenham are set to win the race.

It is being claimed that Spurs are prepared to pay £52.5m to complete a deal for a player who has shown his potential this season.

However, it would be fair to say that the Tottenham supporters are not buying the transfer speculation.

Indeed, the capital outfit did not spend a single penny during the summer transfer window, and the club’s fans are finding it hard to believe that chairman Daniel Levy will pay more than £50m to sign Under at the start of 2019.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

According to a recent report from The Independent, Fernando Llorente could be set for a move away from Tottenham in January. The 33-year-old made the move to the North London club back in the summer of 2017 in a bid to provide an adequate back-up to striker Harry Kane, yet the Spaniard simply hasn’t been able to do that to thus call his future at the club into question.

And reports suggest that Athletic Bilbao are keen on re-signing the Spurs man in the New Year in a bid to end his Tottenham nightmare, but doing so would leave Mauricio Pochettino’s side short of options up top, which is why he must seek to greatly upgrade on the awful Llorente by landing Bournemouth’s £13.5 million-rated Callum Wilson (as per Transfermarkt).

The Breakdown

Ultimately, it was always highly unlikely that Llorente would ever dispose Kane of the main striker’s role in Pochettino’s team, but even when called upon by the Tottenham manager, the 33-year-old has struggled to produce the goods.

The Spain international has netted just six times in 37 appearances for the North London club and three of those came against Rochdale in the FA Cup earlier this year, yet only one has come in his 18 Premier League appearances for the club.

So while Llorente was brought in to be a better deputy for Kane than Vincent Janssen, who also seriously struggled the season before, the former simply hasn’t been able to do that.

But while losing him wouldn’t be too great a blow, it would leave Spurs short of cover in the final third of the pitch, which is why in-form Wilson is a man they should seek to lure to North London to finally sign a striker that will produce the goods.

The Cherries frontman has enjoyed a sensational start to the new season in Eddie Howe’s side in netting six goals and laying on five assists in just 11 Premier League games for the South Coast club, helping them to sixth place in the table.

In fact, the 26-year-old has failed to make a direct contribution in just three of those 11 games to underline just how great a season he is embarking upon, which is why it was unsurprising to see him named in Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the forthcoming international break.

And with eight goals for Bournemouth last season, six the season before, and five in their first campaign in the top-flight, Wilson has proven his worth as a Premier League striker in recent times, and as such would be ideal for a Spurs side seeking to seriously strengthen their squad ahead of a run at major honours.

Like Llorente, the 26-year-old is unlikely to get ahead of Kane in the striker’s pecking order, but he’s certainly got the ability both in front of goal and as an accomplished all round forward to give the Englishman something to think about – it wouldn’t be as easy a ride as it has been for Kane ahead of Llorente and Janssen.

And with the former reportedly linked with a move away come January, Pochettino should be in the market for an almighty upgrade on the Spaniard in the New Year – Wilson is certainly that man.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Following the news regarding Aaron Ramsey’s likely departure to Bayern Munich, as reported by the Independent, Arsenal will need to be in the market for a player who possesses a similar goal threat from midfield.

What’s the word?

The Welshman’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign, and after negotiations regarding a renewal hit an impasse, the 27-year-old is now set to leave the club who he has spent over a decade with.

Ramsey’s departure will not necessarily leave a gaping hole in the Gunners’ engine room as such, but they have no midfielder who can make an impact in the box quite like the former Cardiff man can.

Unai Emery’s current options in central midfield consist of Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka, Matteo Guendouzi, Mohamed Elneny and Ainsley Maitland-Niles; all good players in their own right, undoubtedly, but much less decisive in the final third in comparison to Ramsey.

Who can replace his threat?

Reiss Nelson looks likely to be the only player already within the Gunners’ ranks to add goals to the side when he returns from Hoffenheim, so Emery will need to dip into the market.

Of course, we all know the state of the current market, even more so for wealthy Premier League teams, and whilst Arsenal aren’t exactly lacking funds, they will not want to break the bank to replace a player they are losing for nothing.

So, in that respect, they should take advantage of the sticky situation Ligue 1 strugglers Monaco find themselves in, managed by Gunners legend Thierry Henry.

Les Rouges et Blancs are currently 19th in France’s top-flight, whilst their owner, Dmitry Rybolovlev, has recently been arrested on corruption charges. Its all a bit messy.

Signed from Anderlecht for around £20m last summer, Youri Tielemans was tipped for big things having just won Belgium’s Young Player of the Year award. The 21-year-old has three goals in 11 appearances in Ligue 1 this season and has been a bright light in a terrible campaign so far.

Tielemans is a very good passer of the ball and has a keen eye for goal, whilst his potential is still relatively unfilled. Manchester United held a strong interest in the player before his move to France, as did Arsenal, so this move could well be on.