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Marlon Harewood has admitted he is baffled by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s treatment of Paul Pogba at Manchester United.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast reporter Tom Ward, the former Premier League striker has suggested that Pogba finds himself in a similar situation to his Red Devils teammate Jesse Lingard after being benched by Solskjaer for the 3-1 win over Everton before the international break.

Pogba copped a fair amount of criticism for conceding a sloppy penalty which allowed Arsenal to steal a 1-0 win at Old Trafford. The club legend publicly criticised him for the first time in his post-match press conference after the loss to Mikel Arteta’s side.

“The boy is running away from goal, there is no need to go for the ball,” Solskjaer told the BBC, as quoted by The Daily Express.

United have suffered from an inconsistent start to the season, having beaten both Paris Saint-Germain and RB Leipzig, before losing to Istanbul Basaksehir in the Champions League, whilst the 27-year-old continues to be linked with the exit amid interest from PSG, Real Madrid and Juventus.

When asked to share his thoughts on Pogba’s situation, Harewood told FFC:

“He’s like another Lingard. I just can’t understand what’s going on, I don’t know who’s advising them on or off the field, because these players are top-class players.

“You can have a bad day because everything won’t go your way all the time but they should be playing week in, week out like old-school players like Zinedine Zidane, because they are top class players.

“Pogba can become one of those legends because he is world-class.”

Lingard, like Pogba, also faces an uncertain future at Old Trafford. He has not featured in the Premier League so far this season and could depart the club when the transfer market reopens in January.

However, as far as we are concerned, that’s where the similarities end though. In 175 games for the club, the Frenchman has scored 33 goals and supplied 35 assists in all competitions so far. Not bad, not bad at all, especially for a creative midfielder who has arguably been playing out of position in a deeper role in recent months.

By comparison, the former England international has scored as many goals in more than 200 appearances for the Red Devils since he first broke through the academy ranks into the first team.

Pogba’s chequered history with the club is well-documented with his infamous agent Mino Raiola embroiled in more confrontations with club officials than we care to remember.

As we have previously pointed out, the French World Cup winner’s market value is rated at £72m via Transfermarkt, which makes him an expensive substitute if he stays on the bench, as has been the case at times so far this season. One thing’s for sure, he needs to start playing regularly if they are to justify their asking price, whatever that may be.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer makes stunning prediction about Paul Pogba’s future at Manchester United…

Many Aston Villa fans are reacting to the latest update on one of their young stars Louie Barry, following his recent performances for the academy.

It looks like he is on great form for the youth side, as journalist Ashley Preece tweeted: “Louie Barry with 5 goals in 6 starts now for Villa’s under-23s following tonight’s double in the 3-2 defeat to Fulham at Bodymoor Heath”

The Premier League side managed to pick up the 17 year-old from Barcelona for less than £1million in 2020 (Transfermarkt). His great performances so far this campaign at such a young age should definitely see him highlighted as a player for the future by Dean Smith.

Some Villa fans believe he should be given a chance to feature in the match day squad now. His good form may not warrant that yet, however with Keinan Davis struggling either with injuries or to compete in the Premier League, as well as Ross Barkley’s injury, now could be the best time to give him a slot on the bench.

Here is what Villa fans said following the tweet:

In other news, many Villa fans have been raving over one player following his latest comments. Have a read who it was here!

According to TuttoMercatoWeb, Juventus are interested in swapping Paulo Dybala for Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba.

What’s the word?

The Italian publication claims the Juventus striker is still of interest to the Red Devils and Andrea Pirlo’s side are open to offloading the 27-year-old at the earliest opportunity.

Reports in recent times revealed Premier League rivals Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur are also keen to land the former Argentina international, who won 29 caps for his country.

It’s suggested that the Serie A giants want to secure the services of Pogba without paying a fee, with Dybala as part of negotiations in an attempt to sweeten the deal.

As we mentioned earlier, the board shouldn’t even begin to consider parting ways with Pogba, but they could be onto something with the £45m-rated maestro, who has established himself as one of the best strikers of his generation in Europe over the past couple of years or so.

Dybala could transform their fortunes

It’s no secret Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first-choice striker Anthony Martial has struggled for consistency so far this season, with a tally of just two goals and two assists in total to his name.

Dybala would provide competition with Martial, Mason Greenwood, Marcus Rashford and former Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani, and the Argentine could come in as the No. 1 second striker as the Frenchman faces an uncertain future.

The versatile forward, who can play in the midfield as well, could also be seen as an attractive option for the Red Devils if they fail to sign Erling Braut Haaland from Borussia Dortmund.

In 239 appearances for the Old Lady, Dybala has bagged 96 times and 38 assists in all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

Last season, he played 33 games in Serie A, scoring 11 goals and 6 assists, whilst he averaged 3 shots, 2.1 key passes and 2 dribbles per game, via WhoScored, popping up as a centre-forward and attacking midfielder on occasion as Juventus won their ninth straight Scudetto in a row despite a number of setbacks.

This sort of versatility would be most useful in Manchester and signing a striker who is capable of challenging Martial, Greenwood and Rashford for a place in the starting line-up would be a shrewd bit of business, especially when you consider the fact that Cavani isn’t getting any younger.

AND in other news, Manchester United must sanction swoop for Kieran Trippier in the summer…

It wouldn’t soon be a transfer window without West Brom being linked to a former loan star, only this time, he could be everything they need to kickstart and salvage their struggling season…

What’s the word?

According to ChronicleLive, Dwight Gayle is very much still a player on the Baggies’ radar going into January and they claim that a return to the Hawthorns may seem likely if the 30-year-old does not renew his contract at Newcastle United.

His current deal is set to expire in the summer, so the Magpies may look to cash in on his services next month should he not feature in Steve Bruce’s long-term plans.

Last season, Albion tried to bring Gayle back to the Midlands but the talismanic striker wanted a fair crack at the Premier League on top of the potential finances involved that would have been way out of their reach.

A popular call…

If Luke Dowling and Slaven Bilic are wanting to spark a reaction both on and off the pitch, then they should absolutely push to sign the £7m-rated marksman. They know all too well what they’d be getting and the fans would surely love to see Gayle back in a Baggies shirt.

During the 2018/19 season whilst on loan, Gayle spearheaded Darren Moore’s attack, leading to 23 goals in just 39 appearances as West Brom made the Championship playoffs.

Indeed, his overall goalscoring record is pretty respectable too, bagging 92 goals in 239 appearances across the Premier League and the EFL, via Transfermarkt.

Kyle Bartley was one Albion player who witnessed his first spell and he told BirminghamLive all about the striker’s impressive ability, he said:

“Dwight is a proven goalscorer and he is always going to get you goals and his work-rate off the ball is also immense. His movement is fantastic and you know at all times he wants to score goals and you know any little lapse and he is going to be in. I think he is very sharp and fit and has come in looking very dangerous.”

Karlan Grant’s summer switch to the Premier League outfit has failed to pay dividends thus far, scoring just once in seven starts whilst no other player has scored more than twice yet this term, via WhoScored.

Gayle is currently on £40k-per-week wages at St James’ Park, which would put him among Albion’s highest earners, though if the club can successfully offload Charlie Austin and his £52k-per-week salary, then it could free up a potential loan move – if not a permanent and free swoop in the summer.

AND in other news, West Brom dropped the ball over 32-cap speed demon with “exceptional qualities”…

Tottenham came into the Christmas period off the back of a very rare defeat this season.

Their loss to Leicester was disappointing and perhaps provided a reality check to Jose Mourinho and his players.

They will have the chance to correct that against Wolves but Spurs would be lying if they didn’t at least have one eye on the January transfer window.

On the chalkboard

It’s not often you get a dose of transfer news on Christmas Day but that’s exactly what occurred at Spurs.

It was revealed by German football journalist Christian Falk that Spurs were interested in signing Red Bull Leipzig midfielder Marcel Sabitzer.

Fortunately for Mourinho, the player is also reportedly interested in making the move.

The Austrian midfielder is currently rated at £31.5m according to Transfermarkt so Daniel Levy may well have to pay a sizable fee to bring him to the Premier League.

That being said, if Levy did stomach the cash it would surely elevate Tottenham’s chances of finally winning the Premier League.

A solution

The Londoners don’t particularly lack creativity and the ability to score goals. After all, Heung-min Son and Harry Kane have combined for a total of 34 strikes already in the top-flight this season.

Kane has begun to drop deeper and play in a false 9 role but if they add someone like Sabitzer to their ranks, he may be able to focus on scoring, rather than creating.

Why’s that? Well, Sabitzer is excellent in the final third. A player capable of playing on the wing, as a number 10 or even as a deep-lying playmaker he could be just what Spurs have been crying out for.

Since Christian Eriksen left, they have lacked someone of his creative talents to create and score goals. Fortunately, Sabitzer has that in abundance.

Speaking about the midfielder, Julian Nagelsmann once said: “With some players, you never know if you can count on them. Sometimes they’re good enough to play for Real Madrid, and the next game they’re not even good enough for the reserves. [Sabitzer] stands out because he always plays well and is completely stable.”

Fine praise indeed. The 26-year-old netted 13 times and registered ten assists in all competitions last season, even bagging on two occasions against Spurs when he destroyed them in the Champions League.

In the prime of his career, Sabitzer would be an astute acquisition, one capable of finally replacing Eriksen and adding an extra pair of hands in attack.

AND in other news, EXCLUSIVE: Mabbutt drops HUGE CLAIM over Arteta misfit who would have been “a great Spurs player”…

Roy Hodgson must encourage Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish to sign Jean-Ricner Bellegarde from Strasbourg amid interest from West Ham United.

What’s the word?

According to Foot Mercato, Hodgson wants to strengthen his midfield in the winter transfer market whilst the club currently are exploring several options including Derby County wonderkid Jason Knight and Fenerbahce midfielder Ozan Tufan.

And it’s now been revealed Palace are reportedly eyeing up a move for Bellegarde and have already reached out to his representatives.

However, they will face stiff competition for his signature, as West Ham are also keen on landing the 5 ft 5 in speed demon in the January transfer window, who has previously been described as a powerhouse by Ghana Soccer.

Imagine Bellegarde and Eberechi Eze

Bellegarde was heavily linked with the La Meinau exit in the summer, as he had attracted interest from a host of top European clubs, including Serie A giants Fiorentina. But a move failed to materialise in the end and he ended up staying with Strasbourg instead.

The £3.6m-rated 22-year-old joined the Ligue 1 club from RC Lens for a reported €2m fee (£1.8m) in 2019. Since then, he has provided one goal and one assist in 46 appearances across all competitions for Thierry Laurey’s side, via Transfermarkt.

The box-to-box midfielder primarily plays in a deep-lying role but has demonstrated on occasion that he has the capacity to roam further forward, having bagged seven goals and five assists during his time at RC Lens.

With James McCarthy tipped to leave Selhurst Park, Hodgson will be well aware he will need to find a suitable replacement sooner rather than later.

And Bellegarde is arguably the calibre of player who could be the perfect fit for Palace – in 16 top-flight appearances this season, the defensive-minded midfielder is averaging 1.8 tackles per game, via WhoScored.

WhoScored lists his strong tackling as one of his main strengths, which suggests that he doesn’t shy away from a tackle (or two). He’s also averaging 24.6 passes per game (82%), showing he is comfortable at the back and confident on the ball. Just imagine him linking up with new summer recruit Eberechi Eze – it almost doesn’t bear thinking about.

Parish needs to start providing the Palace boss with the right kind of recruitment, namely bringing in fresher, younger players with a bright future ahead of them, and Bellegarde ticks all of the aforementioned boxes. Get it done, Eagles, before it’s too late.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace must avoid signing Newcastle defender Ciaran Clark at all costs…

Gylfi Sigurdsson seriously betrayed Carlo Ancelotti with an ineffective performance as Everton beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 on Tuesday night.

Ancelotti trusted Sigurdsson with serving as the Toffees’ false-nine beside James Rodriguez at Molineux in the absence of top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who failed to overcome a hamstring injury.

Richarlison and Cenk Tosun were also only deemed to be fit enough for seats on the bench, leaving goals from Alex Iwobi and centre-back Michael Keane to prove the difference and lift the Merseyside outfit back inside the top-four of the Premier League table.

Sigurdsson is no stranger to playing at striker with the £16m-rated maestro frequently tasked with leading the line for his national side, yet the Iceland ace lacked his shooting boots against Wolves.

Too often during the midweek affair, Sigurdsson dropped deeper and deeper in search of possession to correct for his side’s lack of creativity, with a midfield pivot of Abdoulaye Doucoure and Tom Davies bringing energy and determination to the engine room but no forward vision.

Davies could, at times, be blamed for overplaying things in the centre of the park and with a heavy touch, he often allowed Wolves to apply pressure, but his failings failed to compare with Sigurdsson’s tame efforts with his back to the goal.

The 31-year-old lacked his usual link-up ability with no out-and-out striker to target and left Iwobi to carry the brunt of the attacking responsibilities, who ultimately returned Everton’s opening goal when the Nigerian’s cleanly-struck effort deflected in off Conor Coady after a quick flow of play from James Rodriguez and Lucas Digne.

Ancelotti noted after the game that he felt Rodriguez and Sigurdsson “created problems” for Wolves through their positioning, yet the Italian must surely have expected to see more from the Toffees’ £45m former record signing.

Sigurdsson recorded just 26 touches at Molineux and never ventured inside the Wolves penalty area. He lost all four of his duels, turned over possession eight times and failed to complete his only attempted dribble, per SofaScore.

Despite being tasked with playing as a false-nine against Wolves, the £100,000-per-week playmaker also failed to register a single shot, offered just one key ball from 14 accurate passes, misplaced one of his two crosses and was dribbled past once without making a single successful tackle, to earn a 6.4 match rating – the second-worst ranking among those who started for Everton.

Sigurdsson has generally been playing at a far higher level when fielded in midfield this season, with the Reading product taking 36.1 touches, 0.8 shots, 1.3 key passes, win 2.0 of his duels and offer 0.9 successful tackles per Premier League appearance so far.

Ancelotti will be glad to have seen Everton win at Wolves having been forced to be resourceful in his team selection, but will no doubt be hoping to see Calvert-Lewin be passed fit for Sunday’s trip to Aston Villa – should the game go ahead.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti must cash-in on a £6.5m-rated outcast unfit for Everton…

Tottenham Hotspur look to have been handed a big transfer blow in their hopes of re-signing Christian Eriksen this month after Inter manager Antonio Conte confirmed that the Danish international would not depart during the current transfer window.

Spurs have been linked with the £31.5 million-rated attacking-midfielder in recent weeks with Gazzetta dello Sport reporting they could look to bring him back if they decided to offload Dele Alli, as he has struggled for game time since signing for Inter in January 2020.

The former Ajax man spent six and a half years with the North London club between 2013 and 2020, in which time he would contribute an impressive 69 goals and 89 assists in 305 appearances.

His time in Italy has not exactly gone to plan, with just five goals and three assists for I Nerazzurri, so it was no surprise to see him being linked with a return to Jose Mourinho’s side, especially with the current rumours surrounding fellow attacking-midfielder Dele Alli and his potential move to PSG.

However, a move for Eriksen now appears to be off the table for Spurs, after Conte discussed the 28-year-old following his late winning goal in the Coppa Italia win against AC Milan earlier this week.

He said:

“I’ve been repeating for a month how it is at Inter: no one comes and no one leaves. I’ve been saying this for a month.

“We’re working tactically with Christian to have an alternative to Brozovic because there is no other playmaker in this squad. He is a very intelligent player; he has quality and he is part of this project. I’m very happy he scored today, I pushed him to shoot because we know what he can do on the ball.

“We all love him in the dressing room because he is a decent person – maybe even a little too much. We’re sticking with him.”

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Therefore, from what the former Chelsea manager suggests, Eriksen will be staying with Inter this month as they look to get the best out of him.

This undoubtedly comes as a blow for Mourinho’s side, who have often lacked a creative spark in midfield at times this season, and have drawn far too many games in the top-flight as a result.

Having someone such as Eriksen in the side would have perhaps taken some of the pressure off Harry Kane to be the chief creator in this Spurs side, and allow him to get back to being on the end of crosses into the box.

The Danish midfielder is certainly highly regarded amongst the Spurs squad, with Alli describing him as a “magician on the ball” back in 2019.

Therefore, if Mourinho wants to add a creative midfielder to his side this window, it looks as if they will have to look elsewhere following Conte’s latest quotes on Eriksen.

And, in other news… “They will definitely be in the hunt” – Exclusive: Pundit tips Spurs to sign “quality” 26 y/o

After beating Newcastle 2-0 at the weekend, Aston Villa return to Premier League action on Wednesday night when they travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley.

Dean Smith’s side have looked in imperious form this season, finding themselves just six points off a top four place but with three games in hand on West Ham.

Burnley, meanwhile, just appear to have picked up a bit of form, first beating Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League, before dispatching Fulham in the FA Cup fourth round.

With a European spot firmly in their sights, Smith will no doubt look to go as full strength as possible for the game against the Clarets tonight. And with that in mind, below is a look at just how Villa might line up.

The back-five should remain unchanged with Smith clearly settled on Emiliano Martinez in goal, and Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings and Matty Targett in front of him – they’ve mainly been responsible for Villa conceding just 18 goals in 17 league games this season.

In midfield, with Burnley’s better defensive solidity compared to Newcastle from the other night – Sean Dyche’s side have let in just 22 goals compared to the Magpies 34 – Smith may be tempted to start Jacob Ramsey to give Villa a bit more offensive thrust alongside Douglas Luiz.

Further forward, Ross Barkley could drop out of the starting line-up after a disappointing performance against the Magpies, with the England international being substituted in the second-half after tiring quite badly.

The Birmingham Mail gave the 33-cap ace a 6.5 match rating, the lowest of any Villa starter, and said: “Back-to-back starts now for Barkley after such a long layoff. He felt it in terms of his fitness as the game went on and was rightly taken off as he was breathing heavy.”

If Barkley’s given a rest, Jack Grealish could move inside, with Bertrand Traore on one flank and Trezeguet potentially returning to make a start on the other after his own comeback from injury.

And up front, Ollie Watkins will be hoping to continue from where he left off the other day, after breaking his goal-scoring drought.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; Luiz, Ramsey; Traore, Grealish, Trezeguet; Watkins.

Meanwhile, Villa could land a Barkley upgrade in this Brazilian…

Sheffield Wednesday’s chances of survival received a massive boost this week as they downed one of the Championship’s promotion hopefuls away from home.

Although there’s still a huge task for interim manager Neil Thompson and his coaching staff to complete as even though the Owls picked up a much-needed victory, they still remain three points adrift of safety.

And the 57-year-old has just been given a major hint towards how he can pull the south Yorkshiremen out of the mire.

The Owls took the lead against Bournemouth before the break through Callum Paterson, but the Scotsman went off just ten minutes into the second half with an injury.

In his place, on came rarely-seen Jordan Rhodes, who has become somewhat a forgotten man at Hillsborough over the past 18 months, having started only three league games this season, but he duly delivered.

The 30-year-old popped up with the crucial winner in the 90th minute and now Thompson must consider starting Rhodes more often.

Despite only playing 35 minutes, the Scotland international graded as the Owls’ second-best player with a SofaScore rating of 7.4. He indeed made his presence felt as, from just 18 touches, he scored once from three shots, managed a success rate of 100% in his dribbles, and won five duels.

Clearly, he was a handful throughout the second half, and he got his just desserts by pouncing on a defensive error in the game’s dying embers.

Wednesday failed to bolster their squad with a striker during the January transfer window, which perhaps was a strange move after Tony Pulis’ comments in December, he said:

“We’ve got five tens, and really not a centre-forward.”

That is the case for both Paterson and Josh Windass, but Sheff Wed have a proven and vastly-experienced goalscorer in this division in Rhodes. He just needs a run of games to get back to that level of form.

In over 300 appearances in the English second-flight, the veteran has delivered 110 goals. Strangely, the Owls let him go on loan to Norwich City in the 2018/19 campaign, and his six goals helped them towards promotion in the top-flight yet since his return, he’s just not been fancied.

His form that year led to Daniel Farke waxing lyrical over him. He dubbed the 6 foot 1 ace “the most special, unique guy I’ve worked with.”

Whilst Garry Monk once echoed those thoughts whilst at the helm, he said: “We all know he has that quality. He had to work his way into the squad, it’s hard work and the work we do on the training ground, doing that to a high level and showing a bit of personality.”

There isn’t a better time to see Rhodes back starting than now as Paterson is set for time on the sidelines. He could hold all the keys to Wednesday pulling themselves to safety.

As evident on Tuesday night, he’s a game-changer. He must be unleashed more often.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Palmer questions Sheffield Wednesday transfer decision…