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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Since joining Gillingham on loan back at the start of July, young Southampton prospect Alfie Jones has enjoyed a busy time at the Priestfield Stadium.

Naturally a centre-back, Jones has been deployed in numerous positions by Steve Jones, one of which may catch Ralph Hasenhuttl’s attention back at St Mary’s.

The 21-year-old has appeared at centre-back, defensive midfield and at centre midfield for the Gills, and seems to be doing so in impressive fashion.

Jones was named in the WhoScored League One Team of the Week for his efforts recently, standing proud as the fourth-highest rated player in the XI.

He is certainly doing very well in a Gillingham shirt across a number of positions, but it is his ability to play in a defensive midfield position that should catch Hasenhuttl’s eye.

Some Saints supporters on Twitter were certainly keen for a new DM at the club this summer after hearing news of Victor Wanyama’s availability, with one saying that he thinks a new midfielder is needed more than a new defender.

Another said that the back four ‘needs the extra protection’ that a DM would offer, and in Jones’ sudden emergence as a capable defensive midfielder, Hasenhuttl may now have an option on his hands in that position that he wouldn’t have expected.

The youngster has recorded some pretty impressive stats so far in League One this season, in areas that you would feel are pivotal for a deep-lying player to be excelling in.

Jones has won 3.3 aerial duels per game so far this season, whilst also winning 2.3 tackles.

His efforts in midfield and at centre-back for the Gills have seen him earn one Man of the Match award from his six League One appearances, and there is no doubting that he has presented his parent club with an interesting potential option.

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Liverpool have announced the squad that will travel to Italy for their first Champions League match against Napoli, and the inclusion of one player has pleased fans more than most.

Rhian Brewster has been selected by Jurgen Klopp in what will be only his second involvement in the matchday squad this season, although he has been part of the squad for big Champions League fixtures previously, including the 2018/19 final.

Perhaps the main reason for his inclusion is the injury to Divock Origi, which the Belgian picked up against Newcastle on Saturday. He was substituted in the first-half of the 3-1 win at Anfield.

Whether he plays or not, many fans are excited by the 19-year-old’s involvement and will hope that he gets a run out at some point, having started well for Liverpool Under-23s this term, with two goals in four matches.

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Here is some of the reaction from Reds fans who are pleased to see him get the call from Jurgen Klopp.

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Football’s number one bromance could be in danger of falling apart.

Indeed, we’ve enjoyed months of Mason Mount and Declan Rice’s antics on social media, but the relationship could be on the rocks as the Chelsea midfielder has a challenger for the title of being Rice’s best friend.

The pair took part in a challenge on England’s YouTube channel, and it caused a bit of a rift between them.

In a Mr and Mrs style quiz, Mount was asked to guess who the West Ham star named as his best friend.

Optimistically, the Chelsea youngster said that it would be him. However, the actual answer wasn’t what he expected.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Rice was asked to choose between Mount and Ryan Fredericks as to who his best friend in football is, and in the end, he took the easy way out.

Hopefully, this doesn’t affect the pair’s relationship too much as they’ve been a consistent source of hilarious material on social media, and who doesn’t want more videos of Rice screaming in absolute fear due to a prank from the Chelsea ace.

[ad_pod ]This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…In Crystal Palace’s last two homes games, a worrying trend has been seen: an inability to see games out.It was first evidenced against Aston Villa.The Villans had 10-men for the final 36Âminutes of the game after Trezeguet picked up a second yellow card in the 54th-minute, and Palace later managed to grab a goal thanks to Jordan Ayew’s effort.However, after they took the lead against the 10-men of Aston Villa, Palace and Hodgson, in particular, did little to attempt to see the game out, remaining open enough in midfield for Jack Grealish and Henri Lansbury to give them a late scare, one that they were lucky to get away with.

The Villa captain drove into the box and played Lansbury in, where the former Arsenal man looked to have scored a late, late equaliser – only for referee Kevin Friend to have already blown for what he deemed to be a dive from Grealish.

More recently, Wolves also had 10-men, this time for the last 17 minutes of the game with Palace 1-0 up after Romain Saiss was sent off in the 74th-minute – all three of the Eagles’ home opponents have now had a man sent off this season, as Everton also saw Morgan Schneiderlin dismissed in their Premier League opener in SE25.

Worryingly, the south Londoners couldn’t find a second goal to kill the game off against Nuno Espirito Santo’s men, with Christian Benteke missing a one on one.

It was also the Belgian who was part of a two-on-two attack with Wilfried Zaha in the 95th-minute, only for his pass to run behind the Ivorian.

Unlike the fortunate ending to the Villa game, this time the Eagles were made to pay for their poor game management.

Wolves were granted one more attack by Palace’s sloppiness and took full advantage, with Adama Traore crossing to the back post where Diogo Jota smashed home.

Ultimately, it is down to Hodgson to ensure his side do not allow the opposition – especially 10-men opposition – to have these chances when three points are at stake.

Game management is vital at the highest level and Palace, right now, do not know how to implement it effectively.

Hodgson simply has to address the worrying trend off the back of these two moments.

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Another day, another Juventus victory over in Serie A.

The Old Lady beat Brescia 2-1 in a hard-fought encounter on Tuesday, as Miralem Pjanic and Jhon Chancellor’s own goal turned the tides in the visitors’ favour.

Watch Italian Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

With those three points, Juventus are continuing their good run – they have yet to lose domestically this season – and are now just behind Inter in the league table, to the delight of fans.

And despite not being on the scoresheet, Paulo Dybala was one of the stars who was showered with praise after the game.

The 25-year-old forward provided an assist in the game and many Juve fans were clearly impressed with his overall performance.

Some even called for him to start ahead of former Chelsea forward Gonzalo Higuain, with Juve set to play SPAL before a Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen.

You can see some of their reactions and comments down in the tweets posted below.

Check them out…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more… 

The cries a few weeks ago from Leeds supporters were for Helder Costa and Eddie Nketiah to start.

They’ve had one of those wishes granted with the Portuguese playing from the off in the last two league outings. However, the striker is still yet to be granted the same privilege in the league.

An injury to Pablo Hernandez finally granted Costa his first Championship start for the Whites against Charlton but he duly disappointed by losing possession 17 times. At times he’s felt rather cryptic and underwhelming, but in other moments, he’s looked a class above.

Supporters seemed pleased with him after a display against West Brom but you feel as though Leeds are still missing a trick with the 25-year-old this term, particularly in recent times.

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On the chalkboard

£15m is the fee Leeds will spend on Costa next summer to make him a permanent part of the furniture. At one stage it looked rather seismic given he hadn’t started for a few months.

This is a player who has 29 goal involvements in two Championship campaigns with Wolves so the potential is clearly there.

After all, he’s already been involved in four goals in 2019/20, despite only starting the same number of matches.

He was electric in the early rounds of the Carabao Cup, providing two assists and a goal but he’s yet to discover that in the league.

Why are Leeds fans the best in the country? Find out in the video below…

One player he’s gained a real understanding with is Eddie Nketiah. The pair combined for a strike against Salford in the cup before finding themselves at the centre of all things good late on versus Brentford.

The pair linked up in near-identical fashion as Costa got to the byline and then pulled the ball back for the Arsenal loanee to bury an opportunity.

Costa has rarely been afforded a chance alongside Nketiah despite this and as a pair, they’ve started just two matches and played a combined 240 minutes, according to Transfermarkt.

Bamford is the type of forward that is more likely to hold things up and expect players to play into him but Nketiah runs off the shoulder and his darting runs could prove particularly effective for someone like Costa.

He registered 14 assists for Wolves at this level with canny operators such as Ivan Cavaleiro and Rui Fonte beside him.

They were energetic forwards and that enabled Costa to contribute to 18 goals with both of them combined in all competitions.

Bamford has gone goalless for five games and despite his work rate earning praise from supporters, you can’t help but feel Leeds are missing a trick by not playing Costa alongside Nketiah.

They’ve shown they can be dangerous twice already this season and the added movement from the 20-year-old might allow his teammate to live up to expectation.

Things take time but this change could be one that ensures Costa thrives.

Everton fans have seemingly had enough of Marco Silva and have already taken to Twitter to debate who they want to see in charge at Goodison Park next.

In recent times, the club have been linked with the likes of Laurent Blanc and Erik ten Hag, whilst Eddie Howe’s name has also been thrown into the equation by some supporters.

There seems little doubt that the pressure is on Silva, as the club are now in the drop zone on just seven points from eight games. Goalscoring has been the Toffees’ main concern, netting just six times so far – only Newcastle United and Watford have less.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Ten Hag was thrust into the limelight last season when his Ajax side won the league and cup double and narrowly missed out on a Champions League final. As for Blanc, he has been out of managerial role since 2016 when he left Paris Saint-Germain after three successful years in the French capital where he won the league title in each attempt.

Of course, Howe continues to impress Premier League fans, with his Bournemouth side cementing themselves as not just English top flight regulars, but contenders for the top half also.

However, here’s what the fans have had to say…

Those of us who watched Sunderland ‘Till I die, Netflix’s fly-on-the-wall documentary of the Mackems’ first season outside of the top flight for a decade, will know that the North East club don’t do disappointment in half measures.

In a campaign that was expected to see promotion being chased and ideally an immediate return to the Premier League secured, it was instead an ever-spiralling study in disaster as a side completely shot of belief floundered and flailed their way to League One.

Amidst turmoil in the boardroom Sunderland burned their way through two managers and ended up rock bottom, losing half of their fixtures. It was a difficult watch. It was like witnessing a car crash in slow motion.

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What is remarkable is that ever since their ignominious drop to the third tier the Black Cats’ misfortunes have continued, only now they’re made somehow worse by the accompaniment of hope throughout.

In the summer of 2018 a takeover of the club by former Eastleigh owner Stewart Donald saw them free of debt and the appointment of Jack Ross as their new manager looked a shrewd one with the 41-year-old boasting a fine track record in Scotland. Granted nobody expected the rough and ready League One to be a cake-walk but, considering the quality within the squad, a successful year beckoned.

And in many ways it was, with a return to winning ways a very welcome development as Sunderland competed among the top six. In March Wembley was reached in the Checkatrade Trophy final but heartache followed with a loss on penalties to Portsmouth. It was a day that summed up Sunderland’s recent cursed spell all-too-aptly as a record crowd of passionate fans travelled south and enjoyed the ups and downs of circumstance only to be ultimately undone by cruel bathos.

But no matter, because varying form in the league resulted in a play-off spot attained and revenge being enacted on Pompey with a semi-final two-legged triumph. So onto Wembley it was again on a sunny day and with the offering of redemption and surely this was to be Sunderland’s time after all they had been through? Even fate after all has a heart. Against Charlton Ross’ men were much the better side but they lost 2-1, the winning goal arriving with just five seconds to go.

Check out the real life version of FIFA 20’s Volta Football in the video below…

Last week Ross was sacked after a mixed opening spell to the new season and his departure was announced in the same news cycle that brought confirmation that Sunderland’s latest takeover is off after a wealthy American consortium backed by Dell Technologies pulled out over discrepancies concerning the valuation of the club.

Michael Dell, one of the principle players behind the mooted takeover has an estimated net fortune of £28.6 billion.

Which leaves Donald still at the helm and Sunderland presently managerless. For the fans, meanwhile, it is once again a case of hopes cruelly dashed.

“The reality of this club is we have the best travel arrangements, the best medical investment, we have the best facilities, we have got the best budget. I believe we have got the best squad.” This was Donald last week explaining how highly pressurised the position is that now needs filling.

Whoever takes charge will need a will of steel to inherit an institution that seems to have lately become so unpopular with the fates.

There are demons looming at the club after a torrid couple of seasons and the next manager will have to conquer those to put the Black Cats back on an upward trajectory.

Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane was a part of the Republic of Ireland side that drew 0-0 with Georgia on Saturday afternoon.

ROI had seven shots and 46% of the ball during the Euro 2020 qualifier but were unable to secure what would have been a huge three points.

Mick McCarthy’s side remain top of Group D with 12 points, although their spot at the summit is far from secure at this stage of the campaign.

It would be fair to say that a number of Ireland fans were disappointed with what they saw from their country on the afternoon.

The Boys in Green remain unbeaten as they attempt to qualify for next summer’s finals, but it was a lacklustre performance on Saturday.

Watch Aston Villa Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And a number of the ROI supporters were especially disappointed with what they saw from Hourihane, who has scored four times in seven appearances for Villa in the early stages of the 2019-20 campaign.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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…

Journalist Greg O’Keeffe has praised Marco Silva for his determined managerial efforts against West Ham United, claiming the Portuguese arrived at Goodison Park with a different mentality to previous games.

What did he say?

Everton returned to winning ways over the weekend after their impressive 2-0 win over the Hammers. It was indeed the first time Everton looked convincing in the Premier League, having looked far superior to Manuel Pellegrini’s side throughout.

It now means that the Toffees have jumped out of the relegation zone and into 15th on 10 points – the same as Manchester United. O’Keeffe wrote for The Athletic: “Marco Silva arrived at Goodison Park on Saturday morning looking like he meant business.

“He stepped off Everton’s team coach with his head bowed and a steely look in his eyes. He led his team through the players’ entrance and would continue to lead them all afternoon. “

O’Keeffe also touches on how majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri was seen at Goodison Park in what was a rare attendance on Merseyside for him.

Silva picked the perfect time

As Moshiri was watching the game, it seems as if Silva picked the perfect time to show the owner what he can do. Over the international break, it was reported by the Daily Star that the Iranian handed the manager the next three games to save his job.

So, with Moshiri in attendance, it’s fair to say that Silva knocked one of those games down and in convincing fashion as well. Across the pitch, players put in inspiring performances, whilst the boss at the helm was seen to put in a motivational, passionate display from the touchline.

Players who have often struggled surprisingly stepped up for Silva, such as Theo Walcott and Yerry Mina.

The key now for the Everton boss is to build and grow his team. The next two games for 42-year-old are the away trip to Brighton & Hove Albion and the Carabao Cup clash at Goodison Park with Watford. If the former Hornets boss can pick up three points on the south coast and get past his old side in the League Cup, he may well have secured his future on Merseyside, for now at least.

One thing is for certain, regardless of the performance, he must keep up this positive and inspiring attitude that O’Keeffe saw on display.

These characteristics may prove vital in motivating his side.