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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…

Tony Cascarino says he is “sceptical” about Mauricio Pochettino’s chances of turning things around at Tottenham Hotspur in his latest column in The Times, suggesting he is incapable of saving this situation.

What did he say?

Well, the pressure appears to be growing on the Argentine manager following the dreadful 3-0 defeat against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, which followed on from the 7-2 thrashing against Bayern Munich.

Spurs have already been knocked out of the Carabao Cup and lie a massive 13 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League, suggesting two of their hopes of winning a trophy are already gone.

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Writing in The Times, Cascarino has doubted the 47-year-old’s ability to get the north London outfit back on track: ‘Mauricio Pochettino’s record entitles him to a fair crack at turning things around but I am sceptical as to whether he can. If they lose to Watford in their next game after the international break, he is finished. He is under pressure and making poor decisions.’

Is he right?

He may well be.

For perhaps the first time during his Tottenham career there are doubts over the former Southampton boss’ ability to get the team out of the situation they currently find themselves in, especially with some of their key players out of contract next summer and their futures still not sorted, and rumours of discontent in the camp, as per The Athletic.

Tottenham often look toothless in attack, while they are leaking goals – especially away from home – with Pochettino seemingly not knowing his best XI right now.

While Daniel Levy was reportedly ready to stick by the man he appointed in 2014 following the Bayern embarrassment, if the latest display against the Seagulls is followed up by another loss against a Watford side who sit firmly in the Premier League relegation zone, then you wouldn’t be surprised if the point of no return is reached, as Cascarino says.

Indeed, Sancho posed with Phil Foden as the pair trained in their respective England teams.

Foden is another top young talent, and the thought of those two linking up for years to come is a mouth-watering prospect.

It feels unlikely that we’ll ever see the pair at the same club again given how reluctant Dortmund and City will be to let their wonderkids go anywhere, but hopefully the duo can do the business for the Three Lions in the future.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

According to Goal, Manchester United are keeping a “close eye” on Mathias Normann ahead of a potential swoop for the midfielder.

What’s the word?

After a summer transfer window in which the Red Devils only pulled off three permanent deals, reports in recent weeks have claimed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side will dip into the market in January for some much-needed reinforcements.

Now, Goal claim the United boss sees Normann as a “relatively cheap alternative” to provide some depth in the central midfield areas, following the departures of Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera this calendar year.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

The report adds Solskjaer’s own personal connection with the 5 foot 10 man – he managed him whilst the pair were at Molde – means he is fully aware of what the 23-year-old could potentially bring to the side.

The answer to the Pogba question

Having been linked with the likes of Christian Eriksen and Paulo Dybala, for United to reportedly be chasing a virtual unknown in Normann feels slightly underwhelming. But, scratch beneath the surface, and the Norwegian man could be the answer to the Red Devils’ prayers.

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After enduring a miserable year-and-a-half with Brighton that saw him feature solely for the U23s, Normann has revitalised his career in Russia with FC Rostov. A bona-fide holding midfielder, the 23-year-old has registered some seriously impressive numbers, averaging 1.7 tackles and 2.5 interceptions per game over the course of his career.

Having him play in the defensive midfield role alongside Scott McTominay would free up Paul Pogba to play further forward for United and affect the game more. The £89m star boasts his highest expected goals and assists ratio in the number ten role than in any other position on the pitch.

A swoop for Normann would give the Red Devils a solid defensive platform, and ensure their most talented midfielder has the ability to decide games on the offensive end.

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…

Isco has been one of the unluckiest Real Madrid stars in recent times.

Even though he used to have a big role in the team before, his status has completely diminished in time and we haven’t really seen him shine in quite a while.

Of course, injuries have played their part as well.

After all, Isco has already missed a total of six games in the ongoing 2019/20 campaign, having been absent for ten in 2018/19 due to various different issues.

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But now he’s finally back – or rather, he’s back to full fitness – and it remains to be seen whether Zinedine Zidane actually decides to pick him.

This campaign, he has made only three appearances so far, once in the starting XI, and his role has been slowly but surely getting smaller with time.

Last season, he played in a total of 27 La Liga games but started only 11 of them, coming on as a substitute in the rest. By all accounts, and for a player who started in ten out of 12 Champions League clashes and 21 La Liga games the season before, this has been a big change.

But despite becoming slightly out of favour with Zidane over time, Isco still has a lot to offer to this Real team and for that reason, it very much feels like his talents are being wasted at the moment.

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

And sure, he was injured so there was no way for the Frenchman to pick him but we’ve seen how his game time lowered with each passing season and unless something changes drastically, it’s fair to assume the same fate would befall him in 2019/20.

That is, of course, if Isco doesn’t do anything about it – and there’s no time like the present to do exactly that.

Real Madrid have an abundance of injuries on their plate once again and for once, the 27-year-old is not one of them.

Seeing how Zidane may be inclined to rotate his squad this weekend against Mallorca, with a Champions League clash and El Clasico on the horizon, maybe Isco will get his chance to shine after all.

If that does happen, however, he absolutely has to make the most out of it because at the moment, it very much feels like the time is running out for the player who used to be a key piece of the puzzle but is now somehow only a forgotten star.

Failing that, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad idea to look at other options. Sometimes, it’s better to take a leap of faith and search for your fortune away from your current club.

Harry Maguire has posted a message to fans after Manchester United’s draw against Liverpool at the weekend.We saw a side of United that we haven’t witnessed for some time now; they were resilient, hardworking, passionate, quick and decisive, and generally looked like they were capable of denting the league leaders with their first defeat of the season.The draw, albeit disappointing after such a solid display, was enough to deny Liverpool from equalling Manchester City’s consecutive Premier League wins record. Small petty victories.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Maguire, who signed for United at the beginning of the season for a world record fee for a defender, was arguably helped by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s decision to utilise a three-man defence – the very system that Gareth Southgate favoured during England’s World Cup run in 2018, where the big centre back boosted his global profile and began his journey to stardom.

Despite registering a point against Liverpool, we mustn’t forget that United have won just three games in all competitions. So, with Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League fast approaching, Maguire took to Twitter rally the troops ahead of the chaos that lays in front of them…

Impressive picture from a born leader.

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

Spurs returned to their best against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday and that was largely due to the performance of a resurgent Erik Lamela.

The Argentine has maintained his fitness this term but not his consistency, and as a result he has been in and out of the starting line-up, but with more displays such as the one he showed against the Serbian champions, he will soon be the first name on the teamsheet.

In fact, he was so good that Tottenham didn’t notice the absence of Christian Eriksen, leading some supporters to hope that the Dane never plays for the club again – with £20m-rated Lamela an adequate replacement.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side created chances throughout and looked a transformed side to the team which has lacked confidence and belief over the last few matches, with one win in seven prior to Tuesday.

What will be particularly pleasing for the Spurs boss was the link-up play between the front-three, with Harry Kane also receiving plaudits for his display, and Son Heung-min scoring two.

However, it was the 6-foot Lamela who stole the show, and his performance could have a long-term impact on the team’s strategy moving forward.

The winger showed it all against Red Star, and had a big hand in a lot of Tottenham’s positive display throughout the evening, as his stats from WhoScored suggest.

He showed great awareness to pick out Son with a back-post cross after helping Kane to open the scoring with a whipped corner early on, and the technical ability and clever movement for his own goal underlined how effective a player he can be.

Thanks to him, Spurs were able to pile the pressure on the visitors in a way they may have been unable to do with Lucas Moura on the pitch, as the Argentine is much more accomplished with the ball at his feet.

Check out a hilarious FIFA Forefeit Challenge with a Watford Ladies pro in the video below…

That is highlighted by the three key passes he made, and his pass accuracy of 92%, a contrast to the Brazilian who only managed 80% pass accuracy against Watford on Saturday, and thus failed to convince on a rare starting opportunity.

Lucas’ displays will only serve to weaken his chances of securing a regular role in the starting line-up, with Pochettino seemingly unconvinced with the winger, evidenced by the fact he was dropped for the Champions League final despite scoring the three goals to get them there against Ajax.

He has only started five matches this term, with the Watford match the first league game he has started since August, but the fact he produced just one key pass and zero shots on target suggests his boss has been vindicated in his latest selection policy, with Lamela’s performance another potential nail in his coffin in north London.

To get the best out of the front two, therefore, the Argentine is Pochettino’s best option, as other than Eriksen there are few players who can replicate his inventiveness and clinical edge, with three shots also bettering that of Lucas.

The 27-year-old is finally starting to find his fitness and form and now needs to trust of his manager, and if he gets that he could begin to stamp his authority on the team.

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…

After arriving at Arsenal from Lille in a club-record £72m deal during the summer transfer window, expectations would have been understandably high as to what Nicolas Pépé could deliver in his debut Premier League season.

Having scored 22 goals alongside registering 11 assists in 38 Ligue 1 appearances from his final season in France, the Gunners had seemingly signed a potent goalscorer with the potential to ignite their domestic and European prospects.

Yet until Thursday night when he came up against against Vitoria Guimaraes, the Ivorian had not lived up to the expectations that had surrounded his arrival at The Emirates, to his own admission according to The Mirror.

“Of course I knew it would be hard. This is a league totally different to Ligue 1. There is a different intensity. I had to adapt quickly because expectations were high. Unfortunately, that is not what I did at the beginning – but I had the manager’s trust and the players have supported me. I keep working hard.”

It would be hard to debate that self-assessment too; Pépé had just one Arsenal goal to his name after a shock defeat to Sheffield United on Monday night, albeit coupled with three assists, and couldn’t make the difference against the Blades.

On Thursday night, however, a well-struck free-kick from Pépé in the 80th minute saw Arsenal draw level, while another outstanding dead ball strike from the 24-year-old in injury time ensured Unai Emery’s side collected all three points against the Portuguese outfit, and it felt like a moment that has the potential to ignite the forward’s Arsenal career.

Emery had spoken candidly in the week about his summer arrivals needing time, drawing comparisons between Liverpool’s signing of Fabinho and the period of adaptation that is required for new arrivals to the Premier League.

Pépé has now played 12 matches in all competitions for the north London side this season, and we are perhaps now starting to see the full potential of former Lille man and the credentials that encouraged Arsenal to break their transfer record in bringing him to the club.

Given the clinical nature of the club’s main striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who won the Golden Boot accolade from 2018/19, grabbing the headlines has been difficult so far for Pépé – something he would have been understandably accustomed to during his final season in Ligue 1.

Yet after a match-winning brace and a sensational performance, this could prove to be the display that serves as a reminder to Pépé of his unquestionable ability, providing a platform to kick on and impress in his debut Premier League season with the Gunners. 

Arsenal purchased their club-record signing to decide games in their favour, and the 24-year-old finally has an example of that to build on. It’s now a case of doing so on a more consistent basis, starting with Arsenal’s home clash against Crystal Palace this Sunday.

Amongst the comments, ex-Arsenal players and countrymen Johan Djourou and Stephan Lichtstiener responded…

Tottenham Hotspur returned to winning ways on Wednesday night as they recorded a 4-0 victory over Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League.

Giovani Lo Celso, Son Heung-min (2) and Christian Eriksen scored the goals for the London club, but it was perhaps the performance of Tanguy Ndombele in the middle of the park that made the strongest impression on the club’s supporters.

Indeed, many lost their minds with how well the France international performed.

According to WhoScored, the 22-year-old, who arrived at Spurs over the summer, completed five successful dribbles and won four tackles.

What’s more, Ndombele is said to have completed 65 of his 76 passes, giving him a success rate of 86% during an impressive performance.

It was a good night for Spurs and indeed an important result as they moved onto seven points in Group B, now four points clear of third-placed Red Star.

A selection of the Twitter reaction to Ndombele’s performance can be seen below:

The Toffees registered their first away win of the season against Southampton and have given themselves some breathing space between the relegation zone as a result. Everton now sit 14th in the table and are six clear of the drop.

In this game, one man who seems to have taken the plaudits is Alex Iwobi.

The former Arsenal man signed for Everton for £34m and has been a decent addition to the squad so far, scoring two goals.

Iwobi did not start the game against the Saints, having been placed on the bench as Gylfi Sigurdsson stepped into the number 10 position.

Plus, Richarlison was moved back out wide and Theo Walcott continued down the right, which ultimately forced Iwobi to the bench.

However, the Nigeria international came on for the final 16 minutes and made a great impact.

The versatile forward managed to hit the woodwork, make one tackle and have another shot on target within this short spell. Iwobi also made one key pass out of the five he made late on at St. Mary’s.

And fans have been singing his praises after a solid display.

One fan suggested he should “start every game”, whilst other supporters have stated he has been a great signing and can only get better. Many other fans have touched on how he should be keeping Sigurdsson out the side from now on.

Here’s what some of them have had to say about the 23-year-old…