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According to The Sun, Manchester United were prepared to pay £100 million for Real Madrid’s Raphael Varane on transfer deadline day, in what would’ve been a world record deal for a defender. 

United were linked with a host of top class centre-backs throughout the summer, including Harry Maguire, Toby Alderweireld, Yerry Mina, Diego Godin and Jerome Boateng. However, the Red Devils weren’t able to land a single one. 

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Following the closure of the English transfer window on Thursday, the above report emerged stating that United chief executive Ed Woodward had been working on a deal to sign Varane from Real Madrid.

The French defender first flourished at the Bernabeu when Mourinho was in the hot seat for the Spanish giants. At this summer’s World Cup, the 25-year-old’s stock rose even higher as he was an ever-present rock at the back for France as they won the tournament in Russia.

United fans on Twitter have been vocal about this failure to bring Varane to Old Trafford. Plenty have lamented the collapse of what would have been a great signing, others have accused the club of using this story as a flimsy excuse for their poor summer dealings…

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Loads of Leeds fans have been reacting to some comments from Bolton manager Phil Parkinson, as the 50 year-old seemed to take a slight dig at Marcelo Bielsa.

Leeds continued their fantastic start to life under Bielsa on Tuesday night, cruising past Bolton 2-1.

While the scoreline suggests it was a close encounter, the home side really should have scored more, and the dominance of Bielsa’s pressing system was once again on display.

The Argentine manager has taken Elland Road by storm so far, wowing fans with his high-octane tactics, but Parkinson doesn’t seem too impressed.

“You just watch the games like you would any other manager. I’ve got respect for what he’s done in the game, but it’s a style of play we’ve come up against before,” he said after the match.

“High energy play, good interplay in that midfield area and you’ve got to be disciplined without the ball.

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“I don’t think it’s a brand of football we’ve never seen before, but equally he’s got the players very fit and he’s got the place really buzzing.”

The Bolton boss is clearly quite impressed by what he’s seen so far, but couldn’t resist taking a little pop at the notion that Bielsa is some sort of pioneer of high-intensity football.

However, many of the top-tier managers known for their pressing, like Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, have publicly stated their admiration for the Leeds boss, as he truly was one of the pioneers of this relatively new brand of football.

Fans have been bashing the Bolton boss for what they perceive to be bitterness, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Discussion concerning potential incoming and outgoing transfers has dominated the Celtic headlines in recent days as speculation begins to intensify regarding Dedryck Boyata’s future at the club. 

The former Manchester City defender was subject of a summer transfer bid from Fulham before the English window slammed shut, but the interest in his services extends across the continent according to The Scotsman. Indeed, a report from the Scottish media outlet has claimed that Sevilla’s sports director has identified Boyata as a priority target.

With the Spanish window set to shut on August 31st, there is still plenty of time for a deal to go through, but Celtic should do everything in their power to keep him at the club, unless they can complete a smart double deal.

Boyata is certainly not irreplaceable, but Celtic are lacking options in central defence so they must have a solid plan in place to deal with his departure.

And according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, the Hoops are chasing a deal for Scott McKenna, but Aberdeen will only accept an offer worth in excess of £5 million.

Meanwhile the German media outlet Bild have reported that an offer worth 7.8 million euros (£7 million) would be enough to prise Jeffrey Bruma away from Wolfsburg.

Providing that Sevilla are prepared to pay in excess of £10 million to sign Boyata, Celtic should absolutely sanction a deal and use the money to sign the aforementioned pairing.

By bringing Bruma and McKenna to the club, Brendan Rodgers would be acquiring a perfect blend between youth and experience, whilst also increasing the quantity of the options available to him in defence.

At just 21-years-of-age McKenna has already demonstrated huge potential with his physically commanding presence and composure in possession, whereas Bruma is far more established with 25 caps for Holland and a wealth of experience in both the Bundesliga and the Eredivisie to bring to the table.

The fact McKenna is left-footed and Bruma is right-footed is also a factor worth considering, as their resepeective preferences suggest the pairing could form a well balanced partnership at the heart of defence.

Considering Celtic’s current circumstances it would be a foolish decision to sell Boyata but, if they can sign both Bruma and McKenna to replace him without making anything more than a minor financial loss, they should absolutely offload him to Sevilla before August 31st.

Celtic fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

West Ham United had a very busy summer as new manager Manuel Pellegrini tried to shape his squad.

The former Manchester City boss brought in nine new faces following his appointment as David Moyes’s successor.

The Chilean strengthened all areas of the pitch, but the results have been less than desirable.

In three Premier League fixtures, the Hammers have lost all of them, including a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool, a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth and a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.

Against the Gunners’, West Ham showed glimpses of quality, but there is still plenty of work for them to do in order to find their stride.

One man who will be unable to help the club’s effort is Josh Cullen, who on Thursday, completed a move to Charlton Athletic on loan.

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The midfielder has come through the West Ham academy, but is yet to grab hold of a regular first-team spot.

The 22-year-old has had loan spells at Bradford City and Bolton Wanderers, and now he returns to League One for another temporary stint.

On Twitter, West Ham fans have been giving their thoughts.

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TEAMtalk recently reported that Wigan forward Nick Powell is a target for Celtic as well as a host of other Championship clubs, and a large majority of Bhoys fans wanted to see him sign for Brendan Rodgers’ side.

The 24-year-old former Manchester United man has been on fire at the start of the season for the Latics, scoring three goals and providing four assists in just five Championship games from an attacking midfield role.

According to TEAMtalk, this has alerted Middlesbrough, Stoke, West Brom and Leeds as well as Celtic and there is set to be a race for his signature before the deadline closes. The former England U21 international could be the perfect replacement for Stuart Armstrong, who joined Southampton from the Parkhead side for £7m this summer.

The Celtic fans who voted in our poll were clearly keen for Rodgers to make a move for Powell, with 73 per cent in favour of him signing. Check out the full results below.

Queens Park Rangers have endured a difficult start to the season but Steve McClaren’s side may have turned a corner in the past week.

The West London side secured a much-needed victory in the Championship against Wigan Athletic last weekend, ending a run of four consecutive defeats, and followed that with a triumph over Bristol Rovers in the Carabao Cup.

That could now provide a platform for QPR to build upon after the international break and the reward for Tuesday night’s victory is a third-round clash with lower league opposition in Blackpool, with McClaren’s side travelling to Bloomfield Road in late September.

With Premier League giants entering the fray, QPR were fortunate to avoid those sides and will fancy their chances in a favourable draw against another League One opponent – although the Tangerines are capable of causing an upset.

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Following the draw, many fans shared their opinion on social media and we have gathered some of the best reactions below.

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Ever since picking up a knock for England in their opening 2018 World Cup fixture against Tunisia, Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Dele Alli hasn’t quite looked the same player for club and country that has been so effective previously.

The 6ft 2in tall Spurs ace looked as though he wasn’t at 100% throughout the run to the semi-finals in Russia, and he has just one goal and no assists in four Premier League appearances for the north London outfit this term, albeit usually from a slightly deeper role than usual with Lucas Moura sometimes being given the nod to play closest to Harry Kane.

As he did during the summer, Alli was part of the 3-1-4-2 system for the Three Lions against Spain at Wembley on Saturday, and while he failed to make much of an impact from an offensive point of view against a team that love to keep possession, he did impress on the ball himself and prove that his defensive game is improving.

The former MK Dons star ended the game with a passing accuracy of 91% from 45 touches in total, and while he failed to have a shot at goal, he did make two interceptions and one key pass, as per WhoScored.com.

It has been clear this term already – especially in the defeat to Watford last time out – that Mousa Dembele is beginning to struggle to put in the performances he once did for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, but Alli’s latest England display suggests the club may not have to go out and buy a replacement for the Belgian.

Comfortable in possession, usually strong, able to dribble and with a keen eye for a forward pass, the 22-year-old has all of the ingredients to succeed the 31-year-old in the long term, as long as he shows a greater improvement defensively and increases his work rate.

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Arsenal extended their winning run across all competitions to five matches on Sunday by defeating Everton at the Emirates Stadium but it was not all good news for the Gunners.

Unai Emery’s side lost experienced defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos to injury during the first half, which leaves the Gunners’ options in the centre of defence extremely limited with Laurent Koscielny still on the sidelines.

While Emery has stated he hopes the knee injury is not serious, Arsenal could be forced into changes at the back for this weekend’s hosting of Watford and he has a handful of players to choose from.

The 6ft 2in tall Rob Holding and Konstantinos Mavropanos are the two obvious choices to partner Shkodran Mustafi, who is likely to retain his spot in the side, at the heart of defence but both lack experience, particularly the latter.

Nacho Monreal could also be shifted over into the middle from the left side but he currently stands as Arsenal’s only fit left-back, while Mohamed Elneny was utilised in the role by Arsene Wenger last season and could be called upon again by Emery.

Taking all that into consideration, the best option would be to hand Holding an opportunity to impress as Mavropanos needs more time, Monreal is too crucial elsewhere and Elneny is weaker in comparison.

Do you agree Arsenal fans? Let us know who you believe should partner Mustafi in our poll below…

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Aston Villa signed Anwar El Ghazi on loan from Lille during the summer, and it was some coup for the Championship club when considering his talent.

The 23-year-old has shown flashes of his ability in the early stages of his Villa career, but it would be fair to say that the attacker is yet to fully settle.

The 6ft 2in ace faced criticism from the Villa fans following the 2-0 win over Rotherham United last week, and some feel that he should be performing to a higher level.

It does appear that the Villa supporters are behind the Dutchman, however, with a number backing him to come good once he is used properly by head coach Steve Bruce.

The ideal situation for a number of Villa fans would be for Bruce to leave, and El Ghazi then to be given a free role in the team.

Bruce is surviving despite a poor start to the season, however, and Villa will have the chance to return to winning ways away to Bristol City on Friday night.

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El Ghazi should, in all honesty, be too good for Championship level, and the Villa supporters are confident that they will soon see the best of him.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Villa fans can be seen below:

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According to a recent comments from Claude Puel (via The Leicester Mercury), Caglar Soyuncu has yet to make his Leicester City debut because of his ‘lack of English’. The 22-year-old made the move to the King Power Stadium in the last knockings of the summer transfer window but has so far yet to feature for the Foxes, even failing to make the squad for their Carabao Cup win against Wolves earlier this week.

And manager Puel has confirmed that he has yet to feature because his English isn’t yet of a level to communicate effectively with his teammates, and these recent revelations may call into question the Foxes’, and indeed Puel’s, decision to spend a great deal of money luring Soyuncu to the King Power Stadium during the summer, with it arguably something of a gamble.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, there is little doubting that the 22-year-old has a bright future ahead of him after impressing at German side Freiburg in the last few years, thus earning him a £19 million move to Leicester late on in the summer transfer window.

And while it’s arguable that the Turkey international was drafted in as one of the future, Puel would have probably wanted to play the defender by now, especially given fellow summer signing Filip Benkovic was allowed out on loan to Celtic not join after joining the Foxes.

And while his ‘lack of English’ is the reason for Soyuncu’s exclusion from the first team at present, someone must have surely known that this could well have been an issue for the 22-year-old as part of the process of luring him to the King Power Stadium.

Yes, the Turkish star reportedly had troubles acquiring a new language when making the move to Germany with Freiburg a few years ago, and eventually went on to produce the goods for the Bundesliga outfit, but to spend a significant sum of money luring the 22-year-old to Leicester, knowing that his English wasn’t particularly great, was something of a gamble for the club to take.

And it’s one that could easily back-fire as, although he hasn’t needed to feature just yet for the Foxes, what’s not to say that Puel won’t need to call upon the 22-year-old in the not-too-distant future – they are fine for now given Harry Maguire, Jonny Evans, and Wes Morgan are fit and performing reasonably well, but things could change very quickly to the point that Puel needs Soyuncu to play.

Yes, there is no doubting that the 22-year-old is a very fine player and one that will surely produce the goods for the Foxes in the years to come, but it does appear as though the club have taken something of a gamble in signing Soyuncu – a gamble they sincerely hope will pay off.

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