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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League goalkeeper Chris Kirkland has tipped West Brom to make a decision on the future of Slaven Bilic soon.

According to emerging reports last week, the Croatian’s job as manager of the Baggies would be put under scrutiny against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday afternoon.

Albion made it an eighth game without a victory, losing cruelly to a late Harry Kane header, but Bilic was bullish over his future.

The 52-year-old said it was “nonsense” to question his future at the Hawthorns after the match despite West Brom finding themselves third from bottom going into the international break.

Kirkland, who enjoyed a season-long loan spell at the club in the 2005/06 campaign, believes Guochuan Lai and the Baggies board will pull the trigger if results continue to go against them.

Speaking to FFC, he said:

“That was a huge game for both teams [last week]. That win was much needed [for Fulham]. I don’t think a draw would have done either team any good.

“But yeah, you can see it. I mean, there are managers that have been sacked after four games, when they lose four on the spin. Yes, he got them up last season but that goes out of the window now.

“Listen, there’s always normally someone that goes in there around October, November time during the normal season but whether this is a normal season or not, I’m not sure.

“But I don’t think we’ll be too far away from seeing somebody face the sack soon if results go against them.”

This two-week gap in the domestic schedule will leave the decision-makers in the west Midlands plenty to consider.

Kirkland himself believes Sam Allardyce is the perfect candidate to succeed Bilic whilst Albion have also been linked to Charlton Athletic boss Lee Bowyer, who has worked with both Karlan Grant and Conor Gallagher in recent seasons.

Three points from eight matches is not a good start for the top-flight newcomers either way.

AND in other news, “Influential” West Brom man shines in the absence of Pereira during cruel defeat…

Speaking to talkSPORT, pundit Jason Cundy believes that Chelsea ‘could do’ with signing RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano – especially after the Frenchman impressed during his side’s 2-1 Champions League victory over La Liga giants Atletico Madrid last week. 

Upamecano is currently one of the most sought-after defensive assets in Europe, with both Manchester United and Arsenal ‘monitoring his situation’ according to Goal – and it’s little wonder given his impressive performances over the 2019/20 season.

Described as “powerful” and a defender who “has everything”, tags that retired German ace Marvin Compper bestowed upon the player in an interview with the Bundesliga’s official website as far back as three years ago, his market value has now skyrocketed to £40.5m, as per Transfermarkt.

According to WhoScored, when compared to Frank Lampard’s men at the back, only Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma averaged more clearances per match in the league last term (4) than the 21-year-old, with Upamecano also making a superior number of tackles (1.9) in that time over the likes of Antonio Rudiger and Andreas Christensen.

Against Atletico, the 6 ft 1 colossus displayed exactly why he is being dubbed ‘the next Varane’, earning the best SofaScore match rating (7.9) out of any RB Leipzig player. Over the quarter-final tie, Upamecano won an impressive six out of seven ground duels and three of his four aerial battles against ex-Chelsea forward Diego Costa,giving the Spaniard a torrid time (SofaScore).

Pundit, presenter and ex-Blues defender Cundy believes that Lampard’s side would do well to acquire Upamecano’s services.

“Largely, you look at the two squads, they went into [the quarter-final] as second-favourites, especially losing Timo Werner as well,” Cundy explained on talkSPORT.

“You’ve got some big names, some household names in football in the Atleti team but I have to say, the boy at the back, Upamecano, what a performance.

“I was looking at him thinking, as the game was developing, ‘this was the first time I’ve had a close look at your game’ and I was watching him and he was just immense.

“I was thinking: ‘Chelsea could do with him’.”

Whether or not the club and sporting director Marina Granovskaia decide to snap up Upamecano in this transfer window remains to be seen, but judging by Cundy’s analysis, he may well be an option worth considering.

Chelsea fans, do you share Cundy’s views on Upamecano? Give us your thoughts in the comments below!

Tottenham Hotspur appear to face stiff competition to land one of their mooted transfer targets this summer…

What’s the word?

According to Marca in recent weeks, Spurs hold interest in Real Madrid left-back Sergio Reguilon, who has just enjoyed a hugely successful loan spell at La Liga rivals Sevilla where he clinched the Europa League over Christian Eriksen’s Inter Milan.

They also claim that Manchester United are keen on the 23-year-old and further weight has been thrown in their direction this week after local journalist Senen Escalante confirmed the Spaniard wouldn’t be returning to Sevilla.

He suggests that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are willing to pay a €30m (£27m) fee for his signature, meaning Spurs will likely have to match that to secure him.

Must win race

The north Londoners have made some neat additions this summer already, namely former Saints skipper Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to fill the defensive midfield gap and Matt Doherty as an upgrade on Serge Aurier on the right.

However, the £15m Wolves signing has already done battle with Reguilon this season and it only ended one way – in the Madrid star’s favour.

The talented Spanish international picked up a higher match rating of 7.1 and forced Doherty into losing possession 12 times as well as committing one foul.

Reguilon managed one key pass, one shot and two tackles, all via SofaScore.

Whilst per WhoScored, Reguilon provided three goals and five assists during the 2019/20 season, also averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.5 dribbles, 1.3 key passes and 1.2 interceptions per game.

These numbers reinforce his ability to get up and down the wing using his rapid pace and it’s something Jose Mourinho has even noted before, lauding him during his time as a pundit back in April 2019.

The “dynamic” defender was named as La Liga and the Europa League’s best left-back too. He simply must be signed at all costs to make that left flank a dangerous prospect this season.

AND in other news, Mourinho must unleash King-like colossus this season…

Arriving at Molineux during a significant period of overhaul for the club, Mick McCarthy made slow but steady process as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers.

His first season at the club saw him radically revamp the squad, with experienced players such as Paul Ince, Kenny Miller and Darren Anderton departing and younger talents including Karl Henry, Jay Bothroyd and Michael Kightly coming in.

Having missed out on promotion narrowly in his first two seasons as boss, Wolves secured their return to the big time in 2009, with McCarthy’s free-scoring side impressing throughout the season.

Following their promotion to the Premier League Wolves were never able to fully establish themselves as a force in the top flight, but nonetheless McCarthy kept them up in consecutive seasons, before being sacked in 2012 as his side slid towards the bottom of the league.

With football back underway and Wolves chasing a place in the top four, we look back on the career of Mick McCarthy at Molineux and are testing your knowledge of his Wolves career…

Everton will be keen on bringing in a couple of new faces to the squad in the ongoing summer transfer window. And according to FogãoNET’s live stream from last Thursday night (via SportWitness), the Toffees are largely expected to bid for Botafogo’s young talent, Luis Enrique.

The local papers have apparently warned that Carlo Ancelotti’s men have already told the Brazilian side they are interested and their offer should be arriving sooner rather than later. The Rio de Janeiro team have also reportedly been in touch with Napoli alongside Everton as their 18-year-old winger has managed to attract some strong interest from Europe.

At the moment, there’s not much more information on Enrique nor the potential price the Toffees would be willing to pay to land him this summer. What we do know, however, is that the Brazilian team declined a recent offer from Spartak Moscow for Enrique but see this as a much better opportunity to sell since both the Premier League and Serie A teams can splash out more cash in their attempts to snatch the winger away.

Still, even though Enrique is seen as a talent over in Brazil, there hasn’t been much talk about him over in Europe. It could be that Everton are ahead of the curve and just might get their man before the news spreads and their rivals are alerted to his presence.

Either way, it does seem like a sensible deal as long as they don’t overpay to get him.

Verdict

If the same report is to be believed, Enrique has drawn comparisons with Richarlison and if the 18-year-old is anything like his countryman, Everton would be wise to swoop in and get him.

Of course, we don’t know how expensive he might be and that will obviously play a huge role in the final decision. But if the price is just right and the talent there, Ancelotti should not let Enrique slip through his fingers.

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…

It seems that the footballing world is going crazy for Bayer Leverkusen’s young prodigy, Kai Havertz.

The 20-year-old midfielder is currently one of the hottest prospects that might soon become available on the market and Bild (via Express) claim that Manchester United and Bayern Munich, along with some other big teams, are in the race for his coveted signature, though the Red Devils are the side showing the most interest.

Of course, looking at the prospect at hand, it’s fairly easy to see why.

After all, we’re talking here about a young man who’s already managed to bag 31 goals and assist a further 23 for his current team despite being so young, and he’s also been capped seven times for Germany’s national team, bagging a goal for his efforts as well.

Needless to say, we are looking at a high-potential youngster who just might set the stage ablaze in the not so distant future, and for that reason, Leverkusen’s reported asking price of £111m, as was quoted by Sport Bild (via Metro), comes as no big surprise at all.

Man United are bracing for Paul Pogba’s departure, which, at this point, seems all but imminent, and with some big cash potentially flowing into their wallets, they just might have the funds necessary for such a deal.

Filling the Frenchman’s void would be difficult for Havertz but not impossible, especially if he can continue developing in the future.

His goal contribution from the middle of the park and his creativity on the ball could fit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s bill, seeing how Pogba was often the one doing exactly that, and even though he’s one for the future, Havertz would still represent a big-name signing the Red Devils would need.

For Bayern, however, this deal doesn’t really make sense. Or rather, it won’t make much sense if they intend to keep Philippe Coutinho around.

The Brazilian is still on loan but can reportedly be purchased for around €120m (£102.6m) once the spell ends.

But seeing how the profiles of two players in question are fairly similar – since both like to act as advanced midfielders – one’s presence might mean the other will have to be either benched or sold.

Of course, maybe Bayern plan to play them both side by side but on paper, that seems like a tall task to accomplish.

Could Havertz’s possible arrival spell demise for Coutinho? Or will the Bavarians decide to go with the more developed solution in the form of the Brazilian?

We’ll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain would find a perfect replacement for their star in Liverpool’s main man…

John Daly’s time at Glasgow Rangers was mixed.

The striker made the move to Ibrox during one of the most difficult spells in the club’s history, when they were relegated down the divisions after they had entered adminstration. By the time he arrived in 2013, the Gers had already at least been promoted one tier, to League One, but there was still plenty of work to do. Daly had a stunning campaign, though, scoring 25 goals across all competitions as the Gers got promoted. In the Championship, however, he managed just three goals in 19 matches and soon left the club.

As an Irish Catholic, making the move to the Gers was always going to be controversial and, in a recent interview with The Glasgow Times, he talked about the abuse he received. However, the publication itself titled the story as if it was the Gers fans giving the abuse, which appears not to have been the case.

The title has been changed, which has been picked up on by the Gers supporters, and they are still far from happy with the publication. They have taken to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

Let us know what you think!

Crystal Palace fans have taken to Twitter to drool over Vicente Guaita, after the glovesman delivered a superb performance away to Burnley as the Eagles recorded a 2-0 win.The Spaniard – amazingly signed on a free transfer from Getafe – recorded his fourth clean sheet of the Premier League campaign in his 12th appearance, meaning that he averages a shutout every three games.

Guaita, 32, pulled off one outstanding save in particular during the second half at Turf Moor, leaping to his left to flick the ball away from danger with his fingertips – a stop that saw him receive a passionate embrace from James McArthur.

What makes the No.31’s performance even more impressive is the fact that he was playing behind a much-changed backline including Scott Dann – making just his third league start of the season – as well as Martin Kelly at right-back in place of the injured Joel Ward.

Let’s take a look at what the Palace fans on Twitter have been saying about Guaita’s performance…

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Arsenal’s decision to sell Alex Iwobi for £35m in the summer was an eyebrow-raising one but his recent display for Everton in the Merseyside derby has, from the perspective of the Gunners faithful at least, vindicated the north London side’s decision to offload him.

Fleeting bursts of promise gave Arsenal fans reason to suspect that another academy product was set to flourish at the top level and develop into an elite talent.

But the Nigeria international never quite managed to convince, and his fresh opportunity at Everton created a new space for the playmaker to justify the hype that surrounded his early development.

With Everton struggling at the wrong end of the table, Iwobi has struggled to justify his price tag and his latest display against Liverpool gave Arsenal fans reason to believe that they made a wise decision to offload him on deadline day.

Indeed, after watching him in action during the Merseyside derby, these fans were lauding Raul Sanllehi for the summer sale.

Given the circumstances of the game, it seems harsh to view Iwobi’s performance in isolation, but that did not prevent the Gunners faithful from tearing into their former player.

The performance was seemingly enough to convince large sections of the support that they were right to let him go and they showed no sign of regret in their scathing analysis.

One fan described the sale as the best thing Arsenal have done this season, while plenty of others shared similar opinions on social media.

Here’s what they had to say…

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…

Mauricio Pochettino has made a grievous error.

The Tottenham Hotspur manager went to bat for Christian Eriksen on Tuesday, insisting that he remains fully committed to the club and that his performances are the same as they were five years ago, per The London Evening Standard.

Now, first of all, it has to be said that it was unlikely Pochettino was going to throw the Denmark international under the bus in public.

But, at the same time, the continued selection of Eriksen suggests that the former Southampton boss actually believes what he is saying, that he thinks this is the same attacking midfielder that was at the club previously.

Football FanCast has already broken down that assertion, with the player on a statistical downswing.

And one has to ask what has happened to the manager who was previously so ruthless.

Pochettino joined Spurs in 2014 and, in his first transfer window as manager, he oversaw the acquisition of six players – Ben Davies, Michel Vorm, Eric Dier, DeAndre Yedlin, Federico Fazio and Benjamin Stambouli. The likes of Heurelho Gomes, Jake Livermore, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Michael Dawson and Sandro were all moved on. Dele Alli was signed in January and loaned back to MK Dons.

In terms of departures, it was a similar story the following summer, as Paulinho, Lewis Holtby, Etienne Capoue, Younes Kaboul, Stambouli, Vlad Chiriches and Roberto Soldado were sold.

They didn’t fit the Pochettino mould, so out they went as players like Son Heung-Min and Toby Alderweireld arrived. Think too of Andros Townsend, Emmanuel Adebayor, Aaron Lennon, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Fazio. Once it became clear they either weren’t good enough or didn’t fit, they were told to leave.

Kyle Walker was a prominent example of a player who reportedly suggested he wanted to leave and was told to do just that, joining Manchester City.

Why, then, is Pochettino suddenly showing loyalty to a player who has both admitted his desire to leave and then subsequently underperformed?

Eriksen has scored two goals and registered one assist all season. Against Everton and Liverpool, he failed to complete a single dribble or make a single tackle, per WhoScored.

One feels that, if we were five years in the past, this Eriksen would have been moved on and sold to the first bidder that came knocking, with Pochettino given the chance to replace him.

Instead, he remains. Every weekend, there he is, on the teamsheet, struggling for form.

It is a misjudgement from Pochettino and his defence of the player is entirely out-of-keep with the rest of his reign. That ruthlessness which once defined the Spurs boss, especially in terms of parting with big names for players who better fitted his philosophy, appears to be disappearing.