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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…

Speaking to episode seven of the Training Ground Guru Podcast, Victor Orta gave an in-depth assessment of the club and Marcelo Bielsa, detailing specifically the advantage the young players have at the club.

What’s he said?

Leeds may be sitting in fifth place in the Championship after their defeat to Millwall but there are still reasons to be positive, particularly as they’re playing such good football.

One negative, however, is the current injuries. Liam Cooper is out for six weeks while Jamie Shackleton is also set to miss a month.

That being said, chances could be on the horizon for a few more younger players. Leif Davis, Robbie Gotts and Jack Clarke were on the bench last weekend while Pascal Struijk and Olly Casey were spoken about by Bielsa recently too.

It’s no secret that the Argentine likes to give opportunities to the young players but that’s only been magnified by Orta, who suggested they help him with his ideas. He said:

“He talks with facts. Jack Clarke, Leif Davis. He talks always in his career – I remember in Bilbao that changed lives. He talks with facts. He likes the young players because what he finds in them is amazing for his ideas.”

Promising future

As of last January, Bielsa had handed ten opportunities to players under the age of 21. That’s a glowing indication of his attention to youth but so is the fact he’s given first-team debuts to Alfie McCalmont and Mateusz Bogusz since then as well.

Bielsa has helped change the face of the football club and that’s ringing true at academy level too where he’s installed one of his assistant’s Carlos Corberan as the U23s manager.

The fact that the 64-year-old finds the young players amazing for instilling his own ideas is something that simply has to be relayed to those coming through at Thorp Arch.

If Jack Clarke is worried about his game time then he needs to bear in mind Bielsa was the one that gave him his chance in the first place. The same goes for someone like Davis who has also been handed chances sparingly in 2019/20.

But for those who haven’t earned debuts, this should be seen as an opportunity too, not least for the aforementioned Struijk and Casey who could well pounce on the uncertainty surrounding the defence.

Bielsa appears straight up with the young players and Orta’s words should serve as big motivation. They must be on red alert with opportunities there to be had.

This article forms part of our The Ones That Got Away feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern take a look back at players linked with moves in the past, and see how they would have made an impact had they signed for the interested side.

Leeds United are not the only football club in the world to have missed out on some star names when they had the opportunity to sign them and certainly will not be the last team to be thinking “if only”, should they have managed to acquire them.

Indeed, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been working hard to try and obtain promotion to the Premier League once again and there has been an argument (even by the manager) that they may lack  the clinical edge that is needed to ensure they are within a chance of escaping England’s notoriously difficult second tier.

Of course, the Elland Road outfit used to possess a squad that had some top-quality strikers in their time, with the likes of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Tony Yeboah, Eric Cantona and Mark Viduka gracing the turf. However, Leeds could have had an impressive Dutchman spearheading the attack if they moved quicker than one of their top-flight rivals.

Yes, a certain Ruud van Nistelrooy was on the radar of then-boss David O’Leary, but Leeds missed out to Manchester United for his signature when the latter scooped him for a reported £19m transfer fee.

The Whites were chasing PSV Eindhoven teammate Mark van Bommel at the time (as per The Daily Mail), but it was also claimed the centre-forward had piqued an interest – 75 goals in 89 appearances would have made any manager take note.

Of course, Van Nistelrooy made a huge name for himself whilst playing at Old Trafford and proved to be a rather clinical striker in the English game, something that Bielsa perhaps still desires to have at Elland Road.

The former Holland international managed to bag himself a remarkable 150 goals and 21 assists in 219 appearances for the Red Devils before moving onto Real Madrid, a club whereby he was equally as impressive in the final third (Transfermarkt).

Indeed, if he and Viduka were spearheading the attack at the time, Leeds would have been lethal around the opponents’ penalty area as the Australian forward managed to notch up an impressive 68 goals in his 158 appearances for the Whites (Transfermarkt).

Although that was back in their day, if Patrick Bamford can be anywhere near as prolific as the two aforementioned individuals, then the Yorkshire outfit would be in a brilliant position and one that would not leave Bielsa replicating the frustrations he had last season with his main attacking man.

The £10m signing from Middlesbrough currently has 14 goals to his name in 34 appearances for the Elland Road club, but he often needs a number of opportunities to find the back of the net. According to WhoScored’s data, the 26-year-old averages just 1.3 shots on target per game, with 1.9 of his attempts sailing wide of the mark.

Leeds fans, disappointed the club missed out on Van Nistelrooy when they had the chance to sign him? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them in the comments section below!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Expert Roundup feature, which provides three quotes from those in the know in order to illuminate fundamental strengths, weaknesses, quirks, stylistic comparisons and general observations of players, transfer targets and confirmed signings.

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Hugo Lloris must be mightily relieved that not only did his team managee to take all three points against Southampton on Saturday, but that Serge Aurier’s first half red card appears to have overshadowed his dreadful error.

The France international had so much time to clear the ball when it was passed back to him as the 10-man hosts looked to hold on to the 1-0 lead they had, but he failed miserably with a Cruyff Turn to allow Danny Ings to prod the ball over the line.

Luckily for the north London outfit it didn’t prove costly as Harry Kane’s goal proved to be the difference between the two, but plenty of pundits have expressed their concerns over the experienced 32-year-old, who cost £12m when he signed from Lyon in 2012.

Here’s what they had to say…

Don Hutchison

Speaking on ESPN FC’s YouTube channel, the former West Ham United midfielder said: “You can’t try a trick there. If you’re going to try a trick make sure it comes off, he had loads of options to the left-hand side. It was ludicrous, it was bad professionalism and it was shocking goalkeeping.”

Jamie Redknapp

The former Tottenham star wrote in his Daily Mail column: “They were badly let down by errors from Serge Aurier and Hugo Lloris on Saturday and Lloris in particular is a worry. In the last year the Frenchman has made a few mistakes you wouldn’t expect from him.

Sam Allardyce

Speaking on Goals on Sunday, in quotes reported by HITC, the former England manager said: “The perception is that this is good for the game. For me, that is a false perception. This is just making the wrong decisions in the wrong areas most of the time. We have seen so many goals given away like this now – that’s just blatant poor play.

“When you start asking goalkeepers, who can’t play out from the back, and I think Lloris is a fabulous goalkeeper, but he falls short on the ball when he is playing out from the back.”

Verdict

They’ve all got a point, to be fair.

A player of Lloris’ experience and quality shouldn’t be making a mistake like that, and perhaps it is time for Pochettino to stop making the Frenchman play out from the back, as it is something he appears increasingly uncomfortable doing.

Watch Tottenham Hotspur Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

That blunder could easily have cost Tottenham one or three points at the weekend had Southampton shown more quality in the final third, and that is the last thing they need following an already-tough start to the campaign.

It is certainly a worry the Argentine manager could do without considering the other issues he has to deal with, including the likes of Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld all being out of contract next summer.

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

Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea on Sunday promises to be an exciting clash but they will need Sadio Mane to be firing on all cylinders to take three points back to Anfield.

On the chalkboard

The Senegal international has been key to the Reds this season with four goals and one assist in five Premier League games.

He was also pivotal the last time these sides met, in August, scoring twice to ensure the match went to a penalty shoot-out, which Liverpool won to lift the UEFA Super Cup.

Keeping Mane quiet will be crucial to Chelsea, but they often struggle against him, with the forward scoring five and assisting two in his 12 appearances against the Blues.

Under Frank Lampard they have been far from solid in defence, too, with 11 goals conceded in the Premier League so far, with Cesar Azpilicueta receiving minimal support from a midfield which has missed the presence of N’Golo Kante for much of the season, as seen through their defensive record.

Azpilicueta has been a reliable performer for the Blues over the years, but fans on Twitter have been far from impressed with some of his displays so far this term.

Despite that criticism, according to WhoScored the right-back has led by example with 2.8 tackles per game, and that suggests Mane will be up against a dogged player who refuses to give up, as well as being a defender who reads the game brilliantly, making five interceptions in the Super Cup.

He did fail to contain Mane’s quality in that game however. The 27-year-old took up threatening positions throughout and had the finishing to match, so if he gets the ball in the final third he will be very difficult to stop.

The Liverpool forward loves to cut in from the right, but he is still at times impossible to stop because of his pace and quick-thinking.

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He can curl the ball into the top corner or link up with Roberto Firmino or Mo Salah on the edge of the box, as his average key passes per game prove, and therefore Azpilicueta will have a tough time dealing with the different type of threat he provides.

The best method for Chelsea is to play narrow, and keep Fikayo Tomori close to the right-back, reducing the gaps inside the box that Mane loves to take up, forcing him to dribble, an aspect of his game that hasn’t been as good this season, according to WhoScored.

Despite that, Mane is in a goalscoring mood and has showed this season that he only needs half a chance, and that makes it unlikely Azpilicueta, or Chelsea, will be able to stop him.

Aston Villa manager Dean Smith has confirmed that Morgan Sanson has been ruled out of Sunday afternoon’s clash against West Ham in the Premier League.

What’s the story?

The 27-year-old was caught losing his cool in the 3-1 defeat to Arsenal nine days ago, seemingly annoyed by Smith’s preference to use Anwar El Ghazi as his final substitute, which prompted him to rip off his warm-up top and aim a kick at the nearby water bottles.

It appears that he won’t be in contention to face West Ham, although not for a disciplinary reason.

The Villa boss confirmed in his pre-match press conference ahead of the match against the Hammers today that the Frenchman would be missing from action due to illness.

Fans will be frustrated

After seeing Sanson’s mini-tantrum at the Emirates Stadium last week, the Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece delivered his verdict on the Frenchman in recent days.

He said: “A very interesting and worthy point to make this, Dean. The body language amongst the group on the pitch was telling against Arsenal. A lot of bickering and finger-pointing as opposed to, ‘Right lads, let’s stick together and get it right.’ It does point to a lot of frustration that’s been boiling over in the last three weeks. Are they happy with the system that’s being implemented?

“As for Sanson, he wants a crack. He’s returned earlier than scheduled from his hamstring strain so I didn’t expect to see him involved. He’s fit now and will want a chance to play – especially given the performances of those ahead of him of late.

“Ramsey and then El Ghazi got the nod over him and he lost it. I don’t mind it. He needs to get his head right, though, and it’s something I’ll ask the boss about on Friday.”

The fact that Sanson has only played ten times in all competitions since arriving from Marseille back in January must be a massive frustration for Villa fans.

The 27-year-old’s inability to stay fit for any period of time, and his current illness, niggling injuries and whatnot, is sure to have supporters fuming with one of their marquee signings from only a few short months ago.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has delivered his verdict on Aston Villa’s recent Premier League struggles…

Despite having a healthy number of central midfielders in their squad at the moment, the trio of Thiago Alcantara (30) Jordan Henderson (31) and James Milner (35) are among some of Liverpool’s oldest players.

Taking this into account, it seems as though the club have their eye on signing a new midfielder who would bring down the average age of the squad and act as a potential long-term replacement for one of the aforementioned names at Anfield.

What’s the news?

After being linked with a move for him during the recent summer transfer window, it has been reported by De Telegraaf (via soccernews.nl) that Liverpool still have their eyes on a potential summer transfer swoop for 19-year-old Ajax midfielder Ryan Gravenberch, alongside the likes of Italian club Juventus and fellow Premier League side Manchester United.

Next young talent

As a product of Ajax’s youth academy, Gravenberch made his senior debut for the club back in September 2018.

Since then, the teenager – who is currently valued at £29.7m by Transfermarkt – has gone on to make 74 appearances for Ajax across all competitions, with 10 goals and eight assists along the way.

In addition to this, the 19-year-old – who has been labelled a “better version of Paul Pogba” by his former youth coach Brian Tevreden – has also averaged 1.9 shots, 1.4 key passes and 1.8 tackles per game so far in the Eredivisie, showing how well-rounded he is in terms of attack and defence at such a young age. That is probably why he has been linked with a move away from Ajax to the likes of Liverpool and Juventus.

In terms of a potential switch to Liverpool next summer, we think that FSG should be doing all they can to sign Gravenberch. He could be a great coup for the Reds as a young prospect who could well go on to be a regular figure in their first team at some point in the future given his tender age and the experience he already has under his belt.

In other news: Klopp could unearth LFC’s perfect Milner successor with “energetic” 18 y/o prodigy

Rumours linking Andriy Shevchenko with a move to Celtic to replace Ange Postecoglou have been gathering pace.

The Lowdown: The Sun’s report

Links first emerged late on Saturday night, with The Sun’s Alan Nixon suggesting Shevchenko wants to make the move to Britain.

The 45-year-old wants a job at club level after leaving Ukraine over the summer, and his availability put him on Celtic’s radar.

Postecoglou got a priceless victory for the Hoops prior to the international break, but the rumours regarding Shevchenko won’t go away.

The Latest: Italian reports

Italian outlet Le Bombe di Vlad shared a story on Sunday afternoon, shortly after the Hoops’ 2-1 win over Aberdeen.

Within their report, they claimed that Postecoglou’s future is in ‘the balance’ and led with a title suggesting Shevchenko is in pole position to take over at Parkhead.

The Verdict: Time required…

Shevchenko won 25 of his 52 games in charge of Ukraine (48%) and isn’t proven at club level, so there’s no guarantee bringing him in to replace Postecoglou would work out.

Postecoglou will hopefully have a full Celtic squad to choose from in the coming months, so time is required to see if he can get the best out of the players at Parkhead once everyone is fit.

If things haven’t gone well come the end of the season, then perhaps that would be the time to look into a possible change, but not eight league games in.

In other news: Former Celtic ace slams unconvincing Hoops player. 

Crystal Palace weren’t renowned for being shrewd operators in the transfer market until the previous window, although the club’s hierarchy perhaps don’t get the credit they deserve for one particularly impressive deal.

Back in January 2015, the Eagles secured the return of fans’ favourite Wilfried Zaha from Manchester United on a permanent basis for just £3.42m, only two years after the youngster had moved in the opposite direction for an initial £10m fee.

The skilful winger had impressed after rising through the ranks at his boyhood club, scoring eight goals and providing a further 12 assists in 50 appearances as Palace earned promotion back to the Premier League in his final season at the club.

However, his time at United didn’t go to plan. At Old Trafford, Zaha enjoyed just 28 minutes of top-flight action in his first six months at the club before being loaned out to Cardiff City.

He was then loaned back to Palace for the first half of 2014/15 ahead of his return on a permanent basis, and the Ivory Coast international made no attempt to hide his delight after re-signing for his boyhood club.

“I wasn’t getting much game time at Manchester United, so took the opportunity of coming back on loan this season,” Zaha said at his unveiling. “To now have the chance to make the move permanent and come home to Selhurst Park is something I’m delighted about.

“For me to be a better player, I need to play more games, and having a gaffer I know has great trust in me gives me the confidence I need to help me improve my game. I started playing here when I was eight years of age, and my family live locally, and to have the opportunity to take the field in the Premier League for this club is a dream come true.”

Since then, Zaha has established himself as the Eagles’ talisman, bagging 70 goals and providing a further 73 assists in 401 appearances for the south London outfit across his multiple spells with the club and playing a pivotal part in their nine-year stay in the top-flight.

Zaha’s incredible exploits at Selhurst Park have seen his market value rise to a whopping £40.5m, which shows that Palace chairman Steve Parish struck gold over the Ivorian’s return to the club.

In other news… Vieira could unearth Crystal Palace’s next Milivojevic in “intelligent” 17 y/o starlet 

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw has suffered yet another injury setback, with Marcelo Bielsa confirming as much after the defeat to West Ham on Saturday.

The Lowdown: Leeds lose again

The Whites’ hugely disappointing start to the season continued on Saturday afternoon following a 2-1 loss to the Hammers at Elland Road.

Raphinha may have given Leeds the lead before half-time, but the visitors turned the game around, leaving Bielsa’s men without a Premier League win in 2021/22 after six matchdays.

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The Latest: Forshaw suffers fresh injury setback

Forshaw played no part in proceedings, and as tweeted by journalist Graham Smyth, Bielsa confirmed after the weekend defeat that the midfielder faces another spell on the sidelines:

“Marcelo Bielsa says Adam Forshaw has a ‘tear in the posterior part of his thigh.’ Would usually mean a month out, says Bielsa, but adds that Forshaw’s two year absence makes it difficult.”

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The Verdict: Another cruel blow

This is another major setback for Forshaw, who has had such terrible luck in the injury department, barely playing at all for the last two years because of a serious hip injury.

There must now be genuine question marks over the 29-year-old’s future, with his body clearly struggling to cope with the challenges of being a professional footballer.

It is hard to see him ever properly breaking into Leeds’ team again and another long layoff would only weaken his case even further.

In other news, some Leeds fans were critical of one player against West Ham. Find out who it is here.

The teenage striker scored twice off the bench to secure a spot in the quarter-finals

It turns out that Liverpool's youngsters might just be able to play a bit. Another youthful lineup – stripped of Darwin Nunez and Mo Salah – turned in a memorable performance for Jurgen Klopp's men, as Jayden Danns scored twice to mark a 3-0 win over Southampton in the FA Cup.

Sekou Mara had the ball in the net inside 30 seconds for the visitors, but saw his effort ruled out by the offside flag. Liverpool, for their part, created admittedly little in the first half, a group of youngsters looking their age in attack. But they woke up on the stroke of half time, debutant Lewis Koumas' strike deflecting off the heel of a defender and rolling into the bottom corner.

Southampton should have equalised early in the second half, but a timely poke from Ibrahima Konate diverted a cross away from danger when Mara had the goal gaping.

Danns added a crucial second with 15 minutes remaining, chipping the goalkeeper off an angled pass from Harvey Elliott. The teenager completed his brace with a simple finish into an open net – wrapping up a cup win to send Liverpool into the next round of the FA Cup. Klopp's memorable farewell tour might just be special.

GOAL rates Liverpool's players from Anfield…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Caoimhin Kelleher (7/10):

  Made a couple of important stops early on. Calm with the ball at his feet. Another quality showing.

  Conor Bradley (8/10):

  So assured on the ball and diligent in his pressing in an inverted full-back role. He's really starting to look the part in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold.

  Jarell Quansah (8/10):

  Impressive once again – especially in his individual duels. Completed 97 per cent of his passes, too.

  Virgil van Dijk (7/10):

  Won his headers, put in some valuable tackles. A planned substitution at the break saw him get some valuable rest.

  Kostas Tsimikas (6/10):

  Ate up ground, played some neat passes in the final third. Ate up minutes to give Andy Robertson a valuable night off.

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  Midfield

  Joe Gomez (6/10):

  Tried out as a No.6 after playing in Alexander-Arnold's inverted role on a handful of occasions. A bit mixed throughout, and looked confused when he ventured into the final third.

  James McConnell (6/10):

  Not involved much on the ball, but did enough work off it. Looked leggy when he was taken off – which is understandable given his age.

  Bobby Clark (7/10):

  A composed showing in central midfield. Assisted the first, and was generally tidy on the ball. Good for him to get the whole 90 in.

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  Attack

  Harvey Elliott (8/10):

  Busy in and around the box, always looking for a killer pass. Deserved his assist. He's seized the moment well, given the Reds' lengthy injury list.

  Cody Gakpo (6/10):

  Failed to capitalise on a good chance in the first half. Missed another in the second. Forced it a bit at times.

  Lewis Koumas (7/10):

  Diligent on the left wing. Rather fortunate to score on his debut – given the deflection – but that will take little away from the moment.

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  Subs & Manager

  Ibrahima Konate (7/10):

  Made a vital intervention to prevent a Southampton equaliser early in the second half. Tackled well and looked steady in key moments.

  Alexis Mac Allister (6/10):

  Didn't really have much to do in his 30 minutes on the pitch.

  Jayden Danns (8/10):

  Took his goals wonderfully, and was constantly involved. He looks a real talent.

  Trey Nyoni (N/A):

  No time to make an impact.

  Kaide Gordon (N/A):

  No time to make an impact.

  Jurgen Klopp (8/10):

  Once again forced into a number of changes with a glut of injuries to contend with. His side were poor in the early goings, but really grew into the game, and ended up good value for the win. The FA Cup dream stays alive.