Fresh Mina injury is a worrying sign for Everton

According to French outlet l’Équipe, Everton defender has sustained another injury, and is set to have a longer spell on the sidelines. 

The Toffees signed the Colombian from Barcelona for a fee of £27.19m on deadline day in the summer, however, he was already carrying an injury at that point.

The defender has now suffered a new injury; a fracture of the fourth metatarsal in his foot, and will spend a minimum of three weeks on the sideline, according to the website.

He is yet to feature for Marco Silva’s men this season, and fans will soon become restless. This is a worrying sign for those at Goodison Park, as this could be an indication of what is to come for the club if he is this injury prone.

The only benefit for Everton is that Mina has a buy-back clause written into his contract, meaning Barcelona can buy the player back for £54m if they wish. However, in truth, there is no indication so far that Barcelona would ever want to buy him back for that price. He clearly carries the baggage of being injury prone, and would not justify a price tag of over £50m.

There must have been a reason why the Spanish giants were so keen to sell the centre back, and it may be becoming apparent to all of those in blue. However, there is no denying his potential once he is fit and firing, and Marco Silva will be hoping that that is sooner rather than later.

Aston Villa fans furious with Craig Gardner

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Gary Gardner remains contracted to Aston Villa, but the midfielder is currently on loan with his parent club’s bitter rivals Birmingham City.

Gardner came through the youth system at Villa, and has scored once in 46 first-team appearances since debuting during the 2011-12 campaign.

The midfielder only made one appearance for Villa last term, however, and is currently representing Birmingham in the Championship.

The 26-year-old has a contract at Villa Park until the summer of 2020, but it seems unlikely that he will represent the club again.

That is following Gardner’s decision to ‘like’ a Birmingham fans’ post on Instagram, which suggested that ‘the city is blue’.

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Gardner’s allegiance is seemingly now with Birmingham despite his deep Villa roots, and it would be fair to say that the midfielder’s activity on social media has not gone down very well with his parent club’s supporters.

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

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Arsenal fans react to Danny Welbeck’s captaincy against Qarabag

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Arsenal forward Danny Welbeck was handed the captain’s armband in the second half of their Europa League clash with Qarabag in Baku on Thursday evening.

Welbeck received the honours of leading the side when Nacho Monreal, who has been skippering the side in the competition this season, was replaced by Lucas Torreira at the start of the second half as Unai Emery’s men cruised to a 3-0 win to extend their winning run to eight matches.

Gunners fans have taken to Twitter to congratulate the 27-year-old on the proud moment and have also praised the England international for the commitment he has shown this season.

Despite not being a regular starter in the team, the England international has been a useful option when called upon and already has four goals to his name this season, scoring in the Premier League, Carabao Cup and Europa League.

Here are some of the reactions by Arsenal fans after Welbeck’s big moment:

Revealed: Majority of Sheffield Wednesday fans think Adam Reach is worth between £10m-£15m

The majority of Sheffield Wednesday fans that answered our poll think that Adam Reach should be worth between £10m-£15m after his recent performances and long-range stunning strikes.

Reach recently won the PFA Fans’ Championship Player of the Month for September award and he has now netted four times and provided two assists in 12 appearances across all competitions so far this season.

The 25-year-old winger also scored two left-footed screamers in one week, against Leeds and West Brom respectively.

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Wednesday parted with just £5m to sign Reach from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2016, and Owls fans clearly think that if any club were to come in for him now then he would be worth a huge amount more.

38 per cent of those who responded to our poll thought that he was worth between £10m-£15m and the next highest was between £15m-£20m. Check out the full results of our recent poll below.

TT Introducing: The man who will terrorise Arsenal’s defence

Leicester City go into tonight’s game having made an inconsistent start to the season as they’ve lost four but also won four. 

In even more frustrating news for the club, although Leicester have proven to have some potent attacking talent, they’ve also been unable to keep many clean sheets.

Against Arsenal, they come up against a side that is on a fantastic run of form but also a side that has also struggled to keep clean sheets this year. Without Sokratis, Arsenal don’t look anywhere near as good at the back and with Shkodran Mustafi as the senior defender in the middle of the park, the lively Jamie Vardy could be a huge threat.

Vardy’s game is completely predicated on pace and movement. The long-time Leicester City striker on his day is one of the better forwards in the league and is one of those players who never allows the defence to rest. Whenever the ball is at the back, Vardy is constantly snapping at their heels and trying to force them into a mistake.

Last year the forward scored 20 goals in 37 games and so far this season he’s scored three in six games. Against Arsenal, he will play a side that likes to keep a high line and can be caught out.

Furthermore, Mustafi is a defender that likes to get on the front foot to try to steal the ball but he’s always liable to being caught out of position and needs an experienced player next to him. With Vardy always looking to make runs in behind against a defence that tries to press up, Vardy could tear Arsenal’s backline apart tonight.

Revealed: 91% of Bournemouth fans think Callum Wilson is ready to make his England debut

According to our recent poll, 91 per cent of Bournemouth fans think that Callum Wilson’s recent form warrants an England call up from Gareth Southgate.

The Cherries have had a fantastic start to the season and currently sit in sixth place in the Premier League, following their 0-0 draw with South Coast rivals Southampton on the weekend.

Wilson has been key to this, with the 26-year-old striker leading the line for Eddie Howe’s side alongside Josh King. Wilson has now netted fouRr times in 10 games in all competitions, which may not be breaking any records, but he has also provided five assists in that time proving that he is able to bring other players into the game and create chances as well as finishing his own.

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In terms of competition for England places too there are very few strikers who have been in better form than the Bournemouth man. With Rashford being played out wide, the only other option for Southgate has been Danny Welbeck, and Aidy Boothroyd’s U21 squad is not blessed with prolific strikers at senior club level.

Check out the full results of our poll below.

Crystal Palace should give £31.5m-rated striker a second Premier League chance

Crystal Palace scored their first home goals of the season today as they fought to a 2-2 draw with in form Arsenal at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles were more than good value for the point too, and manager Roy Hodgson will be keen to see plenty more of what he saw during their performance today as the season continues into the tough winter months.

Despite breaking their duck though, it is clear that Palace need some more attacking options within their ranks, and one man we believe could be deserving of  a second Premier League chance is former Leicester City striker Andrej Kramaric.

The Croatian, now valued at a whopping £31.5m by Transfermarkt, never really got going when he signed for the Foxes previously, but he has since developed into a quality striker who is proven across Europe.

The 27-year-old plundered in 13 goals and contributed 8 assists for Hoffenheim last season, while he plays a key role for his country too as they remain one of the most feared teams on the continent.

Kramaric would certainly add something to Palace, who have become over reliant on Christian Benteke who himself is struggling to find any form.

Classy with the ball and a lethal finisher, Kramaric would be a good, if not quite expensive addition for Roy Hodgons’s men as we go into the second half of the season in January.

Palace fans, what do you think? Worth the punt? Let us know in the comments!

Transfer Battle: Marko Arnautovic vs James Tarkowski

Burnley will be looking to bounce back from heavy Premier League defeats against Chelsea and Manchester City when they take on West Ham at the London Stadium on Saturday.

Sean Dyche’s men, however, could be in for another difficult test with Marko Arnautovic set to return for the Hammers after missing his side’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City due to illness.

With Arnautovic likely to start for West Ham over the weekend, a fiery match up versus James Tarkowski could now await the Austrian.

Marko Arnautovic

Arnautovic has become the Hammers’ talisman since Slaven Bilic brought him to the London Stadium from Stoke City last July, and his availability for selection will come as a massive boost to his side.

Despite the arrival of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko over the summer — two technically gifted individuals — Arnautovic is still quite clearly the biggest threat in West Ham’s team.

So far this season, the Austria international has bagged four goals in eight Premier League appearances while his overall skill set makes him such a tricky opponent to play against.

With his strength, Arnautovic is able to play with his back towards goal and hold off defenders. But as well as that, the former Stoke man also has the technical ability to dribble past opposition full-backs and central defenders.

For Tarkowski and co, it could be a tough afternoon if Arnautovic is included in West Ham’s starting XI as expected.

TT Grade: A- James Tarkowski

Tarkowski found life difficult in his last outing as he failed to cope with the attacking flair of Willian, Ross Barkley and Alvaro Morata in Burnley’s 4-0 loss to Chelsea at Turf Moor.

And while the Blues are capable of brushing away most sides in the Premier League in such a manner on their day regardless of who their opponent has in defence, Burnley have not looked as solid as they were last season at the back.

Nevertheless, Tarkowski has still proven to be a capable defender, forming a very effective centre-back partnership with Ben Mee, a centre-back partnership that has the potential to frustrate the likes of Arnautovic and Anderson.

Burnley are not a team blessed with goals, so the England international and the rest of the team’s defence need to raise their game over the coming weeks.

TT Grade: B- TT Verdict:

Saturday’s Premier League encounter between West Ham and Burnley at the London Stadium looks like one that could easily end up producing a boring 0-0 draw.

In Arnautovic, though, the Hammers have someone who could easily turn out to be the match-winner on the day.

And against Tarkowski, the 29-year-old should be able to match the Burnley man for strength before beating him with his technical skill. Advantage West Ham.

Arsenal fans react to rumours linking Arsene Wenger with AC Milan job

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According to France Football, a deal that would see Arsene Wenger replace Gennaro Gattuso as AC Milan manager is close to being completed.

The iconic manager has been out of the game since leaving Arsenal last summer, after 22 years at the helm in north London. However, the 69-year-old has recently insisted that he will be back working in football at the beginning of 2019 – though he gave no clues as to whereabouts – as reported by Sky Sports.

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Given his long reign at Highbury and the Emirates Stadium as Arsenal manager, plenty of Gunners fans will be interested to know where the club’s long-serving leader will wind up next. Despite a difficult last few years at Arsenal, Wenger remains a legend to many of the club’s fans and a huge figure in the history of the Premier League.

After the rumours of Wenger’s San Siro takeover emerged, plenty of Arsenal fans took to Twitter to express their excitement over the Frenchman’s apparently imminent return to the game…

Sheffield Wedensday on the way to building an identity

According to The Star, former Sheffield Wednesday ace Jon Newsome has said that The Owls lack identity this season. 

The former defender has hit out at manager Jos Luhukay for excessively rotating the team, which has meant that there is no continuity between performances.

In Wednesday’s last six performances, Luhukay has tried as many defensive combinations, including changes to formation. None of them proved fruitful, as they have only won one of their last eight games. However, the Dutchman has been excessively impulsive so far this season, and it has affected his team. This, some may say, goes down to managerial styles, as there are those that will stick with a team until results come. Neither is a proven recipe for success, but Luhukay has proven that his approach has not worked in this circumstance.

However, with the team’s heroic draw in the Steel City derby last Friday at Bramall Lane, Sheffield Wednesday took the first step in forging an identity for themselves. The system of three centre-backs made the team look much more solid than they have, and helped fight for their first clean sheet of the season. It may be the early stages, but this is the first sign that they are building an identity.

However, very few fans of a club would like their identity to be based on resolute defending and withholding a barrage of shots, but a team has to start somewhere. If Luhukay sticks with that defence after the international break, it may be an indication that Wednesday are creating something.

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