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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… 

According to reports in Greece, Vurnon Anita is set to join Panathinaikos on a free transfer.

The Whites are apparently willing to let him go for nothing, despite the fact he has a year left on his deal, but his WhoScored stats from last season show that the Yorkshire club are making the right decision.

Looking at these numbers it’s easy to see how poorly the Dutchman fared last term at Willem II in the Eredivisie.

The former Newcastle man played the majority of his minutes as a central midfielder, and despite playing in what should be an influential position he didn’t have much impact at either end of the pitch.

In terms of defending, the Leeds loanee made just 0.6 successful tackles per game and 0.8 interceptions per match.

He rarely won the ball back for his side, and those types of numbers won’t have impressed Marcelo Bielsa as his midfielders need to be able to recover possession. For example, both Mateusz Klich and Kalvin Phillips averaged more tackles than him in 2018/19 with 1.7 and 2.6 respectively.

Going forward he isn’t much better either. In fact, the only word you can use to describe his attacking stats is abysmal. He rarely has much of an impact going forward completing just 0.1 shots and 0.1 key passes per game.

Of course, those numbers could be excused as Anita has always been a much more defensively-orientated player, but the fact that they aren’t that impressive at the back either shows that the Whites are making the right decision in letting him go.

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The 30-year-old had a chance to prove himself worthy of starting for Leeds with this loan spell in the Netherlands. Bielsa showed that he isn’t afraid of bringing a player in from out of the cold by starting Klich in every game last season just a term after he was sent out on loan.

Anita seemingly didn’t have the desire or the ability to force himself back into the Argentine’s plans, and due to this, he is set to be rightfully moved on.

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

According to a report from Aksam, Wolves are a potential suitor for Ricardo Quaresma this summer.

What’s the word?

As another week begins Wolves still appear no closer to bringing in a new face.

Ivan Cavaleiro departed the club over the weekend, becoming the second fringe player to pack his bags after Helder Costa also left on loan for Leeds.

Initially it had been reported that Quaresma had snubbed Wolves but according to Aksam, they are still interested in the winger whose future could well be in doubt.

The publication states that he has had offers from Vietnam and America but Besiktas manager Abdullah Avci will decide his fate and whether he actually moves away.

Key ingredient in Europe

Wolves’ squad is now even thinner after witnessing Cavaleiro and Costa depart so signing new players is absolutely essential.

Quaresma, therefore, would add much-needed depth to an attacking area that barring Raul Jimenez and Diogo Jota, will now predominantly be made up of youth players.

However, it isn’t just depth that the Portuguese would offer, but it’s his sheer experience at the top level that could prove key, especially in the Europa League.

As Wolves head into the 2019/20 season, they will play in continental competition for the first time since 1980 and therefore finding more players who have experience in Europe will be of huge benefit.

Of course, the club already have a number of stars to have featured at the highest level with the likes of Rui Patricio, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves all playing a big part for the Portugal national team.

Yet, Quaresma would offer more experience than any of them.

In the video below, find out which former Chelsea star could be set to challenge Raul Jimenez as top dog at Wolves…

At the age of 35, he’s past his best, but this is a player who has 80 caps for his country and has played in numerous Champions League and Europa League campaigns.

The winger has played 60 times in Europe’s premier competition, contributing to 21 goals in the process. He’s meanwhile played a hand in 17 goals in just 33 matches in its sister tournament. He also played eight times when it was known as the UEFA Cup.

Even at his age, the experience Quaresma could bring to a team that haven’t competed among some of Europe’s top clubs for such a long period of time could help them thrive.

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

According to The Mirror, Arsenal are interested in a move for CSKA Moscow forward Fedor Chalov, who is also attracting the attention of Liverpool, Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Gunners seem to have the prolific Russian in their sights, although they face a lot of competition to land the striker.

Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich are also keen, whilst Monaco and Sevilla have one eye on the situation.

Chalov enjoyed an excellent 2018/19 campaign in which he finished as the Russian Premier League top scorer with 15 goals – he also netted against Real Madrid in the Champions League.

Check out 5 reasons why Arsenal need Wilfried Zaha in the video below…

The 21-year-old also weighed in with seven assists in the league, whilst grabbing two goals in his six Champions League appearances last term to make his total tally for the season an impressive 17.

His exquisite campaign has seen him rated at £20m, and you can certainly see why so many top clubs are keeping tabs on him.

A more sensible target for Arsenal in this market

As we all know, this current market is a little bit crazy.

You’ve got players like Harry Maguire and Sean Longstaff valued at £90m and £50m, so finding real quality additions for a realistic price tag has proven fairly difficult.

However, a move for Chalov would be far better for Arsenal rather than seeing them continue to punch well above their weight financially with moves for Nicolas Pepe and Wilfried Zaha.

David Ornstein has revealed that the Gunners don’t have enough to land the €80m-rated Pepe, whilst Zaha’s camp have expressed doubts over the north London-based side’s financial capacity to land the Ivory Coast international.

There is no point wasting time pursuing deals like this. Chalov is rated at just £20m in comparison and although he’s a front-man rather than a winger, he’s the type of player Arsenal should be targeting this summer instead of well-known stars with huge valuations.

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Danny Mills has stated that he thinks Kieran Tierney is worth “£35m to £40m”, per The Scottish Sun.

What’s he said, then?

Kieran Tierney has been the subject of interest from Arsenal, but Celtic have rejected their second bid for the defender, according to BBC Sport.

The 22-year-old has been a key player for Celtic pretty much since he made his debut in 2015, but is clearly of serious interest to the Gunners having submitted two offers so far this summer.

Tierney is currently recovering from a double hernia operation but isn’t far away from returning to action, be that at Celtic or Arsenal.

As reported by The Scottish Sun, Mills told talkSPORT the following: “Realistically £35m to £40m for Tierney would be about the ball park. When you go in ridiculously low – if you want a player but go in low it doesn’t say you really want this player.

“Wan Bissaka was ridiculously over-priced. I’d say £35m-£40m for Tierney would be fair.”

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Recording smashing Tierney

Mills’ comments will be music to Celtic’s ears as they wait to see if Arsenal will come in with a third bid for their left-back. With Nacho Monreal being linked to Real Sociedad by AS, the wheels could be in motion for the deal to happen.

The pundit also made reference to Manchester United’s deal for Aaron Wan-Bissaka in his Tierney valuation. Wan-Bissaka was brought to Old Trafford from Crystal Palace in a transfer worth £50m.

With the current Scottish record for an incoming fee standing at £19.7m, Mills’ figures would make Tierney worth potentially double the cost of Moussa Dembele, who went to Lyon from Parkhead last summer.

All that said, while Tierney has had a good career to date – winning a treble treble at the age of 22 ain’t too shabby – it’s unlikely Arsenal will go anywhere near Mills’ figures of £35m to £40m with their limited budget.

It has been another big week in the Premier League as the 20 sides competing in next season’s top tier put the finishing touches to their squads with just 13 days left before the transfer window shuts on August 8th. But what have been the biggest stories to have broken this past week? We take a look at the 10 biggest pieces of transfer news…

It had been on the cards for a while, but Unai Emery finally has his second signing of the summer transfer window with the loan capture of Real Madrid’s Dani Ceballos. The 22-year-old Real Madrid midfielder will spend the whole of the 2019/20 campaign with the Emirates outfit, although the Gunners will not have the option to sign the Spain international on a permanent basis once that short-term spell has ended.

Just like London buses, Arsenal transfers appear to come in twos. Before the ink had even dried on Ceballos’ contract, the Gunners were announcing another new arrival. They have clinched a deal for 18-year-old William Saliba, who joins from Ligue 1’s Saint-Etienne. The North-London outfit paid £27m to the French club for the central defender, who will return immediately to Les Verts on loan until next summer.

Tottenham Hotspur have already broken their transfer record once this summer, and recent reports indicate that they could do it again. Spurs have been linked with a move for Juventus’ Paulo Dybala, who is rated at £80m by the Serie A champions. It was even suggested that they had made a bid of €50m (£44.9m) for the Argentina international, but they will obviously need to offer more to take him to North London.

Aston Villa have been very busy during this transfer window, and they show no signs of stopping any time soon. The Villans made two signings this week, the first of which was Mohamed Trezeguet from Kasimpasa. The Egypt international was the Midlands outfit’s ninth signing of the transfer window and cost Dean Smith and co £8.75m. The 24-year-old scored nine goals and provided 10 assists in Turkey last season.

Soon after, Villa brought in Douglas Luiz from Manchester City. The two clubs had reportedly agreed a fee two weeks ago, but it took a while for the deal to be completed. In the end, the Villans will pay £15m for the Brazilian, who becomes, therefore, the 10th new face at Villa Park. The 21-year-old never played a game for the Citizens and spent the last two seasons on loan in La Liga with Girona.

RB Leipzig are known for bringing in younger players, and this week they completed the signing of another up-and-coming star. Die Roten Bullen welcome Ademola Lookman back to the club, where he spent the second half of the 2017/18 season on loan. The 21-year-old has signed a five-year contract at his new club, with Everton to receive £22.5m for the winger.

It took Newcastle 14 years to break their transfer record following the signature of Michael Owen in 2005, but they have now beaten it twice in six months. Brazilian Joelinton becomes the most expensive Toon player in history after the North-East club paid Hoffenheim £40m for the forward. The 22-year-old has signed a six-year deal with his new team.

PSG tried their best to sign Idrissa Gueye in January of this year, but their bid was rejected by Everton. Now, though, they have managed to agree a deal with the Toffees for the 29-year-old. The Ligue 1 champions will pay £28m for the Senegal international, who said back in February that he had wanted to make the switch to the Parc des Princes. The midfielder joined the Goodison Park outfit in 2016 and has made 108 appearances for the club.

Nicolas Pepe has been under intense scrutiny all summer, but a major development has occurred this week. According to L’Equipe, four clubs have met the Lille’s valuation of the Ivory Coast international, which is €80m (£71.8m). Two of those clubs come from the Premier League: Liverpool and Arsenal. Napoli and Internazionale complete the foursome, with the 24-year-old’s representatives having met with the former.

Last but not least, we come to Wilfried Zaha. Arsenal have been trying to take him to the Emirates Stadium for much of the past couple of months, but now two new teams have entered the race. First up, Everton were said by Sky Sports to be preparing a bid worth £60m plus a player for the 26-year-old, whilst Chelsea are apparently aiming to take the former Manchester United winger to Stamford Bridge next summer once their transfer ban has been lifted.

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So as the pursuit of Harry Maguire appears to finally inch towards its conclusion, one group of players at Manchester United who will certainly be watching on with eager eyes are the club’s centre-backs.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted last month that there was a “limit of players” and indicated that his squad would have to be trimmed down as he targeted new signings to bolster his side.

Now, Manchester Evening News claim that should the Red Devils finalise a deal to sign Maguire before the end of the transfer window, the club would be open to selling to Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo.

After hearing that the duo could find themselves out the exit door at Old Trafford, United fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the matter.

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Some supporters of the Manchester side revealed their relief that the defensive pair could be moved out of the club and insisted that they simply aren’t good enough.

Others however questioned how fellow centre-back Phil Jones was not up for sale, and declared that despite his flaws, Smalling is still a better defender than his fellow Englishman.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

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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…

Paul Merson has apologised for criticising Harry Maguire after the defender’s sensational display against Chelsea.

What’s he said?

The former Arsenal man had slammed Manchester United’s move for Maguire, branding the £80m fee “ridiculous”.

He questioned the former Leicester star’s ability to adjust to a team who will dominate the ball and leave space behind the defence, while also stating that his performances for England were less impressive as they came in a back three.

After Maguire’s dominant display against Chelsea on Sunday though, Merson told Sky Sports’ The Debate: “He has a presence, he’s commanding, he doesn’t mess about. I thought he did very well.

“I thought I was very critical of him on Soccer Saturday if I’m being honest. I tried to get hold of him today (Monday) and I will talk to him tomorrow (Tuesday) as he texted me back.

“And I thought I was a bit critical if I’m being honest – I thought what I wanted to say did not really come across the way I thought it should have.

“I sort of did not really give him the credit he deserves of how good he is. I was brought up in the day and age where it was clear your lines – a Tony Adams or a John Terry, or someone like that.

“So I was a bit disrespectful in that way. He has played in World Cup semi-finals, he is an international and I was out of order and I will be the first to admit that.”

Verdict

Merson is right to tone down his criticism of Maguire slightly, as calling the transfer fee “ridiculous” is completely unfair on the player, who has nothing to do with the sum, especially before he’d even kicked a ball for the club.

However, he should not have to reel back his other very frank assessments after just one game.

Playing with three centre-backs does alleviate the pressure on the individual players, and it is also true that players who are used to defending deep can struggle when stepping up to a bigger club (looking at you Dejan Lovren).

More space is left behind them for strikers with superior pace to exploit, and it also highlights mistakes, as teams like United will rarely be camped in their own half with ten other players around to sweep up any mishaps, meaning errors are more likely to become errors leading directly to goals.

With all that in mind, it seems silly for Merson to have to apologise for doing his job, especially considering Maguire has only impressed for 90 minutes in a red shirt. He is a pundit after all, and wouldn’t it be a bit boring if they all said the same thing?

This is not to say whether the former Gunner’s verdict on Maguire will be correct, but it is quite plausible that he could struggle at times for the reasons Merson suggested, and to scratch that off as some ludicrously over-the-top statement, and one that requires mass clarification, is far more baffling than the original claim itself.

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[ad_pod ]Old Trafford’s new no.5 is here.To say that Harry Maguire has given Manchester United’s defensive options a boost would be an understatement. In the not so distant past, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was lumped with the impossible decision to either start Phil Jones or Chris Smalling at centre-back, which is essentially the equivalent of choosing between losing an arm or a leg.This was all while the marginally better but injury-prone Eric Bailly saw himself out of proceedings a couple of months at a time and Marcos Rojo continuously failed to make the cut.Now, Solskjaer can sit comfortably knowing that Maguire’s impenetrable head and goliath figure will likely remain at the heart of his defence for years to come. That security alone is worth the record-breaking £80m United reportedly forked out for his services.The England star made his Old Trafford debut on Sunday in United’s 4-0 victory over visitors Chelsea who, despite their best efforts, failed to break the hosts’ defensive line. Bear in mind, United only managed to keep seven Premier League clean sheets last season, a pathetic two of which came at home.Maguire took to Twitter to share his reaction to his first game in red…

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Sheffield Wednesday are flying high under caretaker boss Lee Bullen, and it doesn’t look like they’re coming down anytime soon. Especially if Julian Borner has anything to say about it.

Indeed, while we’re just four games into the long and gruelling Championship season, we see no reason not to get a little excited over the prospect of fallen giant of English football finally making their way back to the top flight. Only 42 more games to go!

Wednesday’s win over newly promoted Luton Town on Tuesday night put them at the top of the Championship table, for 24 hours at least. Fans have come out in their droves to hail summer acquisition Borner, who signed under Steve Bruce in July from German second division side Arminia Bielefeld.

Here are some of our favourite responses…

The hopes and dreams of the Hillsborough faithful sit comfortably on Borner’s shoulders, but can he handle the pressure? Find out in next week’s episode…

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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…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has to resist the urge to start Son Heung-min against Newcastle United this weekend.

The South Korea international has been suspended for the opening two games of the campaign, a 3-1 win over Aston Villa and a 2-2 draw with Manchester City.

That Spurs didn’t lose is not necessarily an indictment on Son’s abilities; he is a world-class footballer with incredible attacking attributes. He scored 20 goals in all competitions last season.

Yet it does not feel like this is the right time to unleash the South Korea international.

This is a truly excellent player but selecting him against Newcastle is a waste.

Steve Bruce sets up his Magpies team in a low block and, against Norwich City last weekend, they had just 37% possession, per BBC Sport. That’s Norwich City, the newly-promoted outfit who were thumped 4-1 by Liverpool on the opening day of the new season.

Against Spurs, then, it is incredibly likely that they will be ceding possession and asking Spurs to break them down.

That does not call for Son’s inclusion.

He is a breathtakingly quick player and he thrives on the break; think of his superb solo goal against Chelsea at Wembley last season.

Versus Newcastle, though, he won’t have the space, or the time, to make his buccaneering runs down the flank.

Instead, manager Pochettino should be considering a technical trio to provide support to striker Harry Kane.

Selecting the likes of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Erik Lamela – the latter is in excellent form after scoring once and providing an assist against City – makes more sense, as the three have the attributes to pick the lock and provide chances for Kane.

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Giovani Lo Celso, the attacking midfielder signed from Real Betis in the summer, could also be involved.

Leaving Son out has a knock-on effect too, as it will keep him fresh for the north London derby the week following.

Spurs travel to The Emirates to take on Arsenal next weekend and that is a game that is tailor-made for the explosiveness exhibited by the winger.

Leaving him out of the clash with the Magpies, then, makes all the sense in the world.