A man with experience, a man with personality. A man able to balance defensive solidarity with a spark of creativity. Utilising pace, power and the unpredictability of mavericks such as Yannick Bolassie, Wilfried Zaha, Bakary Sako and Jason puncheon, Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew could be the perfect fit for England should Roy Hodgson fail to deliver in France next summer.

Firstly, this is in no way an article belittling Roy Hodgson as a manager, the role of England manager can be seen, in some way, as a poisoned chalice. A role in which the man at the helm can, and will, be second guessed by every sofa-pundit, keyboard warrior, and Gary Neville impersonator in this country.

Roy is a man with extensive experience, managing in: England, Italy, Sweden, Switzerland, Finland and the UAE. Yet he was unable to manage England to any more than complete and utter embarrassment at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. He has then, to his credit, guided England through the European Championships qualifying group stage with a 100% record. There is clear signs that England are an improving side, transitioning from the years of the miss-matched pairing of Lampard and Gerrard roaming the centre circle, to the young talents of Sterling, Barkley and Stones.

England are a side capable of sweeping aside the lesser nations with quick football and an airtight defence, but have on more than one occasion looked toothless against nations with similar ambition to the Three Lions, (the two-nil loss to Spain earlier this month, and games against Italy and Uruguay in Brazil spring instantly to mind).

With players available to England such as Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Sterling, Vardy and Kane, it is evident that England have young and hungry players, with an abundance of pace, trickery and the innate ability to spot a run, perhaps the focus should be shifted from the possession-based football made popular by Spain circa 2012, to a fast, strong, physically dominant force à la Bayern Munich of 2013.

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Granted, Adam Lallana and Jesse Lingaard may not possess the ruthlessness or guile of Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery. But under the correct tutorship, and the implementation of tactics best suited to serve the talents of the young English contingent, England can set a style and standard recognised worldwide.

Recent comments from Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque stating: “There is no English football anymore, no authentic style” is a statement which is very difficult to argue against.

This highlights the lack of impression make throughout Europe and other continents. England are crying out for a change of outlook. Step forward Mr A.Pardew.

All one has to do, to find out how highly this man is thought of is take a stroll around the streets surrounding Selhurst Park, Upton Park and the Madejksi Stadium. Currently the fans supporting the Eagles are benefitting from the leadership of their former player, improving Palace from relegation candidates to an established mid-table Premier league side, in which others look on in envy at the skills of Zaha and Bolassie, the strength and solidarity of the centre half pairing of Scott Dann and Damien Delaney (stop sniggering at the back), and the pin-point precision passing of the French maestro Yohan Cabaye.

Before his current spell in South London, Pardew found himself as manager of ‘the sleeping giant’ of a club, situated in the North-East. Pardew did not exactly endear himself to the locals at NE1, he did not get off to a great start with the fans, especially after committing the unforgivable crime of being born a Southerner.

During the four years in which Pardew was in charge of Newcastle, he was viewed as the face of the evil cockney mafia, clearly holding the mighty force that is Newcastle United football club, back from their rightful place in Champions League and FA cup finals. The truth of the situation was, no matter if Pardew beat Sunderland every time the two clubs met, gained european qualification and ended world hunger, he would have always had his detractors in that part of the world.

However, since the departure of Pardew to pastures new, Newcastle have slumped to a side looking, alongside other fallen giants of clubs Sunderland and Aston Villa, as favourites to be dropping a division come the end of the season. The difference of the quality of football being played, when newcastle played their way to a 5th place finish in the 2011/2012 season under Pardew, to the side who, just last Saturday slumped to a three-nil home loss to Leicester City, is as clear as daylight.

The decision to allow Pardew to leave St. James Park (I’m sorry, Sports Direct Arena *spits on floor*) must have even the loudest of the anti-cockney mafia brigade, wondering if maybe, just maybe, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Off the back of the slander and abused aimed at him from the black-and-white striped club from the North-East, ‘Pards’ returned to London to his beloved Crystal Palace, a club in which he played for 128 times, including an appearance at the FA cup final in 1990 and its replay versus Manchester United, also appearing in the Eagles win against Everton in the final of the Zenith Data Systems Cup (no, me neither).

Pardew went on to guide Crystal Palace to their best ever Premier League finish of tenth. In doing so, Pardew became the first manager to take over a team in the relegation zone, and end the season in the top half of the division. Many also went on to claim, that it was Pardew’s tenure at Newcastle for the first half of the 2014/2015 season which allowed Newcastle to stave off relegation (well, it certainly wasn’t through the tactical genius of John Carver).

Pardew’s reign started off brilliantly, a demolition of non-league side Dover, followed by a two-one win over rivals Spurs gave Crystal Palace fans a glimpse of the style of football they would be witnessing for the remainder of the season. Zaha and Puncheon at times looked like men possessed. But the real hero of the Palace faithful came in the form of Yannick Bolasie. The Congolese international became one of the most exciting wingers in Europe, using deft flicks and tricks which confudled not only the defender who had just been left on his backside, but also the crowd, commentator and cameramen.

Overnight, the man set himself a £25million pound price tag, and a long line of admirers emerged. If Pardew is capable of bringing out that kind of form from a player as relatively anonymous as Bolasie, just imagine what the man can do with the likes of British transfer record holder Raheem Sterling.

Pardew has had his fair few moments of controversy also. Spats with Wenger, Pellegrini and perhaps most famously, a disagreement with Hull City midfielder David Meyler, with a headbutt most WWE superstars would have been proud of, the man clearly has, for lack of a better word: ‘personality’.

He has been described by many as: a man whom, ‘if he were made of chocolate, would eat himself’. Yet despite these judgements by football fans up and down the country, he has constantly proved himself in many different footballing situations (everyone remembers the 4-4 comeback between Newcastle and Arsenal). Clearly Palace would not allow for Pardew to leave Selhurst Park without a fight, and rightly so.

However, Palace’s loss could be England’s gain, as they would have acquired a manager with tactical know-how, man-management skills that bring the best out of untapped potential from within relatively average footballers, and the ability to do the unexpected (no, I’m not referring to his Pardew shuffle made famous at West Ham).

So, should England fall to another disappointing display in France next summer, maybe, just maybe the FA should put the name ‘Alan Pardew’ at the top of their shortlist.

This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…

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Before the Hammers were struck down with a series of testing injuries to first team players in recent weeks, Slaven Bilic’s new side had certainly begun the 2015/16 campaign in rather admirable form.

A number of underwhelming results may have admittedly cropped up against some of the Premier League’s so-called ‘lesser’ sides across the season so far – but as West Ham successfully saw off the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea before December, the majority of the Upton Park faithful had very little to complain about.

However, one man who just hasn’t managed to impress down at the Boleyn Ground this term arrives in the form of current Arsenal loanee – Carl Jenkinson. For one reason or another, the 23-year-old Englishman has seemingly failed to build upon his decent debut season in east London since Slaven Bilic has been installed as the club’s new manager.

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So then, now that Lille’s up and coming 19-year-old right-back – Benjamin Pavard – has subsequently been linked with the Hammers in the run up to the January transfer window, must West Ham simply look to replace the struggling Jenkinson with this latest transfer target?

Although the young French defender has admittedly only started five league games for Lille this season, Pavard nonetheless arrives as someone with a decent amount of potential.

Ligue 1 has certainly proved rather fruitful for the Hammers in the transfer market before of course, as both Dimitri Payet and Diafra Sakho were signed from Olympique de Marseille and FC Metz respectively in recent windows.

The emerging talent has since drawn praise for his ability to work possession calmly out from the back. Pavard also displays a sharp quality when working the flanks in an effective manner for someone of his overall skill-set – as well as providing Frederic Antonetti’s team with a fair degree of versatility across his desired back-four. With West Ham looking somewhat weak in the full-back department this term, such a welcome addition could potentially work wonders for the Hammers at some stage down the line.

The signing of Benjamin Pavard could be seen as a massive gamble should Slaven Bilic drop him straight in the deep end, but as Carl Jenkinson has arguably gone down as the Hammers’ most consistently poor performer so far in 2015/16 – maybe Pavard wouldn’t represent such a questionable option after all.

Despite partially thriving under Sam Allardyce at Upton Park last season, Jenkinson’s overall game has seemingly come undone under the updated style and philosophy employed by the new West Ham boss. When it comes to displaying vital composure at the back when the going gets tough, the on loan Arsenal man has simply failed to do the business.

His positional awareness has been sloppy at the best of times, Jenkinson’s crossing ability has also been thrown into doubt of late, and as James Tomkins has actually turned West Ham into a much more organised outfit when utilized as right-back for the Hammers – the 23-year-old defender’s future at Upton Park remains far from certain.

In the end, Arsenal will simply be kidding themselves if they believe Carl Jenkinson to be good enough for their starting XI next season. For all the hard work and endeavour he reliably displays out on the pitch, his distinct lack of technical ability ultimately serves to hold him back when push comes to shove.

So although Benjamin Pavard isn’t exactly the most established defender currently operating in Ligue 1 at the moment, Slaven Bilic should at least consider his services this January if West Ham are to improve as an all-round collective unit.

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After looking at the teams that are set to face some pretty tasty fixtures, we are now forecasting those that may not be happy with their schedule list.

But first let’s see how the ‘big teams’ performed against their opponent in the midweek clash.

Last week, we predicted Arsenal as the team that would pick up wins over the next few games, but they stumbled against Southampton on Wednesday in a 0-0 draw.

Crystal Palace were also supposed to make easy work of Bournemouth, but the newly promoted club beat the Eagles to dampen their appeal.

Meanwhile, Leicester City were touted as the team that should struggle, but as usual, the flying Foxes easily disposed Liverpool 2-0 in spectacular fashion.

So while we do forecast teams that have an encouraging or unfavourable run of games, it does not guarantee that the predicted outcome will occur!

Here are THREE TEAMS that you should avoid in the upcoming gameweeks.

Manchester United

Manchester United have suddenly gotten rid of their boring tag in recent fixtures, lately demolishing Stoke City at Old Trafford 3-0.

However, the Red Devils will come against a rather tricky set of games, with Chelsea (Away), Sunderland (Away), Arsenal (Home), and Watford (Home). Away games with the Blues and the Black Cats could even see manager Louis van Gaal revert his team back to a defensive unit, lessening their appeal.

This should warn managers against drafting in the likes of Wayne Rooney (10.0) and Anthony Martial (7.5) in attack for the time being, and unless you already have a Man United defender, it’s best to avoid them as well.

Sunderland

Sunderland put in one of their best performances of the season against Manchester City on Tuesday, but they were unrewarded with the Sky Blues beating them 1-0 thanks to an early Sergio Aguero goal.

Sadly for the Black Cats, they have to face three of the teams chasing for a place in Europe starting with Liverpool (Away) this weekend, before games against Manchester United (Home), and West Ham United (Away).

Sam Allardyces’ men are unlikely to pick up many points during this run, but if they do, their fixtures ease up afterwards and there could be some interesting Fantasy Premier League assets in the future.

Manchester City

Title-favourites Manchester City may have two home games in succession, but it’s against the two teams nobody wants to be facing at the moment.

City host Leicester City and then Tottenham Hotspur in the next two gameweeks in what could be the defining games in the title race, but what makes it a real worry for drafting in Sky Blues stars is their blank gameweek 27.

Sergio Aguero (13.5) is very likely to be kept by owners in anticipation of a double gameweek in the future, but to make sure you have 11 players for Gameweek 27, avoid other assets like David Silva (10.0), Yaya Toure (8.6), and even Bacary Sagna (5.8) for now.

Emulating Arsene Wenger is a challenge in real life, but you should be able to far surpass anything the Frenchman has done on FIFA16.

If you like to focus on developing youngsters, splashing the cash or just winning at all costs, then Arsenal can be the club for you in your new Career Mode as you take on a highly talented squad with a tasty budget.

Managing in the Premier League is tricky on FIFA16, due to the depth of quality teams in the division, yet being Arsenal manager can be a huge amount of fun with the class of Mesut Ozil and the midfield dominance of Aaron Ramsey.

Three to buy…

Ilkay Gundogan: Arsenal’s need for a deep lying playmaker is severe and Gundogan perfectly fits the bill to partner Aaron Ramsey. Whilst Coquelin can be used in one of your more defensive formations, Gundogan has all the attributes to control from deep in your side and spread the play to the attacking talent of Sanchez and Ozil.

Gundogan will cost you nearly £30million, but you’ll get your money’s worth out of this German gem.

Marquinhos: David Luiz and Thiago Silva are the first choice centre-backs at PSG, making Marquinhos a backup player for much of the season. The young Brazilian doesn’t have the height that some of you will desire for your FIFA centre halves but his potential can see him fly into the late 80s and become a dominating centre-back.

Marquinhos won’t be as expensive as you might think and his pace will allow you to play a high line that so many players prefer.

Mauro Icardi: A striker has to be one of your priorities when you start your save and Icardi is one of the cut price solutions if you don’t want to blow your budget on Robert Lewandowski or Karim Benzema. Icardi does not start with ratings that put Olivier Giroud to shame, but his all round game will develop to the level of Benzema or Lewandowksi and he is the ideal focal point for your attack.

Training Icardi on his passing will help if you like to use your centre forward with his back to goal.

Three to sell…

Mathieu Debuchy: You won’t make as much money as you would’ve done before January with this sale, because of the recall fee, but Debuchy can be moved on easily and free you up some funds to sign another defender to cover at both centre and right back.

The days of Debuchy as a good player to use on FIFA are long gone and he is as ordinary as it gets on 16.

Mathieu Flamini: Flamini and Arteta should both be players you look to sell as soon as possible, even if you aren’t going to garner much revenue. At the very least, you will get Flamini’s wages off the books and free up some more to invest in players that will add to your squad in some level.

Joel Campbell: Despite his recent good form, Campbell still falls far short of the quality in the rest of the Arsenal attacking ranks.

Chamberlain, Walcott and Sanchez are all far ahead of the Costa Rican in the pecking order and, if you want extra depth, it would be more beneficial to bring in a new winger than put faith in this man. Campbell is a great signing if you are a mid table club due to his pace.

Train ’em up…

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: Chamberlain’s potential has always been hard to reach on FIFA, but the new training system makes it a far more realistic prospect on this edition of the game. A rating of 83+ is easily attainable with the correct work and the Ox should be worked on his shooting.

Hector Bellerin: You can take Bellerin on two paths as you train him. You can either make him into a Dani Alves type of full-back and focus on the attacking elements of his game, or you can look to improve his defensive attributes for the days when his pace isn’t enough.

A balanced mixture of both will see Bellerin as one of the best defenders in the world by 2018.

Serge Gnabry: Gnabry should be out on loan at the start of your save, but it might be worth recalling him if you want to mould the winger in your own way.

Pace and dribbling are, as with most of Arsenal’s forwards, his key strengths and we would advise that you get Gnabry working on ‘chance creation’ a fair bit.

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Everyone loves a giant-killing, except when it’s your team on the receiving end.

Football is full of fairy-tales, of FA Cup shocks, League traumas and bitter relegations.

As a result, it sometimes feels that international surprises are swept under the carpet, and with EURO 2016 in France fast approaching, there is one team that people don’t seem to be paying much attention to: Northern Ireland.

The Green and White army have been slowly going about their business after qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in 30 years. That’s some achievement, especially when you consider their qualification journey was almost flawless.

Bar one defeat to Romania, Northern Ireland remained unbeaten in the qualifying stages, finishing top of Group F with the likes of Romania, Hungary, Finland, The Faroe Islands and Greece all below them.

Their success has been rewarded with a group that contains Germany, Poland and Ukraine – a considerably trickier task than their previous venture.

Following the group draw, many football fans, journalists and pundits have completely written off Michael O’Neill’s side. But for a team that currently sit 28th in the world, this is quite an insult. Only four years ago Northern Ireland were 129th, which shows the considerable progress they’ve made.

In the recent past the squad has been made up of mainly Football League players and those who ply their trade abroad. But this time round, O’Neill has a crop of top-quality names to choose from.

From the Premier League you have the likes of Gareth McAuley, Jonny Evans, Paddy McNair, Craig Cathcart, Steve Davis and Kyle Lafferty – all big stars that would improve the majority of international squads in some shape or form.

Then you have the Championship players who are all playing well domestically with Oliver Norwood, Shane Ferguson, Conor Washington and Jamie Ward just a handful that have performed well in England’s second tier this season.

So that’s the squad, but what hope do they have? And who are the players that can bring success to the country?

Everyone loves an undedog and Northern Ireland are definitely that. Some bookmakers have them as low as 500/1 to win the tournament, so for those feeling optimistic, a £1 bet wouldn’t be too daft.

Yes it’s fair to say they aren’t anywhere close to being favourites, with many expecting them to get knocked out in their group, but if they can beat Ukraine, and possibly a draw against Germany or Poland, they’ll be in a good position depending on other results.

You get the impression that this is the first time in a while that the Northern Ireland fans are considerably optimistic for a national tournament. They overcame a tough Slovenia side 1-0 at Windsor Park on Monday evening, further adding to their EURO 2016 credentials.

It’s always interesting when you have an underdog, and this year they won’t come any smaller than Michael O’Neill’s side. But, to those ruling them out at this stage, just wait and see.

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Ross Barkley is a fantastic footballer.

The home-grown Everton midfielder has all the attributes to be one of Europe’s finest players in the centre of the pitch. He burst on to the scene in the 2013/14 season with his power, energy and ability to shoot with either foot, and has been compared to the likes of Paul Gascoigne already.

A slot in the England squad for this summer’s European Championships in France looks nailed on, so you’d think his career his progressing rather nicely. There’s no doubt he’s doing well, but the question is can he really achieve what many think he’s capable of at Everton?

There are signs his career is beginning to stall and with this in mind FootballFanCast gives you FIVE reasons it’s time for Barkley to move on…

Martinez will not improve him

Whether Roberto Martinez even stays at the club past this summer remains to be seen, but if he does it’s unlikely Barkley is going to learn much more under his tutelage.

The Spanish manager only seems to have one way of attacking and Barkley needs more than a ‘Plan A’ to develop his game. Meanwhile defensively we’ve all seen Everton’s struggles, and if Martinez can’t help his defenders with this side of the game he’s certainly not going to help the young Liverpudlian to become more responsible in his own half of the pitch.

If Barkley wants to be the complete midfielder he can be, he needs defensive coaching and this won’t happen at Everton with Martinez.

England prospects

Barkley will more than likely travel with England to EURO 2016. He has 21 appearances and two goals to his name already for his national team, but the question is will he start?

Barkley has competition in his position from Dele Alli, Adam Lallana, Jordan Henderson and perhaps Jack Wilshere. Based on ability alone, Barkley is the best of the bunch, along with Alli, and this should therefore assure him of his place, but given he’s playing for Everton and not Arsenal or Tottenham for example this season there’s still question marks, wrongly, over whether he should make the first XI.

Not playing at the highest level regularly

Barkley is ready to play at the highest level, he’s shown it for England already that he’s capable of performing on the biggest stage.

For his career to reach the next stage, however, he needs to be playing regular European club football. This won’t be something Everton can offer at least next season, and who’s to say they will the season after that? There’s a lot of clubs ahead of the Toffees in terms of competition for European places. Suddenly, they’ve dropped behind West Ham, Southampton, Stoke and of course Leicester in the pecking order.

He’s beginning to outgrow Everton

While the Toffees have had a very poor season, Barkley has, by all accounts, had a relatively good campaign.

He has scored more goals and provided more assists, eight in both, than at any other time in his fledgling career. This is even more impressive when you consider the problems his team have faced, and it gives the clear indication that Everton are currently holding him back from what he could achieve.

Needs to be around world class players

Make no mistake Everton have good players and should be higher in the league than they are currently.

But how many of them are world-class? Barkley really could put himself in that bracket if he’s surrounded by some of the planet’s finest talents, but that’s not going to happen any time soon at Goodison Park. Even some of the best players in the world improve when they join better teams, Luis Suarez at Barcelona has somehow gone up another level since leaving Liverpool. If Barkley, at his young age, were to join a side with some genuine world-class players, his quality would skyrocket.

Euro 2016 kicks off on 10th June as hosts France play Romania at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis. The French go into the tournament as one of the favourites to win the trophy exactly a month later on 10th July in the same stadium.

The European Championships have a reputation as being a concentration of quality, the tournament where there are no givens, there are no obscene scorelines, and straight away you are thrown into games between the biggest sides.

This year, however, things are a little different. The move to a 24 team format has diluted the quality in some ways, but it also prolongs the ecstasy of a top-level summer football tournament.

You don’t have to sit through Albania v Romania, for example, because it’s the last game in Group A and consequently kicking-off at exactly the same time as the potentially group-deciding France v Switzerland. This tournament will be fun to watch no matter how much the new format scares people.

Are you ready for it? Here’s a handy little guide to the 2016 European Championships in numbers…

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51

51 games played in France over 31 days: exactly one month from 10 June – 10th July.

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10

Euro 2016 will have 10 venues in 10 cities.

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24

24 teams will take part in the expanded competition.

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Three is the magic number

– France have hosted the competition three times

– Germany and Spain have both won the competition three times – the most by any nation

– The hosts have won the competition three times

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Two

The winners of Euros have won the following World Cup only twice – Germany Euro ’72 and WC ’74, Spain Euro 2008 and WC 2010.

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9

Nine different teams have won the European Championships.

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18

Euro 2016 will have 18 referees throughout the tournament.

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4

Spain beat Italy by a four goal margin in the 2012 Final. It is biggest winning margin in European Championships final.

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1.14

Juan Mata scored the fastest goal by a substitute in a European Championships final, scoring after just one minute and 14 seconds on the pitch.

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22

Euro 2012 saw the most headed goals (22) in a single European Championships finals.

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12

Champions Spain are unbeaten in 12 European Championship Finals matches.

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9

Iker Casillas and Edwin van der Sar have both kept 9 clean sheets in European Championships finals – the most by any goalkeeper.

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One

One Trophy.

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West Ham need a top striker.

It’s the worst kept secret in football and yet the Hammers are having trouble landing the marquee name that they want.

The European Championship and the Copa America haven’t helped, as by now you would imagine that most clubs would have recruited more players than they have. Especially with pre-season almost upon us.

West Ham have chased the same two strikers for most of the summer and appear to be hitting brick walls. The transfer of Michy Batshuayi appears to be mind games, as we now all know that Chelsea are closing in.

The ‘list’ that the board and manager have drawn up must surely be the longest selection of potential strikers ever, as day after day West Ham are linked with a new marksman.

Rumours had it that at one point the Hammers had decided upon the Colombia international, Carlos Bacca. Some fans, perhaps, were not all too aware of Bacca, but the more you research his stats, the more the player grows on you.

The 29-year-old (he will be 30 in September) is on the line as far as age and West Ham’s recruitment policy is concerned, but you could overlook that once you start delving into the goals scored box and his achievements.

Bacca was in prolific form for AC Milan during his first season in Serie A after signing from Sevilla last summer, but he will miss the start of pre-season after representing Colombia at the Copa America. West Ham were rumoured to have made a €20m bid for the striker, but have been unable to secure an agreement and now the Irons have competition, chiefly from Atletico Madrid.

A report from Gazzetta World states that the player’s current club are holding out for a fee of at least €30m, and they are willing to wait until August to make a decision on whether to sell him or not.

In his first season in Serie A, Bacca scored 18 goals in 38 appearances, however, the Milan side struggled and only finished in seventh place, thus missing out on a European spot – West Ham can offer the Colombian Premier League and European football.

One look at his goalscoring statistics and you start to see why other clubs are taking notice as well the Hammers. During his one season with Club Brugge he made 45 appearances and scored 28 goals, in two seasons with Sevilla he notched 34 in 72 and with Colombia he’s bagged 13 in 33 games. The man scores goals, and that’s exactly what West Ham need.

The prices keep increasing and threaten to spiral out of control as West Ham look to Batshuayi and Alexandre Lacazette, so why not go all in on a prolific striker that has been around that bit longer with more experience? Lacazette didn’t even make the France squad this summer, it has to be remembered.

At the beginning of June, Bacca’s intermediary, Sergio Barila confirmed to the Guardian: “There was an offer last week from West Ham which was rejected, so we must wait. Carlos is very happy in Milan because it is a very big club and he has enjoyed his time there so far. But they will not play in European competition next season and that could be a problem.”

While the Hammers carry on running the rule over the players on their list, they must make a decision soon and then go all out for the players they really want. To keep chasing players that appear not to want to join the London club is pointless, as the fans will consider money their only true motive for playing for their club.

Bacca looks a realistic option though.

Time for the Hammers’ board and Slaven Bilic to make a decision.

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Manchester United have been part of some of the most protracted transfer sagas this Summer.

We had to wait for them to confirm the inevitable that Zlatan Ibrahimovic would be their new striker for this season whilst the Paul Pogba deal seemed to be heading in all manner of different directions until they announced the French star had completed his return to the club from Juventus.

Surely then, there cannot be any more to come in this window? Well don’t hold your breath.

Despite Raphael Varane saying he is staying put at Real Madrid for now you never can rule out a massive bid on behalf of the Red Devils after this window. Jose Mourinho is an admirer of the young centre-half and if there’s any team that might fancy their chances of turning the deal on it’s head, it’s United.

Varane might not even be the only one, there’s plenty of other’s being linked, and here are FIVE of them…

Jose Fonte

Jose Mourinho has clearly identified that United’s defence still needs some work before the end of the window.

The Old Trafford boss is a big advocate for building from the back and after signing Eric Bailly, it looks as though Jose Fonte is also on his wishlist.

Fonte has been consistent in the Premier League for some time and also helped he national team win EURO 2016 meaning he’d be a good asset.

Fabinho

As well as at centre-half United could do with a right-back to shore up their defence. Currently Antonio Valencia is their first choice and despite his reasonable enough performances, Mourinho wants specialist players for each position – this is where Fabinho from Monaco comes in.

Reece Oxford

According to the Daily Mail the young West Ham midfielder is eager to try and sign a new contract with the club.

It’s also believed though that should any talks hit a potential snag Mourinho and United are ready and waiting to snap the England U19 international up.

It might be a slow burner this one but the Old Trafford club have already shown this Summer they’ll wait for their targets.

James Rodriguez

This one just seems to refuse to go away even when it appears a move isn’t immediately obvious.

The Colombian star has been linked with United once again this Summer and if any move did somehow come off two things would be certain.

Number one it would take another huge bid that the Red Devils are capable of and number two it would give the club no excuses if they didn’t win the league handsomely.

Gabriel Barbosa

The latest player to come from the South American country with huge things expected of him given he is both named as ‘Gabigol’ and ‘The New Neymar’ – no pressure then.

He’s scored goals for fun in the Brazilian Serie A and could forge an exciting double act with Marcus Rashford for the forseeable future.

It’s been an interesting start to the season for Liverpool, drawing one, winning one and losing one in the Premier League.

Indeed, the Reds certainly look a lot more Klopp-esque compared to last season but the German gaffer’s famous philosophy of high pressing and breakneck-paced counter-attacks hasn’t quite manifested into phenomenal results just yet.

This Saturday, the Merseysiders play hosts to Leicester City in their first home game of the season following building work at Anfield.

In theory, Liverpool should struggle against reigning Premier League champions but it seems unlikely the Foxes’ form this term will come anywhere close to the levels it reached last season.

That being said, Leicester are still tough opposition – they’ve conceded just twice so far this season – so it’s imperative Jurgen Klopp picks the perfect starting XI.

With that in mind, we’ve had a crack at selecting Klopp’s starters for Saturday. This side, lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, will claim all three points against Leicester…

GOALKEEPER – SIMON MIGNOLET

Lorius Karius is back in contention following an injury layoff but this fixture might be a little too soon for the summer signing. Goalkeeping changes should only be made if absolutely necessary and Simon Mignolet hasn’t let anyone down this season.

RIGHT-BACK – NATHANIEL CLYNE

Nathaniel Clyne’s not exactly set the world alight at Liverpool but he’s a solid performer and the fact of the matter is that the Reds don’t have any viable alternatives. The England international wasn’t called upon to face Slovakia last weekend, despite making the squad, so he should be fully fit.

The England international wasn’t called upon to face Slovakia last weekend, despite making the squad, so he should be fully fit.

CENTRE-BACK – JOEL MATIP

Joel Matip’s added some much-needed athleticism to Liverpool’s defence, boasting height and speed in equal measure, and looks like a shrewd acquisition on a free transfer.

CENTRE-BACK – DEJAN LOVREN

Dejan Lovren’s vastly improved since the turn of the year appeared to have already developed an understanding with Matip when Liverpool faced Tottenham two weekends ago. One concern, however, is that Leicester’s Jamie Vardy could catch him for pace.

One concern, however, is that Leicester’s Jamie Vardy could catch him for pace.

LEFT-BACK – JAMES MILNER

Riyad Mahrez could run makeshift defender James Milner ragged on Saturday but selecting natural left-back (or so he claims) Alberto Moreno could be equally detrimental. The former England international is an experienced leader and an incredibly well-rounded footballer, so having him on the pitch regardless of position is always an asset.

The former England international is an experienced leader and an incredibly well-rounded footballer, so having him on the pitch regardless of position is always an asset.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD – JORDAN HENDERSON

Liverpool fans are still waiting for Jordan Henderson to hit return to top gear following his lengthy injury spell last season. But the Reds captain still offers an abundance of energy in midfield and that could be pivotal against Leicester – arguably the most industrious side in the league.

But the Reds captain still offers an abundance of energy in midfield and that could be pivotal against Leicester – arguably the most industrious side in the league.

CENTRAL MIDFIELD – GEORGINIO WIJNALDUM

The Reds probably haven’t seen the best of Georginio Wijnaldum just yet but the summer signing does offer something a little different in their engine room, linking the back line to the attack with mobility and a cultured passing game.

RIGHT WING – SADIO MANE

Sadio Mane’s enjoyed a strong start to his Liverpool career and the Senegal international’s electric pace suits Jurgen Klopp’s philosophy perfectly.

He scored a stunner on the opening weekend against Arsenal and will want to get his first in front of the Anfield faithful.

ATTACKING MIDFIELD – ADAM LALLANA

Adam Lallana’s really come into his own under Jurgen Klopp at both club and international level, epitomised best by his last-minute winner for England in midweek.

Klopp needs to capitalise on that against Leicester by placing the 28-year-old at the attacking hub of midfield.

LEFT WING – PHILIPPE COUTINHO

Left wing may not be the ideal role for Philippe Coutinho but it still gives him a chance of deciding matches with lethal long-range shooting.

The Brazilian has netted twice already this season, suggesting it could become his most prolific campaign yet.

STRIKER – DANIEL STURRIDGE

Jurgen Klopp surprisingly left Daniel Sturridge out of the starting line-up to face Tottenham Hotspur two weekends ago but we want to see the England striker reinstated.

Sturridge may be a frustrating figure at times but he’s easily one of the most potent forwards in the Premier League when at his best.