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Ianis Hagi’s impressive form on loan at Rangers has reportedly attracted interest from Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

What’s the word?

It appears that Jose Mourinho is already thinking ahead to the next transfer window.

The Portuguese boss is enduring a challenging time at Spurs, and it seems he believes Hagi can turn the tide in his favour.

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Indeed, according to a recent report from the Daily Mail, Mourinho and Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain have personally asked the 21-year-old’s agent, Giovani Becali, about how he is getting on.

And Becali goes on to laud the promising attacking midfielder in a comparison with his legendary father, Gheorghe, who was named Romanian footballer of the year on seven different occasions during an esteemed career.

“He has many other qualities and is actually more graceful than his father ever was. He runs like a gazelle compared to him! I think he is improving all the time at Rangers.”

Tottenham’s own Santi Cazorla

Hagi has shown fleeting glimpses of immense promise during his time at Ibrox.

His finest moment in the famous blue shirt arrived in a Europa League clash against Braga in February in a game that saw his reputation and popularity skyrocket in the space of just 15 exhilarating minutes.

Firstly, with the Gers 2-0 down at home to Braga and already staring European exit in the face in the first leg, he got the hosts back into the game with a fine left-footed strike which tickled the inside of the post on its way into the net.

And shortly after Joe Aribo had levelled things up at 2-2, he showcased his ambidextrous ability by scoring a right-footed free kick to give Steven Gerrard’s side a narrow 3-2 victory on the night.

The pair of strikes underlined his ability to strike the ball with equal vigour with both feet, and that is a quality he inherited by virtue of his father’s advice, per Sky Sports.

“Since I was a kid, he always told me that it’s really important to have both [feet] in football. At two or three years old I have videos at home in which I kick only with my left foot, but since then he taught me to play also with my right foot. Now I have both feet. I feel better shooting with the right, but my control of the ball is with my left.”

Players who are equally adept on both sides are a seldom seen footballing niche, but Kevin De Bruyne is a high-profile Premier League talent who currently boasts that quality.

Before him the former Arsenal star Santi Cazorla was a player capable of spraying a 50-yard diagonal, or even a free-kick, with both feet.

During his esteemed career, the Spanish magician scored 39 goals with his right-foot and 17 with his left, a return which underlines his ambidextrous ability.

Hagi, unlike Cazorla, plays on the wing or in a number ten role, but he could become the next big star in north London to earn praise and popularity for his rarely-seen quality.

Unpredictable, captivating, promising and coming from a rich footballing heritage, Mourinho could well be looking at the next both-footed star to rise to prominence in north London.

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…

Wolves loanee Connor Ronan has been busy impressing away from the club and journalist Tim Spiers has now taken to Twitter to deliver his verdict on the youngster.

What’s he said?

Ronan was in action for Republic of Ireland’s U21 side over the course of the recent international break, appearing as a second-half substitute as the Irish defeated Sweden 4-1.

Currently plying his trade at Slovakian side FC DAC, the 21-year-old is in the midst of a two-year loan in a bid to get his career back on track.

It appears as though he’s more than done that, earning rave reviews from Irish supporters for his display on Tuesday evening.

He’s even been given the seal of approval by The Athletic’s Wolves correspondent Spiers. Taking to Twitter this week, he said the following:

Rampant Ronan

You’d be forgiven for thinking that Ronan’s time in the Midlands was one that was coming to a disappointing end.

Shipped out on loan to a far from reputable league, he’s begun to make tremendous strides in 2019/20.

The youngster broke through at Wolves in 2016/17, going onto appear 13 times for the senior side but as the club made moves into the Premier League, any chance of first-team football seeped away.

They brought in the likes of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho while the emergence of Morgan Gibbs-White can’t have helped his cause either.

However, Ronan’s making all the right noises at the moment, scoring in Europa League qualifying for his loan outfit while also performing admirably in midweek for his country.

He was introduced when the Republic of Ireland were trailing but he helped change the game, playing a sensational ball in behind for Tottenham prodigy Troy Parrott to find the back of the net. He then set up the final goal of the contest after breaking down the left and sliding the ball across the box.

If Ronan continues making the strides he’s put in during recent months, he might well have a fighting chance of getting back in Nuno Santo’s plans.

Given Wolves’ slim squad, he could become a useful back-up option. Only time will tell whether that actually happens.

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…

Jack Harrison has really come into his own in recent weeks.

The winger has scored three and assisted four in his previous eight games for Leeds United, and he’s quickly becoming one of the Whites’ most important players.

Of course, many Leeds supporters will now have more of a keen interest in his future. One fan, in particular, was desperate for an update, so he asked Phil Hay during his Q&A session on Tuesday night about Harrison’s future.

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What’s been said then?

The Scottish journalist was hosting a Q&A session with The Athletic after United’s 1-0 win over Reading, and one supporter posed what could happen to the Manchester City loanee next season.

“Not sure of the exact price but Leeds have the option to sign him permanently. Bielsa is a big fan of his so I’d imagine that he’d look for the club to exercise it if they go up.” Hay responded.

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Good, but worrying

This update will be music to the ears of some as Hay has confirmed that there is a chance that the Yorkshire outfit will sign Harrison at the end of the season, suggesting that the manager will eventually work towards that eventuality.

However, it’s rather ominous as the reporter also hints that the permanent signing of the Man City man hinges on Leeds’ promotion.

The 22-year-old has looked like a Premier League quality player in recent weeks with his goals and assists, so you can understand why Leeds need to go up in order to land him. However, the prospect of being without Harrison next season is a rather daunting one after his incredible performances lately.

The winger’s numbers have improved greatly recently and he’s registering 1.7 shots per game as well as amassing 1.6 key passes. That goes to show the huge influence Harrison’s having in the final third and why Leeds must hold onto him in 2020/21.

In other news, one Leeds star has been praising Marcelo Bielsa’s “carnage” training strategy.

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

Tottenham Hotspur have offered Japhet Tanganga a new contract, per Football Insider.

What’s the word?

The young defender made his debut for the club in the Carabao Cup defeat to Colchester United but his contract expires at the end of the current season.

And manager Mauricio Pochettino – described as a big admirer – has now signed off on a new offer for the 20-year-old, who has been with the club since the age of 10.

Indeed, the report states that the club have high hopes for Tanganga’s development and believe he could become a first-team player in future.

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Play him

Tanganga has just 63 minutes of first-team football to his name and every single one of those came against Colchester. At this point, what would be his inclination for signing a new deal?

The fact is that Spurs can offer Tanganga a unique pathway into the first-team. Both Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld have contracts that expire in the summer; it is not inconceivable to imagine both leaving the club.

That would leave Spurs with just Davinson Sanchez, Juan Foyth and Eric Dier as their options at centre-back; Foyth is seen more as a right-back by Pochettino, while Dier regularly plays in midfield.

There would be no harm, then, in promoting Tanganga now and exposing him to the realities of the first-team squad, with Pochettino proving he is indeed a fan of his qualities.

At the same time, it would likely give fans something to cheer about; Spurs are marooned in mid-table but fans adore seeing academy prospects given a chance.

Not only would it be a mood-lifter, but it would also show Tanganga that the pathway exists and that he can make it.

As it is, he has no real reason to sign on the dotted line over pushing for a move to the club that could instantly expose him to first-team football, albeit at a lesser level.

You do wonder if this is a case of ‘small club syndrome’.

Whereby he’s getting ignored just because he doesn’t play for one of the more fashionable or ‘big clubs’.

That’s the situation that Dean Henderson finds himself in having been left out of Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

He is joint top of the Premier League in terms of clean sheets, sharing that honour with Manchester City’s Ederson, and the Blades have one of the better defences in the league, having only conceded eight goals.

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It’s not like you can give the defenders like Jack O’Connell and Chris Basham the credit for all the results either, or they’d be included in the squad ahead of him.

But it’s Henderson that Sheffield United fans were most annoyed about being excluded as they took to social media to call out the England boss for leaving him out.

Perhaps he’s still being ‘punished’ for his error against Liverpool back in September, in which case he’s going to have to keep up the good work in order to make people forget about it.

Lots of Southampton fans have taken to Twitter to react to an emotional interview from Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

The Saints captain opened up on his battle to achieve bonuses as a teenager to help pay for his dad’s cancer treatment and his relationship with his father during that difficult time – he also spoke about the birth of his first child, Rosa.

The Denmark international – whose interview has been translated from Danish into English here – has become a key cog in the Southampton side since his £12.8m move from Bayern Munich back in 2016.

Højbjerg has made 106 appearances for the Saints in total, scoring five goals and recording five assists, and appears to be a real fan favourite if the responses to his interview are anything to go by – one supporter below said that they think even more of the midfielder now after his emotional comments.

Let’s take a look at some more of the Twitter reaction from loads of Southampton fans…

Even though they are currently far from their golden generation, Barcelona are still producing some top talents in their famous La Masia academy.

One of those talents is definitely the young Riqui Puig, the Catalans’ 20-year-old midfielder that’s currently playing his football for Barcelona B in the lower divisions.

But according to Sport, the upper hierarchy at the club are not really sure what to do with the talented youngster.

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They say that there is currently an internal debate going on as they are discussing whether to let Puig stay at Barcelona B, go out on loan to get some experience or just promote him to the first team instead.

The fans, however, don’t really see this as a difficult choice.

Loads of them swarmed social media and Twitter with their comments on how Puig should definitely be promoted.

Some even stated that he is better than current first-teamers Carles Alena and Arthur Melo, and others seem to think the club should sell Ivan Rakitic to make space for the up and coming midfielder.

You can see some of their reactions down in the collection of tweets below.

Check them out:

Wolves are back in Europa League action tonight as they make the trip to Turkey to face a Besiktas side who too have had their domestic struggles.

Nuno Santo’s men go into the fixture having picked up their first win of the season against Watford last weekend while the Black Eagles sit third from bottom in the Super Lig after winning just one of their six league matches.

Both teams were also defeated in the opening game of the group stage as Braga managed to nick a 1-0 win at Molineux and Besiktas collapsed in injury time to hand Slovan Bratislava a 4-2 victory.

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Wolves were without Diogo Jota against the Hornets and Nuno has since confirmed that the 22-year-old forward will remain absent through injury.

So, who will replace him tonight and will anyone else be a surprise inclusion at Vodaphone Park?

Much of the side should remain the same considering Wolves managed to pick up their first win of the Premier League season on Saturday.

That would mean Romain Saiss keeps his spot at left centre-back with Willy Boly moving over to the right-hand side.

Matt Doherty also keeps his place after being awarded the Man of the Match award by WhoScored for his goalscoring performance against Watford.

He formed a nice partnership with Adama Traore, who moved into his old right forward position.

Another player who looked the part was Pedro Neto – despite being withdrawn after just 57 minutes – he should be given another chance to prove his worth in attack, especially in Jota’s absence.

The only change in the side may come in midfield as Ruben Neves regains his spot next to Joao Moutinho – Belgian midfielder Leander Dendoncker was favoured over the Portuguese anchorman at the weekend.

Patrick Cutrone started the Braga game and with Raul Jimenez lacking a goal in his last four games, Nuno faces a tough decision.

Although he is most likely to side with the Mexican striker.

Declan Rice has faced criticism from England supporters following his performance against Bulgaria, as reported by The Daily Star.

He was also given a rating of 6 by The Telegraph, who added: “Possibly a surprising selection ahead of Harry Winks, Rice does not offer the quality of passing of the Tottenham man but he is a disciplined performer.”

However, the statistics provided by FootballTalentScout dispel some of the things claimed, showing how instrumental he actually was:

It was also added that Rice made the most tackles and interceptions of any England player, though what will be most surprising to the doubters is that he made more forward passes than anyone else.

There weren’t many Hammers fans who were doubting him, so it is good to see this backed up with hard statistics – impressive ones at that.

As well as FootballTalentScout’s statistics, his performance was backed up by WhoScored, who had him down as the fourth-best player on the pitch with a rating of 8.1, behind Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley.

A selection of Twitter reaction to the statistics, including posts from supportive West Ham fans, can be seen below:

West Ham fans, how integral is Rice for club and country? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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David Luiz’s transfer to Arsenal is still taking some getting used to.

The 32-year-old made the switch from Chelsea to the Gunners on transfer deadline day for a fee of £8m after having declared his intention to depart Stamford Bridge the day before.

As such, he is now an Arsenal player, and brings with him years of experience at the highest level. He has also won a plethora of trophies throughout his illustrious career.

AFTV’s Robbie has his say on Arsenal’s owners in the video below…

Such is his track record, Arsenal great Nigel Winterburn has suggested that Unai Emery should give the centre-back the captaincy this season.

“Emery should make Luiz captain for this season. He has the ability to be that Tony Adams figure in Arsenal’s backline,” he said.

“A captain needs to be someone vocal, someone that’s not scared to make people aware of their responsibilities just because they might upset them for five minutes.”

Whilst some Gunners may be happy that the Brazil international has made the move to north London, a lot disagree with the former left-back, and have rubbished the claim that Luiz should be the new leader of the team. They have taken to Twitter to share their opinions, and you can see some of the best comments below.

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