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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…

Liverpool announced their third signing of the summer on Sunday as Harvey Elliott joined the Reds.

The 16-year-old arrives as a relatively under-the-radar signing given the fact that he will not go straight into the first-team – he must wait until his 17th birthday in April until he can sign professional terms – but there are definitely reasons to get excited about the teenager.

Elliott holds the record as the Premier League’s youngest ever player, appearing off the bench against Wolves last term at just 16 years and 30 days old, and you only need to whack his name into YouTube to see why Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Manchester City were also keen.

Intriguingly, when discussing the success of Jadon Sancho over at Borussia Dortmund, Jurgen Klopp had this to say: “We are not blind – we saw him, we liked him and then we think, ‘Can we get him?’ No. Because English clubs don’t sell to other English clubs. I don’t know exactly what the reason is for that but they don’t do it.”

Manchester City owned Sancho at the time, and as Klopp mentions, there was little chance of the Citizens handing their wonderkid to a rival so an £8m deal was agreed with Dortmund instead.

Klopp says: “English clubs don’t sell to other clubs.” Luckily for Liverpool, Elliott rejected Fulham’s offer to stay and took it upon himself to join the Champions League winners, a circumstantial change which may have gifted Liverpool a player who could become just as good as Sancho is now at just 19.

You may wonder on what basis Elliott can be considered as having just as much potential as Sancho had at the same age, and it is merely the fact that the Liverpool new boy has had far more exposure to the senior game at such a young age.

Sancho never made a first-team appearance for Manchester City, and only got his first taste of action after moving to Dortmund as an 18-year-old.

In Elliott’s case, he made his Fulham debut at 15 years and 174 days old – becoming their youngest ever player – and has already made two Premier League appearances at just 16 years of age.

With the right manager in Klopp, a bit of guidance and belief in his own ability, there is no reason why Elliott cannot hit Sancho’s heights in a few years if he manages to get sufficient game time at Anfield.

Where Manchester City simply flat-out refused to sell their wonderkid to any English clubs, Liverpool have somewhat managed to break a trend and obtain a hugely talented youngster who is just as talented as Sancho was at 16, if not more.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has given his thoughts on West Brom ahead of the upcoming season, hinting they may well be an easier opponent to face.

What’s he said?

West Brom’s summer has only really kicked into gear over the last fortnight.

The early stages were dominated by the lack of a manager before Slaven Bilic finally walked through the door but it took a while for the club to get their act in gear in regards to transfers.

So far they’ve welcomed five new faces to the club, four of which were permanent deals.

Most recently Romaine Sawyers arrived from Brentford but they have faced tough losses in terms of outgoings.

And it’s due to that reason that pundit Whelan thinks opposing teams will travel to the Hawthorns in 2018/19 with far greater hopes. He told Football Insider:

“You know they’ll have quality, they’ll have experience still as well.

“They’ve lost two players in Gayle, he was on loan, he is a big loss. Jay Rodriguez, a huge loss because he was their talisman last year. It gives people a little bit more hope when they go to the Hawthorns and when they play against them.”

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A tough season on the cards?

West Brom still have plenty of quality in their squad and that’s been enhanced specifically by the signings of Semi Ajayi who scored seven times last term and Sawyers who helped himself to six assists.

However, the fact of the matter is that Albion haven’t replaced Dwight Gayle or Jay Rodriguez and that could indeed prove telling.

Between them last season, they scored 46 goals in the league which will be incredibly difficult to replace. They were a force to be reckoned with and made visiting the Baggies a daunting task.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

Albion only lost four games at home last term, scoring the highest number of goals, 53, of anyone when playing at their own ground.

Goals win you football matches but having only recruited Kenneth Zohore in forward areas they may struggle. The Dane scored just once for Cardiff in the Premier League so it’s unlikely Bilic’s men will find things as easy.

They now arguably have greater options in midfield but they’ve suffered colossal losses in the final third and that may well have the biggest say in terms of where they finish this season.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers made some stunning signings last year, but the acquisition of Rui Patricio from Sporting Lisbon was on the rather understated side.

The Portuguese number one arrived in the Black Country with a Euro 2016 winner’s medal and many years of experience at the top level – including 93 appearances in Europe – so it was no surprise that he settled into the Premier League comfortably, finishing the season with seven clean sheets.

HRH, who can be seen in the video above filling out his Panini Tabloid, hopes that Wolves can make the most of qualifying for the Europa League aided by Patricio’s rich experience in Europe.

Check out HRH’s thoughts on Patricio in full in the video above.

The Premier League Panini Tabloid is a special commemorative newspaper sticker collection celebrating the exciting new partnership between the greatest league in the world and the legendary name in football publishing, Panini. As the official collectable licensee to the Premier League, Panini are delighted to bring consumers a new era of collectables and the best collecting experience. See more here: http://bit.ly/PaniniFFCEditorial

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Southampton fans on Twitter were absolutely loving the video their club used to announce the signing of Moussa Djenepo on the social media platform on Thursday afternoon.

The creative clip featured a train – “the Ralph Express” – fronted by manager Ralph Hasenhuttl with several members of the Saints squad as passengers.

The train started out at St Mary’s and went to Liege in Belgium and back, picking up Djenepo. At one stage it crosses over a bridge with a sinking ship bearing the badge of bitter rivals Portsmouth.

The impressive piece of banter reminded us that the rivalry between the two south coast clubs is alive and well despite them not facing off in over seven years, and Southampton supporters were drooling over the hilarious video.

20-year-old Mali international winger Djenepo becomes the Saints’ first signing of the summer transfer window and joins from Standard Liege.

Southampton’s new man Moussa Djenepo divides opinion amongst fans in the video below…

Below is a list of the best Southampton reactive Tweets to the fruity video…

It’s not exactly rocket science, but Wayne Rooney has urged his former teammate Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to target young players rather than established superstars in this summer’s transfer window.

New boss Solskjaer has a very busy summer ahead of him as he looks to improve on the disastrous end of the season which saw them win just two in 12 games, having inherited the throne from big spender Jose Mourinho in December – a man who broke United’s transfer record on Paul Pogba.

Up to 60 players (and counting) have been linked with moves to Old Trafford already this summer, but Rooney has advised a change in tact from the sort of strategy the club have seemingly used in recent years.

“For Ole, I think the first thing he’s got to do is try and build the squad,” the DC United forward told BBC Radio Five Live (via ESPN Sport). “I don’t think bringing one or two players in for over £100 million is going to really help with the squad and the players who are there.

“I think he needs to try and look at maybe five or six players who have got potential to be top players but you’re not spending £120m-£130m on these players.

“I think you spend £30m-£40m and then try to improve them, which will also give you longevity out of the players and allow you to build a squad around the five or six new players that come in, plus a few of the players who are still there.

“You could bring [Cristiano] Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and [Lionel] Messi in, or Gareth Bale, for instance, and it’s going to cost you £300m-£350m which you’d get what? Maybe two years out of Ronaldo, a couple of years out of Ramos and then you’ve written that money off.”

It’s nothing we haven’t heard before, but there’s a very good reason why the same old sentiment keeps on cropping up.

Just look at January 2018 signing Alexis Sanchez, who currently sits pretty on around £500k per week – despite only providing five goals and nine assists, barely value for money.

What has he provided that a youngster like James Maddison, who’s tipped to join United (per the Independent) this summer, couldn’t? Surely it’s worth a shot.

It’s about time Manchester United go back to their roots of signing young promising players before they slip even further down the table. Indeed, as someone who so clearly understands the club as much as Rooney, perhaps the fanbase would start to feel a touch more connected to the club after sections of them fumed at Ed Woodward towards the end of the season.

Manchester United fans, do you agree with Rooney? Is it about time you changed your philosophy? Let us know in the comments below…

By no stretch of the imagination could anybody have predicted how badly Lazar Markovic’s Liverpool career would turn out as it did when he joined.

The Serbia international joined Liverpool in the summer of 2014 when Brendan Rodgers decided to splash a fee thought to be around £20million on him after making a name for himself during his time at Benfica.

The optimism around his signing would have been extremely high as the then-20-year-old had been extremely impressive for the Portuguese outfit and had just helped them secure a top-flight title.

Markovic also scored seven goals in 49 appearances during the 2013-14 campaign as Benfica sealed a domestic treble and reached the Europa League final.

When he arrived at Anfield, he told the club’s official website: “I am very happy that I have joined such a great club. I hope that I will fulfil the expectations of the supporters, coaches, players and all connected to the club. I have seen what the players are like, I have seen what the supporters are like, and I cannot wait to start playing here.” – Well, that certainly did not happen!

Following an encouraging first season (although it was not quite what many would have been expecting from a player who cost £20m), he was sent out on loan to Fenerbahce to try and improve his game further; but that proved to be as good as a bucket with a hole in the bottom of it – absolutely useless!

Things only got worse for Markovic the following campaign, with spells at Sporting Lisbon and Hull City, before January 2018 saw him head to Belgium and join Anderlecht, who were far from impressed with his condition and fitness levels and was subsequently put on a plan. How a professional footballer can get unfit so badly despite training constantly is beyond us!

Fulham gave him a chance (all of 44 minutes, Transfermarkt) to restore his Premier League career, but as is blindingly obvious with the amount of time he had on the pitch and the club’s relegation, that was a waste of time for everyone involved.

Still only 25-years-old, Markovic still has the best part of a decade left in the game provided he can find a new club to join; good luck Lazar, we think you might need it!

But, it is easy to say that his £20m transfer to Liverpool ended his career before it even had the chance to get started.

Liverpool fans, how disappointing was it to see how badly Markovic turned out? Let us know your thoughts below!

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According to The Sun, Aston Villa want to sign Liverpool attacker Ryan Kent in this summer’s transfer window.

And a number of Villa fans are keen for their club to swoop for the 22-year-old.

Kent has spent the 2018-19 campaign on loan at Rangers – scoring six times and contributing nine assists in 43 appearances in all competitions.

The attacker has actually only represented Liverpool’s first team on one occasion.

Indeed, the bulk of his first-team action has come during loan spells with Coventry City, Barnsley, Freiburg, Bristol City and Rangers.

According to The Sun, Villa are determined to purchase Kent in a £10m deal.

Rangers fans are desperate for their club to sign the former England Under-20 international on a permanent deal this summer, which shows just how dazzling he was for the Gers this term.

However, Villa appear to be in the driving seat and the club’s fans are keen for a swoop to take place ahead of the new campaign.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Clearly, Arsenal aren’t able to spend what the likes of Manchester City, United and Liverpool are capable of spending, so they’ll have to win the title in a different way. The appointment of ex-player Edu to the backroom can be the answer to Arsenal fans’ prayers.

The Daily Mail claim he’s the favourite to take over as the club’s technical director, and his knowledge of the South American game could have the Emirates on its feet within the next few transfer windows. Bringing in exciting, young talent is how Arsenal can succeed.

He’s already earmarked 17-year-old Brazilian striker Gabriel Martinelli as the club’s first signing of the summer and, despite his low profile, it’d be a move that excites Arsenal fans. It’s one that suggests a change in transfer strategy to match Unai Emery’s ambitions as manager.

The Spaniard has impressed in his first season, and it’s clear what direction he’s trying to take the club in. He wants, fluid, fast, attacking football and South Americans know exactly how to carry that out. If Edu comes in, he can find the right players for the bargain prices.

Martinelli plays for Ituano and is close to signing for Arsenal, according to the reports. Like Gabriel Jesus when he signed for Man City, he’s an unknown quantity, but those close to the South American game like Edu can spot talent like him before anyone else.

Emery doesn’t have the funds to compete with City and Liverpool, but if Edu is the new technical director, we could see a new generation of bargain Gunners who have all the right attributes to be part of a successful Unai Emery set-up.

Arsenal fans, who do you think your side should sign this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below.

وصلت بعثة فريق الكرة بنادي الرجاء المغربي للقاهرة منذ قليل، استعدادًا لمواجهة الزمالك ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

الزمالك يلتقي مع الرجاء المغربي على أرضية استاد القاهرة الدولي مساء يوم الأربعاء المقبل في إطار مباراة الإياب لدور نصف نهائي البطولة القارية.

وكانت بعثة الرجاء قد تعذر سفرها من المغرب خلال الفترة السابقة بسبب كثرة حالات الإصابة بفيروس كورونا داخل صفوف الفريق.

طالع | الزمالك يخضع لمسحة كورونا استعدادًا لمواجهة الرجاء المغربي

يُذكر أن الزمالك قد فاز على حساب الرجاء في مباراة الذهاب بهدف نظيف، في اللقاء الذي جمع بينهما أكتوبر المنقضي.

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Following Manchester United’s 4-0 defeat against Everton on Sunday, Independent journalist Jack Pitt-Brooke took to Twitter to question why the Red Devils didn’t appoint Ralph Hasenhuttl, and Southampton fans were quick to react.

Saints appointed the Austrian as their new manager at the beginning of December following a dreadful beginning to the campaign under Mark Hughes, with United sacking Jose Mourinho and replacing him with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a fortnight later.

The Norwegian was handed the role on a permanent basis last month but their form has slipped since, and they now face a battle to secure a top-four finish having also been knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Hasenhuttl has taken 27 points to lead the south coast outfit closer to survival, with four points needed from their remaining four Premier League matches to reach the magic 40-point mark.

Pitt-Brooke obviously feels that United would have been better off appointing the 51-year-old instead of Solskjaer, and Southampton supporters were quick to respond and have their say on that theory.

While one said the new St Mary’s favourite is “a Saint for at least one season”, another sarcastically told a story of how badly he is doing with them.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…