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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…

Ex-Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has suggested owner Andrea Radrizzani has destroyed many names at the club after the Italian admitted to “expensive mistakes” when he took over.

What did he say?

Whelan believes Radrizzani was referring to a few players in the squad when the chairman discussed the deals that did not work out when he first took over. The Italian told The Times: “We are still paying the consequences of my first year because I was inexperienced and we made some expensive mistakes with players”.

The former Whites man told Football Insider: He’s basically talking about the players not in the side. You’re looking at Vurnon Anita, Eunan O’Kane, Laurens De Bock, Jay-Roy Grot, Pawel Cibicki, Ouasim Bouy, [Yosuke] Ideguchi, [Felix] Wiedwald.

“They were all handed long-term contracts, and in some cases, Leeds spent major transfer fees. (Pierre-Michel) Lasogga was also on big money when he was with us.

“There were a lot of deals that didn’t work out. That happens at every club, but I definitely think Radrizzani was too generous with long-term contracts for players who hadn’t proven themselves.

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“He knows that as well. Plenty of them are still at Leeds, or out on loan, because we can’t get rid of them, or find someone willing to pay the same money. That’s embarrassing.”

Poor recruitment

Radrizzani purchased 100% of Leeds United in May 2017, and the club has indeed made slight progress, despite his disastrous debut season where the club finished 13th. Since then, with a heavy wage investment from the Italian, the Whites got back up to third the following campaign, although that is still just shy of returning to the Premier League.

As reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post last summer, Radrizzani intended to increase Leeds’ £15,000-a-week wage bracket, which may have meant signings such as Anita could have been on a lot of money, despite poor performances for the club.

The Dutchman signed on a three-year deal for the Whites in 2017, but was released this September after making just 22 appearances for the club. Likewise was the case with De Bock who has played only seven times for Leeds and has had to be loaned out to the division below instead.

It is no secret that clubs can acquire more players should they up their wage bracket. For example, Adam Rooney sacrificed European football with Aberdeen to play non-league with Salford because of the wage increase. This, as proven with Leeds, does not guarantee success and as Whelan alluded to, paying such high wages for players makes it harder to get rid of them.

Offloading a player who is on around the £15,000-a-week is going to be much harder to sell than someone who is on significantly less. Players may even choose to run down their contracts and squeeze as much money as they can out of the club for their own personal gain.

Why are Leeds fans the best in the country? Find out in the video below…

In truth, Radrizzani may need to pay high wages for certain players, as is the modern game. But to constantly throw lucrative deals at names who haven’t earned it is a risky move and has already cost the club dearly.

In our latest instalment of theÂFlashbackÂseries, we take a look back at a certain moment and look at how things might have changed those initial reactions.

When Chelsea signed N’Golo Kante from Leicester City for a transfer fee believed to be in the region of £30m in the summer of 2016, many would have felt it was a steal at the time, however the France international has continued to impress and star in the middle of the Blues’ side.

Having impressed for the Foxes in his one season at the King Power Stadium with figures of 4.7 tackles, 4.2 interceptions and 1.5 clearances in the 37 games he played on their way to the Premier League title (per WhoScored), it was, perhaps, quite understandable as to why those in SW6 were extremely excited about what they were getting.

Here are just some of the reactions those fans had at the time…

The defensive midfielder has become a star for the Blues as he enters the fourth year of his Stamford Bridge tenure and he has continued to show his importance and significance to Frank Lampard’s side with his recent performances – something the manager highlighted following the defeat to Liverpool in the Super Cup.

As quoted byÂThe London Evening Standard, he said: “Kante is an amazing player, amazing character. He’s a machine on the football field. He hasn’t trained much, had a swollen ankle two days ago, but he was desperate to play and you saw what he gave to the team today. He will be hugely important. I am delighted to work with him.â€

Indeed, he stepped up against Liverpool once again in their most recent encounter in the Premier League, whereby he scored the Blues’ only goal of the game and appeared to have a stormer of a game – WhoScored gave him a 7.76 match rating, which was the best of anyone involved in the match.

There is no doubting that Kante is crucial to Chelsea and, arguably, has become the club’s most important player following Eden Hazard’s summer departure to Real Madrid, although, admittedly, the duo offer different things on the pitch.

The France World Cup winner has seen his game go up another level with each year that passes (taking just the Premier League competition into consideration). In 2016/17, the 28-year-old managed to achieve an average of 3.6 tackles, 2.4 interceptions and 1.2 clearances every game he was involved in.

2017/18 saw Kante produce an incredible 3.3 tackles, 2.5 interceptions and 0.8 clearances in the 34 outings he had in Antonio Conte’s final year in charge of the SW6 outfit.

In 2018/19, he managed to record an average of 2.1 tackles per match in his 36 Premier League appearances last season, as well as 1.2 interceptions, although he was largely played out of position under Maurizio Sarri.

Indeed, there have been comparisons between him and compatriot Claude Makelele and it would not be hard to suggest those are warranted, despite Football BH claiming it ‘lazy’ whilst the ex-Blue did not agree with them either (Reuters via the Independent).

The former Chelsea man managed to achieve an exceptional success rate of 82% when making a tackle when in Premier League action, making 55 interceptions and providing the Blues with 99 clearances whilst he never made an error that led to a goal being scored (official Premier League website).

Chelsea, essentially, stole Kante away from Leicester for £30m, however he has continued to show just how important of a player he is to the Stamford Bridge outfit and it turned out to be a very clever piece of business by Marina Granovskaia, Roman Abramovich and co.

Chelsea fans, how important has Kante become since signing from Leicester? Let us know your thoughts by sharing them in the comments section below!

Newcastle United are a bit of a mess right now.

The Magpies have been mismanaged by Mike Ashley for years, and after being beaten 5-0 by Leicester on Sunday the club are in a bad place.

Jonathan Woodgate claims Middlesbrough are a bigger club than Newcastle. Watch a Magpie fan’s hilarious response in the video below…

It’s easy to see that the Tyneside club are in a bit of trouble, and despite some players and pundits seemingly not wanting to upset the apple cart, one man who hasn’t held back with his views is Shaka Hislop.

“It’s desperate, it really is.”

The first words out of Hislop’s mouth when asked about his former team’s current situation tell you all you need to know.

Of course, he quickly pointed the blame at Mike Ashley, but unfortunately, he says that he doesn’t see where the bad times end for the Magpies.

The former goalkeeper goes on to say that relegation is a real possibility this term, and it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment after watching Steve Bruce’s side this weekend.

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

The Mirror reported over the weekend that Virgil van Dijk had agreed a new six-year deal with Liverpool, a claim which has since been denied by journalist Paul Gorst.

What’s been happening?

The news that the Dutch skipper had put pen to paper on a new long-term deal was greeted with excitement by many Reds fans on this Twitter thread, and rightly so.

That extension would have guaranteed the defender a role at the club until the age of 34, but it has since been dismissed, with van Dijk said to be confused by the talk suggesting he has signed on once again.

As a result, the 28-year-old will continue on his current deal which expires in 2023, thus securing a long-term stay at Anfield without the £200,000 a week cost that the other contract would have supposedly set the Merseyside outfit back.

That would have been quite an increase on the reported £125,000 a week the Dutchman currently earns, which is arguably quite a bit lower than what a frontrunner for the Ballon d’Or ought to be bringing in.

Should be given new contract

Van Dijk is certainly one of the best defenders around. The fact he was named UEFA Men’s Player of the Year is a testament to that, and as a result the Reds should be doing everything they can to get him to sign a new contract.

He may already be committed to the club for another four years, but a wage hike would reflect his importance to the team and ensure the player’s happiness, thus avoiding a scenario where he requests a move away.

Watch Liverpool Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Liverpool are now beginning to move into a position where key players are intent on staying and in some cases perhaps finishing their career at the club, and guaranteeing van Dijk’s future would support that.

The club didn’t spend huge amounts in the summer and that has likely fuelled speculation that new contracts are in the offing, and money could definitely be worse spent than renewing the deals of a few current key players.

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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…

Frenkie de Jong has well and truly arrived at Barcelona, and not a moment too soon.

Last weekend, the Blaugrana welcomed Valencia to the Camp Nou in a match that was bound to offer entertainment and, more importantly, goals. And it didn’t disappoint on either front.

The Catalans snatched all three points on the night, running out 5-2 victors, having simply run away with the game.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Many players were seemingly at their brilliant best but probably no one as much as the young Dutchman. Barcelona’s 22-year-old star lit up the stage.

De Jong was everywhere on the pitch, notching 62 touches but more importantly, influencing the game for Barcelona in the best possible way. The midfielder first assisted the young Ansu Fati early on in the clash and then followed it up with his first goal for the Blaugrana in La Liga, assisted by, interestingly enough, Fati himself.

But he did much more than just score and assist.

De Jong managed an impeccable 100% passing accuracy with a total of 53 passes recorded and also deployed three key passes throughout his stay on the pitch of the Camp Nou. Without proper words to describe him – he was utterly brilliant.

Add to that three dribbles and one interception and you’ll have one of the most complete performances a midfielder could wish for, and according to Whoscored, the young Dutchman was Barcelona’s Man of the Match with the game-highest rating of 8.63.

While it will have been a satisfying game for Barca fans to watch, this was probably De Jong’s finest performance in the club’s colours thus far.

This is especially true since his role at the club was widely discussed prior to the game, both among many of the fans who thought Valverde was misusing the 22-year-old, and among pundits and coaches, who, for the most part, thought the very same.

But if this game has proven anything to Barcelona and Valverde, then it’s the fact that De Jong only needed a bit of time to adjust.

If this performance is anything to go by, the sky could now be the limit.

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Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to record a 2-1 win over Watford in Wednesday night’s Premier League clash at Wembley.

Craig Cathcart sent Watford into a first-half lead, but Son Heung-Min came up with an 80th-minute leveller before Fernando Llorente struck late on for the hosts.

It was a huge result for Spurs and despite their struggles, Mauricio Pochettino’s side are now just two points adrift of second-placed Manchester City in the table.

There does seem to be a real issue at right-back at the moment, however, with Kieran Trippier’s form questionable to say the absolute least.

Serge Aurier was deployed in a right wing-back role against Watford, but the Ivorian did not fare much better and his performance has been slammed by the Tottenham fans.

It has not quite happened for Aurier since his move from Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 and it surely seems unlikely that the defender will have a long-term future at the club.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Spurs supporters can be seen below:

Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max caught up with Jamaica’s women’s team. See what happened when he met the history makers in the video below…

Although it was only against League Two opposition, this could be the goal that kickstarts Grealish’s season as he’s failed to find the net in any of the first three Premier League games.

A couple of the goalscorer’s teammates took to the comments section to congratulate their captain.

Keinan Davis and Ezri Konsa both posted emojis below Grealish’s post showing support for the midfielder, and it certainly seems spirits are high at Villa Park after two consecutive wins.

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Pete Graves has now dropped a Newcastle United transfer claim from the new owners.

The Lowdown: Wood confirmed

The St. James’ Park faithful confirmed the signing of Chris Wood from Burnley for an undisclosed fee on Thursday morning, and he has signed a two-and-a-half year deal.

He has been registered in time for their crucial game at home against Watford in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, and joins Kieran Trippier to be their second signing in the January transfer window so far.

Nonetheless, there promises to be more on the way, with the likes of Marcos Senesi and Benoit Badiashile recently being linked with a move to the North East and a desperate need for additions in the heart of defence – the Magpies have the second-most goals conceded in the league.

The Latest: Transfer claim from owners

As per Graves, the new owners feel as if Premier League experience will be ‘key’ in their battle to avoid relegation down to the Championship, and so following the signing of Wood, they may go down that route again for their other targets:

“There’s a feeling amongst key members of the ownership that Premier League experience will be key in survival battle.”

The Verdict: Ideal, but not vital

Of course, signing players that have past experience in the top flight is ideal, as they know what to expect and some, like Wood, may have even faced a relegation battle before.

However, you can find unknown gems from outside of the division, and they would often come cheaper, given that you would not be buying directly from one of your rivals – Feyenoord’s Senesi is a prime example, valued at £10.8m by Transfermarkt.

Nonetheless, whatever strategy the new owners use, it has to be perfect if they are to give Eddie Howe a chance of keeping them up, and signing Trippier and Wood, who both have experience in the top flight, is certainly a good start.

In other news, find out who NUFC are in ‘advanced talks’ to sign here!

A Tottenham Hotspur insider expects a big U-turn with Steven Bergwijn as he thinks that he will now remain at Spurs.

The Lowdown: Looked likely…

It was looking likely that Bergwijn was going to leave Spurs earlier in the window, and there are more recent reports claiming that he could still leave for Ajax even after his heroics against Leicester.

As per The Athletic journalist and reliable transfer expert David Ornstein, the North London club are also now working on a deal to try and sign Juventus winger Dejan Kulusevski, which could push Bergwijn further down the pecking order.

Nonetheless, a Lilywhites insider now thinks that he will stay, despite the speculation.

The Latest: Insider on Bergwijn

Speaking to Football Insider, THFC insider John Wenham, who regularly breaks news about the club on his Lilywhite Rose social media channels, has claimed that he now expects Bergwijn to stay, after initially thinking that he would go:

“These offers from Ajax have been heavily reported and I expected him to go.

“He’s another one, like Matt Doherty, who has finally realised they are already at a big club in Tottenham.

“It’s not just the goals at Leicester, I thought he was very good against Chelsea.

“His running caused two of the Chelsea players to get bookings for bringing him down.

“He looked so sharp, I’m chuffed with him. He’s turned a corner and is now a genuine option for us.

“He actually started as a striker against Chelsea which is really interesting.

“Could he still go? I don’t think there’s any chance of him leaving now.

“If there are any late-window bids I expect they will be turned down.”

The Verdict: Keep

Even if Kulusevski or another winger is brought in before the deadline, Tottenham should still be looking to keep Bergwijn.

He recently showed his credentials with two very late goals in the 3-2 win away at the King Power Stadium, and with more opportunities, can still be an asset under Antonio Conte.

He averages 1.3 shots per game in the Premier League, the joint-fourth most out of any Spurs player, which shows that he is not afraid to have a pop and is one of the few goal threats in the squad not named Harry Kane or Son Heung-min.

Nonetheless, at 24 years of age, the Netherlands international still has room for improvement, and it is simply too early in his Lilywhites career to bin him off now.

In other news, find out whose N17 exit is now in doubt here!

Brighton and Hove Albion correspondent Aden-Jay Wood reckons that Dan Ashworth is likely to join Newcastle United as their new Director of Football (DoF). 

The lowdown

The Athletic’s David Ornstein reported on Monday that the Seagulls had given Newcastle permission to speak to Ashworth about fulfilling the position.

Initial contact has been made, and formal talks are ‘likely to happen in due course’. It apparently isn’t the ‘style’ of the south coast club to deprive their employees of appealing opportunities when they arise.

Newcastle have previously been linked with former Chelsea and AS Monaco technical director Michael Emenalo. The Telegraph reported (via Sky Sports) that he had turned down The Magpies, although co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi insisted this was not the case.

The latest

Wood took to Twitter to provide the latest on Ashworth being linked with the DoF role at St James’ Park and is resigned to the 50-year-old departing Brighton.

He tweeted: “If Dan Ashworth goes (which I think he will), it will be a huge shame. Ashworth has almost singlehandedly changed Brighton’s approach both on and off the field and would be very, very difficult to replace.”

The verdict

Perhaps in an ideal world, Newcastle would have got their new DoF installed in time for the start of the January transfer window, but that appears very unlikely now.

They have at least managed to appoint Nick Hammond, the former Celtic and Reading director of football, in a temporary consultancy role. He may oversee signings designed to try and keep the Magpies in the Premier League, with Ashworth then taking the reins to guide them forward from thereon.

Ashworth did tell The Athletic in February 2020 that he hoped to be at the Amex Stadium for ‘many years to come’, but perhaps the Newcastle project would simply be too good to turn down given the sheer extent of wealth at their disposal.

In other news, Newcastle have offered this Brazilian beast a contract