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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…

Marcelo Bielsa may be the mastermind behind the recent good fortunes at Leeds United, but he isn’t the man behind the transfers.

Everyone knows by now that Victor Orta is the man that has the final say on any incomings and outgoings at Elland Road.

That isn’t to say that Bielsa has no say on transfers. He personally highlighted the likes of Jack Harrison and Ben White as transfer targets – extensively watching footage of the defender during his time out on loan at Newport and Peterborough.

Orta even watched White for two years before bringing him to west Yorkshire as well.

However, the Argentine doesn’t greenlight every transfer, and sometimes it’s clear to see when he and Orta have conflicting ideas.

This has never been more evident than the signing of Helder Costa, someone that was made their number one target.

The Portuguese winger couldn’t have arrived at Elland Road with any more hype. He was a proven Championship player after ripping the league up with Wolves a few years back, registering 15 goals in two seasons and on top of that, he will cost Leeds £15m – their biggest transfer outlay since signing Rio Ferdinand in 2000.

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Indeed, this was Leeds’ second-biggest signing ever, eclipsing the £12m paid for Robbie Keane and the £11m paid for Robbie Fowler.

This was it, Costa was the man to fire Leeds into the automatic promotion places, or at least that’s what Orta may have thought.

Why being the away goalkeeper at Leeds is the toughest job in football in the video below…

Bielsa clearly wasn’t impressed by Costa as he didn’t start him in any of Leeds’ first eight games. In fact, he was only handed a start after Pablo Hernandez picked up an injury against Derby.

Since that point, he’s started every game, but he hasn’t impressed – failing to score up until this point and only assisting once since the start of the campaign.

The 64-year-old has stated that he doesn’t work in his system as he doesn’t have the same abilities as Hernandez.

It’s clear that this was an Orta signing rather than a Bielsa one, do you really think a man as meticulous as the Argentine, someone who watched every minute of a defender’s career before signing him, would happily lay out £15m for a player who doesn’t fit his system?

Given their struggles with profit and sustainability, you’d think not.

The signing of Costa has shown there is an element of dangers to having a director of football, and perhaps it’s a model that needs looking at again in the near future.

After all, Leeds could end up paying a colossal fee for someone who has underperformed and isn’t up to the required standards of the manager.

Gareth Bale and Real Madrid have a really interesting relationship.

One day everything seems fine and then the other all hell breaks loose in a matter of moments.

During the summer, the Welshman was close to leaving the club and even Zinedine Zidane confirmed so himself when he stated Bale’s departure would be for the best.

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But not only did the 30-year-old forward end up staying at Real Madrid but he also became a big part of their squad, already tallying two goals and two assists in the first six games he has played in the 2019/20 La Liga season.

Not everything was rosy, however, as Bale was excluded from the squad twice, once in the Champions League and once in the domestic league.

And according to AS, that’s the thing that annoyed him the most and the reason why he is once again determined to leave the club next summer.

Upon hearing this update, many Real Madrid fans didn’t like his attitude and slammed the 30-year-old star, stating they’d be better off without him.

You can see some of their replies down below:

Unfortunately, racism has made headlines in the beautiful game once again this week.

The treatment of England players during their game against Bulgaria on Monday evening has been all over the news, and that isn’t the only story regarding racism to have come out of the international break.

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Lazio are a club that have huge right-wing ties, and unfortunately, a number of their supporters are quite simply living in the wrong decade.

The Rome club have once again been punished for racial abuse, but the sanctions that they have been given are quite simply embarrassing.

Carlton Cole took to Instagram to talk about this issue, and he put it into perspective quite well.

The former West Ham striker compared Lazio’s €20,000 fine to the £200,000 fine that Leeds received for spygate and the £50,000 fine that Huddersfield received for their spoof kit earlier this year.

He’s absolutely right. Racism isn’t punished harshly enough in football, especially when you consider the types of punishments handed out for other things. Although Cole didn’t list this one himself, one that immediately springs to mind is Nicklas Bendtner’s £80,000 fine for wearing a pair of sponsored underpants.

Lazio will also have to play against Celtic in a partially closed stadium, but that still doesn’t seem like a strict enough punishment.

Cole is right to point out this discrepancy, and hopefully, this is an issue that is addressed sooner rather than later.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Barcelona will welcome Villarreal to Camp Nou on Tuesday evening and keeping the Yellow Submarine’s prolific attack at bay will play a huge role in their chances of picking up all three points.

Precisely for that reason, one of their defenders will have to bring his A-game to the table.

On the chalkboard

The Catalan giants have suffered two defeats and a draw in the opening five games, including a shock 2-0 loss to Granada at the weekend.

Of course, these are still very much the early days and big teams do tend to bounce back in the latter stages of the campaign but Barca have already reached a point where every victory will be crucial.

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With that in mind, Tuesday’s game against Villarreal will be a must-win encounter.

But seeing how they’ve struggled defensively this season, having conceded nine goals in five games, the key battle just might be fought in their backline.

Good defence key

Of course, when you have the likes of Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez in the squad, it’s difficult not to talk about them potentially banging in the goals but keeping a good defensive record will be just as important. For that reason, Clement Lenglet could play a big role.

The 24-year-old French defender is likely to come face to face with Gerard Moreno, Villarreal’s prolific forward who has scored five goals in as many games in La Liga this season. Stopping him from doing his thing should be top of the club’s priorities.

Lenglet, however, is no slouch either. He has tallied 2.2 tackles, 0.4 interceptions and 2.8 clearances per game in La Liga this season. Compare this to Moreno’s three shots and 2.8 key passes per game.

Lenglet is also not easy to beat. So far in La Liga, he has only been dribbled past 0.2 times per game while Moreno, on the other hand, has 1.2 dribbles per game. That seems to be an area where Lenglet definitely can get the better of him, especially when adding tackles into the equation.

Both players have participated in every fixture in the competition so far for their respective clubs and are look set to continue their streak – the winner of this battle, then, just might decide the whole game.

The first Madrid derby of the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga season is now behind us.

Unfortunately, however, it ended with no goals on the night as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid shared the spoils of war in a goalless draw.

Be that as it may, Zinedine Zidane will definitely be happy that he managed to avoid defeat at a rather difficult venue and against a tricky opponent.

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The fans also voiced their opinions and it seems that they were really impressed by one individual’s great performance at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium.

Toni Kroos is very much a key part of Zidane’s squad and if their reactions and comments on social media and Twitter are anything to go by, lots of the fans were delighted with his display against Atletico Madrid.

Many of them called the 29-year-old the man of the match and swarmed his account with compliments such as “maestro”.

You can see some of those replies down in the collection of tweets below:

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Mohamed Diame is seemingly edging ever closer to a contract extension at Newcastle United, but the midfielder reportedly wants a longer deal with the club.

What’s the story, then?

According to The Chronicle, Diame is just three Premier League appearances short of earning a new one-year extension at Newcastle.

Indeed, the midfielder has made 22 league appearances for the Magpies this term and another three will earn him an extension to his current deal.

However, according to The Chronicle, Diame would like a contract until the end of the 2020-21 campaign to reflect his importance to the team.

Diame has actually only played four minutes of Premier League football since the 2-0 home defeat to Manchester United at the start of the year due to injury.

However, with the 31-year-old now fit and available, it seems almost impossible that he will not make another three league appearances before the end of the season.

Does Diame deserve a new contract?

Undoubtedly. And Newcastle should be offering a new deal until the summer of 2021 rather than being happy with the activation of an extension.

Diame is not the most talented of footballers in the Premier League, but he can certainly cope with Rafael Benitez’s physical demands.

He is also incredibly experienced, having made 96 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle since arriving in 2016, whilst he has made 232 appearances in the Premier League during spells with Wigan Athletic, West Ham United, Hull City and Newcastle.

Diame will be 32 heading into the 2019-2020 campaign, but he certainly has a couple more seasons of Premier League football in his legs.

Sean Longstaff has earned the plaudits in recent weeks, but Diame is another important figure in the Benitez machine.

Ex-Tottenham Hotspur defender Alan Hutton has been raving over young defender Kyle Walker-Peters, saying the full-back can become a ‘great player’.

The 22-year-old right-back has started the season well for Mauricio Pochettino’s side, starting the first three Premier League games of the season (via Transfermarkt).

However, a thigh injury cut short his stint on the right side of the defence and he missed the games against Arsenal and Crystal Palace.

In an exclusive interview with Football Insider, Hutton was full of praise for the youth product as he lauded him for his lack of fear.

He said: “For one so young, it’s difficult to play in the Premier League at any age, but to come through the ranks is impressive and he seems that type who has no fear.”

“He’ll only learn off someone like Pochettino. If you really want to become a great player, from what I’ve seen he can be, these are the types of boys (the Tottenham stars) you really need to be learning from.” (Source: Football Insider)

The Scotland international’s praise of Walker-Peters is completely founded, and he is right about how far he can go in his career.

Walker-Peters has enjoyed a brilliant start to the season as he’s shown his defensive nous. The 22-year-old has won the most tackles per game (2.7), as well as winning the most offsides per game (1.7) of any player in the Spurs squad (via WhoScored).

The Englishman also has a cool head between his shoulders, making a mere 0.3 fouls per game in the Premier League, the least among Spurs defenders to have started a top-flight game.

Walker-Peters has really shown how smart he can be in defence, and if he continues in the same vein he could well turn out to be the ‘great player’ Hutton says he can be.

Tottenham fans – how highly do you rate Walker-Peters? Do you see him becoming a regular at right-back? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Many Wolves fans have been left buzzing over some transfer news that has emerged on Joao Palhinha.

As per Record (via Sport Witness), the midfield player now has ‘one foot out’ of Sporting Lisbon with less than a week of the January transfer window to go, and the Midlands club have been named as one of his next potential destinations.

Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla are also interested in his signature, and ‘many approaches’ from agents have been made in the past few days.

Sporting are also asking for a reduced price from what they wanted in the summer, now €30m (£25m), and it is Palhinha’s ‘dream’ to play in the Premier League, suggesting that the Molineux faithful have a good chance of signing him.

The Portugal international would give Bruno Lage a headache in terms of midfield selection, as he is currently averaging more tackles, shots and dribbles per game in Liga NOS than Leander Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves are in the Premier League, and he has also contributed with three goals (WhoScored).

Wolves fans on Palhinha transfer news

These WWFC supporters buzzed as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one supporter hailing it as the ‘perfect’ deal for Fosun…

“Huge yes”

Credit: @ethanlilley1877

“Just imagine him and Neves in midfield. Get it done Wolves use the money for Traore deal”

Credit: @leighwolf007

“I NEED HIM, forget Renato Sanches.”

Credit: @__Grav

“Him or Mendes and we keep Adama Europe is on”

Credit: @DaneWWFC

“Fosun open to right players/deals and this is literally a perfect example of this, c’mon Jeff”

Credit: @calwwfc_

“Jeff please just give Sporting the €30m they want for him, then hope he wants to move”

Credit: @djgreen27

In other news, find out who Tim Spiers has now backed the Wanderers to sign here!

The Athletic’s George Caulkin has dropped a major update on Newcastle United’s search for a sporting director.

What’s the story?

In a Q&A for The Athletic, Caulkin said: “Newcastle now move on to appointing a sporting director and chief executive. Unlike the search for Bruce’s successor, which was board-led, outside agencies have been conducting interviews, but we are now approaching decision time.

“A fortnight ago, Chris and I wrote a piece about the first 100 days post-takeover, in which we were told by a (very) senior source that a sporting director was likely to be appointed ‘within the next month’. The Athletic has also reported that Dan Ashworth, Brighton’s highly regarded technical director, is among those interviewed for the role.

“Then comes the CEO, which is when ‘everything accelerates’, we were told. ‘They’ll make a massive difference — they’ll set the tone for everything. That’s when the whole place goes up.”

Newcastle fans will be buzzing

After a largely successful January transfer window that saw a number of signings come through the door, it’s no surprise the Magpies’ attentions have firmly towards trying to get the recruitment side of things even more streamlined and running smoothly.

The fact the club navigated last month so well without a sporting director speaks volumes to the excellent work that Amanda Staveley and co did behind the scenes in ensuring the likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Chris Wood among others could come in through the door.

Providing the Magpies survive Premier League relegation this season, the summer transfer window promises to be an even bigger one in the history of the football club, with a real chance to make that real first big step to competing for bigger and better things.

Having a sporting director and chief executive in place by then will go a long way to ensuring that the Tyneside club can navigate the transfer market far more easily.

It’s exactly why Caulkin’s latest update on the situation is sure to have fans buzzing.

Meanwhile, Newcastle must never play this man again…

Liverpool have made an “approach” to sign Porto winger Luis Diaz as Jurgen Klopp looks to strengthen his side in this January transfer window.

What’s the story?

The Reds of course have seen both Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah make their way to AFCON this month, and could be without them for several games depending on their progress at the competition.

Perhaps with that in mind, the Merseyside club have targeted a new winger, and journalist Pedro Almeida has now revealed that Diaz has emerged as a potential target.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “First approach of Liverpool by Luis #Diaz from Porto. Portuguese club want €70M (£59m) by the player. Let’s see what happen.”

Fans surely excited

While Luis Diaz may not have exactly set the world alight during Porto’s two Champions League group stage games against Liverpool earlier this season – he failed to score in either fixture – he has enjoyed a very impressive league campaign overall.

The Colombia international has scored 12 goals in just 15 Portuguese top-flight games, as well as providing four assists too, showcasing a real ability to be a goal-scoring threat from out wide.

His Porto teammate Sergio Oliveira waxed lyrical about him after his goal-scoring display in the Champions League against Milan, saying: “I don’t have to answer, we know his qualities, apart from the human level he is also extraordinary on a technical level. The best for him will also be the best for us as a team.”

And, those sentiments were echoed by Marino Peixoto, a Portuguese football expert, who declared: “The rate at which Luís Diaz is churning out otherworldly performances coupled with his ability to score screamers like this on a consistent basis is genuinely frightening. Only a matter of time before somebody pays an astronomical fee for him.”

With Mane and Salah both out of contention, and quality wide options lacking outside of them too, Diaz’s arrival could give Klopp’s side a genuinely impressive winger who could fit into the duo’s roles with ease.

The Reds of course have seen some big success with South American signings, with the likes of Roberto Firmino, Fabinho, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho among others all stamping their authority at Anfield in some shape or form.

Diaz could be the next in line to do so now that Liverpool have made their first approach for him.

Meanwhile, this Liverpool target is shades of Steven Gerrard…