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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…

Real Madrid are once again turning towards La Liga and will have a tough challenge of keeping their first place in the table intact. Up next, the Whites will face off against Granada and the key to that battle might lie in their newcomer Galactico, Eden Hazard.

On the chalkboard

On paper, Granada don’t look like the most difficult opponent for Real Madrid – especially considering that they are one of the newly promoted sides that’s just trying to survive in the Spanish first league. However, not only have they been surviving so far but they’ve also recorded some impressive results along the way.

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Currently, Granada sit in second, just one place and one point below Los Blancos themselves and if Zinedine Zidane and his troops are not at their best, these newcomers to the league just might challenge the big boys for that top spot this Saturday evening.

But a lot of that might depend on one key individual battle that will most likely be raging on the pitches of Santiago Bernabeu – Hazard could come face to face with Granada’s skilled defender on the right, Victor Diaz.

The battle on the flanks

We all know what Real Madrid’s new signing is capable of.

After all, we’ve seen him tear Premier League apart back when he was at Chelsea, scoring 110 goals during his stay at Stamford Bridge, but for some reason, Hazard is taking a bit longer to adapt to both Real Madrid and La Liga in general.

Watch Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale answer the internet’s weirdest questions in the video below…

As a result, he is yet to find the net or assist one of his teammates in the five games he played for Los Blancos across all competitions in the 2019/20 season.

Still, he will have to be at his best to get past Diaz on that left flank. So far, Hazard has averaged one shot, 1.3 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per game and taking Diaz’s numbers into consideration, the Belgian just might have to up his game come Saturday afternoon.

The 31-year-old defender has 2.1 tackles, one interception and 2.4 clearances per game this season in La Liga, and has only been dribbled past 1.1 times per game so far.

By all means, it seems that there might be a tall task ahead of Zidane’s Galactico in that clash but it’s also a crucial one for their team as a whole.

Let’s see if Hazard can finally get rid of his shackles and let out the player we know it’s out there somewhere.

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

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka is very much a marmite player for the Gunners. Some like him, many aren’t so keen.

Nevertheless, the role that he played during his side’s 1-0 win against Bournemouth illustrates how important he is for the team.

What’s the word?

After appearing to duck out of the way of Scott McTominay’s goalbound shot during Arsenal’s 1-1 draw away to Manchester United, the Switzerland international responded in the best way possible as his side moved up to third place in the Premier League table.

Having been named the club’s captain, Xhaka showed characteristics of leadership during the game, turning in an excellent defensive display overall.

Xhaka hits back

Since he inherited the permanent captaincy from the Laurent Koscielny, Xhaka is playing with a lot more composure and maturity.

The Switzerland international continues to defy his critics – journalist Henry Winter claimed he was “very, very lucky” to be handed the armband – and did so yet again during the Gunners’ victory over Bournemouth on Sunday.

During the game, Xhaka managed to accumulate two tackles and three aerial challenges won. Add in a pass success rate of 85%, and the stats display Xhaka’s willingness and determination to break up the play and initiate attacks.

To add to this, his role as a defensive midfielder is becoming more apparent as he also made five clearances.

Xhaka moved from Borussia Monchengladbach for £31.5m in 2016 and now is the time for the Swiss midfielder to prove that he has been a good investment for the club with his new role within the team.

He is the captain now, and with that comes an added weight. If he can continue to perform as he did against the Cherries, Arsenal might well be in good hands.

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…

Eden Hazard’s start to his Real Madrid career hasn’t been as shiny as he probably would’ve liked.

So far, the great Belgian bomber has played a total of six games across all competitions for Los Blancos and has only managed to score and assist once in the process.

And while every player needs a certain adaptation period when coming to a new club, especially when that side is in a different league and a different country altogether, the 28-year-old’s price tag will soon demand more.

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After all, the Galacticos forked out a reported sum of £89m to get their man from Chelsea, and they will undoubtedly want him to perform accordingly.

We don’t have to look much further than his latest outing with his national team to realise what he can do, even if it was against some international minnows.

Belgium faced San Marino in the seventh round of their European Championship qualifications and they completely dismantled their opposition, winning 9-0 in the end.

Hazard was very much a big part of that huge victory, contributing with two assists to his name in the process but doing so much more as well. The 28-year-old managed to tally four successful dribbles, a total of six key passes and maintained 92% passing accuracy as well.

These numbers don’t really lie and Hazard dropped a masterclass in the 63 minutes he spent on the pitch before he was taken off by the coach.

This performance should definitely catch the eye of Zinedine Zidane, his gaffer over at Real Madrid, as the Frenchman will want his big start to replicate that back in Spain as well.

Hazard is well capable of dropping these performances and while we are still waiting for his full emergence while donning the white kit of the Galacticos, it could very much just be a matter of time.

At Real Madrid they wait for no one, and the sooner Hazard can unleash his full potential, the better.

For him, the club and not so much for their opponents.

Looks like someone hasn’t been listening.

Leeds United’s owner Andrea Radrizzani came under a lot of criticism last week from Danny Mills for voicing his views on Gaetano Berardi’s red card on Twitter, saying that it would be better if members of the board stayed off Twitter.

Well, he hasn’t heeded that warning, as Radrizzani waded in on the ever so precious debate of whether or not Eddie Nketiah should be getting more game time.

This all comes in the wake of the Arsenal loanee saying that he is unhappy about his lack of minutes.

Responding to a fan on Twitter, he seemed to take issue with the fact that people were trying to make an issue out of something that isn’t really a big deal to him.

Granted some of it could have been lost in translation, but it just goes back to Mills’ point about an owner getting involved with things on social media.

Whether or not he did so with good intentions, it gave the fans an opportunity to just add more fuel to the fire and pile the pressure onto the owner to convince him to make changes, despite the fact he doesn’t pick the team.

Although some of them used it to attack the owner directly for his perceived misunderstanding of Nketiah’s words.

Manchester City are one of a number of clubs to be interested in signing Anderlecht midfielder, Albert Lokonga.

The 19-year-old has made a big impact this season over in Belgium and has now caught the eye of both City and Spanish giants, Barcelona, according to a report from Spain’s sporting publication, Marca.

Lokonga has been a regular for Anderlecht this term but has already shown an element of ill-discipline, having already been given a red-card this term in the game against Antwerp.

However, that doesn’t appear to have put off City, who may be looking to add younger players to their squad given the impending retirement of midfielder maestro David Silva.

The loss of Vincent Kompany in the summer was another experienced player out of the door at the Etihad, while it remains to be seen whether Brazilian midfielder Fernandinho will stay with the club beyond the end of this season.

Lokonga may be seen as the ideal replacement for Fernandinho in the long run given the Brazilian’s importance in the middle of the park. In just shy of 200 Premier League appearances for the club, Fernandinho has won 70% of his tackles, while also winning over 50% of his duels against opponents. 

Impressively, the Brazilian hasn’t made a single error leading directly to a goal, further highlighting just how important and consistent he is for City.

Not much is known about Lokongo 0n these shores but he must have something about him if he is attracting the likes of Barca and City.

Sometimes it’s about taking the chance on a player and Lokongo would certainly be one who would probably have to develop at either club.

However, he won’t cost the world you would have to think, so he could well prove an attractive proposition for both teams.

A good move, City fans? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

They say you never truly get over some of your ex’s.

Well that’s certainly the case for Birmingham City fans as they have just seen another one of their former managers take on a job in the division.

Having already gone through the event of seeing Garry Monk being appointed at Sheffield Wednesday, Gary Rowett has now taken over the reins at Millwall.

Rowett spent two seasons in the dugout at St Andrew’s and led them to tenth place in his first season and the same again the following campaign.

So when the news came through that he had taken over at The Den, Birmingham supporters were left with mixed reactions, with some people even wanting to help him out by suggesting which Blues players he should be going after.

A host of fans decided to take to Twitter to share their opinions on Rowett. Here’s some of the best reaction.

In fairness, it wasn’t as if he did a bad job for them. They were seventh in the table when he was sacked back in 2016 and he didn’t exactly jump ship as he did with Derby County, so some of the animosity isn’t really warranted.

The real test to see how well he’s revered at St Andrew’s is when he comes back at the end of November, and whether or not he gets a round of applause as he walks towards the dugout.

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

West Ham could do with reinvigorating their attack and the inclusion of Nathan Holland against Sheffield United would help to achieve that goal.

On the chalkboard

The Hammers have struggled for goals in recent matches, and though Manuel Pellegrini thinks more movement is required of Sebastien Haller to fix that problem, in reality there is a wider issue.

Other than Andriy Yarmolenko, his side have lacked goals from midfield, with limited service also holding the team back.

Despite that, Haller still has four goals in eight league games, but when things aren’t going well for him, or the team, they lack ideas and options to change things.

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West Ham’s bench is particularly weak, that was evidenced by Pellegrini’s substitutions failing to make any impact against Everton, so Nathan Holland’s introduction could be the solution they need.

The youngster would provide an injection of pace as well as an eye for goal, with six in the Premier League 2 so far this campaign, and that could prove crucial against the Blades.

Point to prove

Holland continues to impress for the under 23s and his involvement could provide a lift to the squad, and send a message to those in the first-team that they need to improve, or risk missing out.

Manuel Lanzini and Felipe Anderson have come under increased scrutiny following their poor displays against Everton, with fans keen to see the latter dropped, but it would be too much to expect a 21-year-old to come into the starting line-up straight away.

Instead, he should take Robert Snodgrass’ place on the bench. Pellegrini’s dwindling use of the former Scotland international – with just one league start this season – suggests he is out of favour, and West Ham would benefit from a pacier option.

Holland could unsettle the visitors’ back five and his ability to run at defenders would create more space for Haller to operate in. He should be confident, too, after scoring two goals against Stoke U23s a few days ago, and therefore could seize on any chances that come his way.

If he gets a chance to impress he could become a useful option for the Chilean like Grady Diangana was last year, and at the very least put the senior players on their toes.

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…

West Brom’s academy.

One of the best in the country, no doubt.

Albion have been reaping the rewards from it in recent times with both Nathan Ferguson and Kyle Edwards featuring under Slaven Bilic this term.

But the Baggies hierarchy will be surely regretting the decision to let Marcus Forss leave back in 2017.

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Although, this is nothing new to those up in the west Midlands.

Only this summer saw two of their brightest prospects, Louie Barry and Morgan Rogers, depart the club on their own accord to join Barcelona and Manchester City, respectively.

Yes, they could have been offered contracts much earlier to secure their futures at the Hawthorns, but ultimately it was the players’ decisions.

Forss’ exit was different. He was released following the end of his scholarship contract.

The 20-year-old subsequently joined Championship rivals Brentford, in what appears to be in similar vein to Romaine Sawyers all those years ago, just that the club have luckily got their hands on him again.

The Finland U21 international won the B team’s Player of the Year award in the summer of 2018 before going on to play for the senior side.

After bagging one goal in three appearances for the Bees this season, Forss signed a four-year contract before being sent on loan to AFC Wimbledon.

He’s since continued his goalscoring form, netting seven times in eight League One matches, resulting in reports linking him with a move to the Premier League as West Ham, Brighton & Hove Albion, Southampton and Watford appear to be all keen on securing his signature, per TEAMtalk.

It would be quite ironic if a player who was rejected by the decision-makers at the Baggies, were to make it to the promised land before the club itself did, especially via a detour to the third tier.

Albion have clearly missed out on a player with potential.

At a time where strikers have found it hard to find the net, they could maybe have done with his emerging ability.

Charlie Austin only has one goal from ten appearances, Kenneth Zohore has only bagged two penalties while Hal Robson-Kanu appears to be the super-sub having netted two off the bench this campaign.

Not only does Slaven Bilic desperately need a goalscoring striker, but they’ll also miss out on any potential fee considering he was released from the club rather than sold.

Looks like another one has slipped through West Brom’s fingers.

Leeds United fans on Twitter have been crying out for Leif Davis to start against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, despite Marcelo Bielsa confirming that Barry Douglas is fit and available in his press conference on Tuesday.

Davis is yet to start a league match for the Whites, but his seven-minute cameo against QPR last weekend was enough to convince some supporters that he should be starting in their next match.

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To be fair, Davis was incredibly impressive when he came on against the R’s, and his performance even drew comparisons to Gareth Bale’s famous performance against Inter Milan back in 2010.

He’s got a decent chance of starting as well, Ezgjan Alioski is out with injury and Douglas is only just back, so don’t be surprised if the Argentine goes for the youngster from the off on Saturday.

Whether or not Davis does start against the Rovers remains to be seen, but it’s clear to see that supporters think he should.

Here’s what the Elland Road faithful have been saying on Twitter…

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

Bruno Fernandes is once again on Tottenham Hotspur’s radar, per A Bola via Sport Witness.

On the chalkboard

Spurs were heavily linked with a move for the Portugal international in the summer, with reports claiming that a bid was made and rejected before they signed Giovani Lo Celso on an initial loan deal from Real Betis.

Nevertheless, Spurs are said to be paying close attention to Fernandes’ performances this season as they mull over the possibility of returning with another offer. He is deemed as a possible replacement for Christian Eriksen, whose contract expires in the summer, per the report.

And one has to say that Fernandes has started the 2019/20 season in electric form.

In nine Liga NOS appearances, he has scored five goals and registered five assists, while averaging three key passes per game, 3.4 shots and 1.7 dribbles, per WhoScored.

He has added a further two goals in the Europa League in three outings, along with one assist, while averaging 1.7 key passes per game, 5.3 shots and three dribbles.

He is not only having an impact at the top of the pitch, though; Fernandes also averages 2.2 tackles per game in the league, as well as 0.9 clearances.

Last season, of course, Fernandes scored 20 league goals and registered 13 assists; his form has merely continued in 2019/20.

A sizeable upgrade

Eriksen has been in woeful form this season and is perhaps enduring one of the worst spells of his Spurs career.

Per Whoscored, he’s scored just one goal in the Premier League, registered just one assist and all of his attacking stats are worse than Fernandes’. His shots per game number is just 1.5, he averages just 1.4 key passes and zero dribbles. He also makes fewer tackles and clearances than the Sporting man and one has to believe that Fernandes would be a major upgrade on the Denmark international.

Admittedly, he is playing in a worse league but the stats of the Portugal international stand out to such a degree that it would be negligence not to at least try to sign him.

Indeed, it makes sense to compare Lo Celso’s stats last season with Fernandes, too; the Argentine scored nine goals in La Liga last season, registering four assists, and averaged two shots per game, just 0.8 key passes and two dribbles.

Defensively, Lo Celso averaged 1.6 tackles per game and 0.3 clearances.

Fernandes is better than him too; perhaps they could well play together but one thing is for certain: Spurs need to be pulling out all the stops to extricate the playmaker from Portugal and secure a big upgrade in midfield.