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Leeds United were brilliant in their win against Aston Villa on Friday, but one thing certainly had to be a point of concern for Marcelo Bielsa in the wake of the Whites’ victory.

Indeed, Pascal Struijk’s 20-minute cameo in defensive midfield was nothing short of a disaster.

The 21-year-old was selected to fill-in for the injured Kalvin Phillips, but after three clumsy challenges in the early stages of the match, Bielsa had seen enough as he chose to sub off the Dutchman before he picked up a second yellow card.

There are certainly lessons to be learned from this, and unfortunately, Bielsa may be back to square one when it comes to looking for a Phillips replacement.

The 24-year-old is out for the next six weeks, and the Argentine thought he could trust Struijk to step into his role, but it took just 20 minutes for him to be proven wrong on that front, and it’s a mistake that he shouldn’t make again.

Now, we’re not trying to disregard the youngster as a player, Bielsa clearly rates him incredibly highly, describing him as a ‘complete player’ and ‘valuable’, but he’s quite clearly not suited to playing in the lynchpin role in Bielsa’s 4-1-4-1 formation.

He is much more accomplished as a centre-back and that’s where he should play going forward, especially when you consider that there is a better defensive midfield option right under Bielsa’s nose.

Indeed, Robin Koch is more experienced than Struijk in that role, playing there 58 times in his career, so it makes a lot of sense to just swap those two around in the starting XI.

Of course, Bielsa may have another solution in his mind and it’ll be interesting to see how Leeds line-up against Leicester next week, but one thing is for sure, Struijk shouldn’t play in defensive midfield again.

West Ham manager David Moyes has been heaping praise on midfielder Pablo Fornals, much to the approval of many Irons fans.

Speaking via @whufc_news, Moyes said: “Pablo has done really well. He’s a really likeable boy and works really hard for the team. We’re always demanding more from him because we want assists and goals for him and he’s been doing that. His energy and enthusiasm is incredible.”

The Spaniard definitely deserves the plaudits from his manager. This season he has one goal and two assists, and he has averaged 1.5 shots and one key pass a game (WhoScored) His eye for goal has certainly helped the Irons as they have eight points after six games in the division.

The £16.2m-valued ace struggled to be consistent in his first season in the Premier League last term, with only two goals and five assists. If he keeps up his good form from recent weeks, then there is no doubt he can improve on his record from 2019/20.

Here is what West Ham fans had to say about Moyes’ comments on Fornals:

In other West Ham news, Irons legend Frank McAvennie has praised one defender at the club. Have a read who is it here!

Leeds have been linked to a return move for former Whites man Lewis Cook following the relegation of Bournemouth last season.

According to the Daily Star, the midfielder was on Marcelo Bielsa’s radar over the summer as the likes of Callum Wilson and Ryan Fraser all jumped ship to return to the Premier League. It would certainly make sense in terms of Cook knowing the club well, having spent his youth career and then some at Elland Road.

However, Bielsa is in need of goalscoring players and those who can conjure up exciting passages of play. On paper, the 23-year-old Cherries man simply doesn’t fit the bill.

Leeds must avoid re-signing Lewis Cook

With talent like Patrick Bamford leading the line, the club must be kitted out with similar calibre players in order to keep the striker fed with chances. The manager has been scratching his head over his best midfield formation, which seemingly no longer includes fan favourite Jamie Shackleton.

The youngster was hauled off the pitch at half-time against Leicester and was dropped from the squad completely against Crystal Palace. Bielsa’s no-nonsense approach when it comes to finding ways to win is admirable. But he may have no choice but to turn to the transfer market in January if things continue as they are.

Carlton Palmer spoke exclusively to Football FanCast about his ex-side’s form and fears that unless the Whites pull some performances out of the bag, they’ll be “out the Premier League by Christmas”.

Indeed, as it stands Leeds have conceded the joint most amount of goals this season, with only West Bromwich Albion to match their 17 goals shipped. Whilst Bamford is way out in front with seven goals and is currently the fifth highest scorer in the league, the next highest Leeds scorers are Mateusz Klich and Helder Costa, both on two (via BBC Sport).

The chasm between Bielsa’s target man and the rest of his attackers is staggering. The Whites need more creative players to assist Bamford and find the back of the net themselves. Spending £15million on Cook, who hasn’t contributed to a goal in more than two years would be a foolish move for the Championship winners.

Especially after already making a profit on him by cashing in for £6million back in 2016. And on £35,000 per week, Cook would only eat into Leeds’ wage budget during a troubling financial climate.

In other news, Marcelo Bielsa must change formation tactics or risk Premier League exit…

Jose Mourinho and Daniel Levy could be headed for the mother of all fallouts as Dele Alli’s current situation continues to be a conundrum.

The England international has been frozen out of the action at Tottenham Hotspur, with Mourinho preferring other options over the 24-year-old. But Alli still has four years left on his current contract and won’t be willing to sit on the sidelines until then. Currently valued at £46million, Spurs could bank an insane profit on the midfielder if they were to cash in next summer.

However, things aren’t as simple as that for the Spurs board. Levy has made it clear that he is an admirer of Alli’s and does not want to see him leave the club any time soon.

Dele Dilemma

Mourinho is a well-respected and established Premier League manager who boasts three titles from his success at Chelsea. However, he is known for being quite a prickly character when it comes to the game. The Portuguese boss has applauded Alli’s attitude towards his recent decisions, but his generous comments could turn sour towards the club’s chairman if they continue to disagree.

Ultimately, Levy gets the final say, but he cannot change what goes on, on the pitch. With Alli only featuring twice in the Premier League this season, it doesn’t look like Mourinho is willing to budge on his decision.

If he is forced to reinstate the 24-year-old in the team against his will, Mourinho will rapidly lose his patience. But on the flip side, if the former Man United man stands firm on casting Alli aside, he could really get on the bad side of Levy. This is a situation that must be handled with care or it could turn dangerously explosive.

In other news, Harry Winks England performance sends Mourinho a clear message…

West Brom chief Luke Dowling could deal their top-flight relegation rivals an almighty blow this January…

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, the Baggies are eyeing up a move for Sheffield United centre-back Rhys Norrington-Davies, who has been impressing out on loan at Luton Town.

Burnley are also said to be keen on the 21-year-old Welshman, so three of the Premier League’s bottom four could be thrown into a tug-of-war over his future.

Norrington-Davies is primarily a left-back but can play further forward and also in central defence whilst his form for the Hatters this season earned him his first international cap. He started both of Wales’ UEFA Nations League matches in the latest break.

Relegation blow

Albion currently hold the unwanted record of being the leakiest side in the Premier League so far this season, conceding 18 goals from their opening nine matches. That’s an average of two per game and is only matched by Fulham.

Bolstering the left-back spot could be a good place to start – when Conor Townsend is starting over Kieran Gibbs, you know it’s a troublesome position.

The Daily Mail’s ‘Secret Scout’ has been to watch him, and said (via YorkshireLive):

“[Norrington-Davies is] a tall, powerful player, he is difficult to shake off the ball when he moves forward.

“He has the build of a central defender and perhaps he may settle there.

“He looks an excellent competitor and for the present, he seems better equipped for an orthodox left-back role.”

As per WhoScored, the Saudi-born Hatters loanee has averaged 1.4 clearances, 1.1 tackles and 0.8 key passes each game in the Championship this season.

You’d imagine that if the likes of West Brom and Burnley are eyeing a move, then the Blades must be considering a recall to Chris Wilder’s first-team, especially with them likely to be embroiled in this relegation battle into the New Year too.

Nathan Jones has also waxed lyrical over his loan star, dubbing him a “wonderful player” who was “the best about” in his search for a left-back in an interview with Luton Today.

Maybe the Baggies could do with an “upbeat character” such as Norrington-Davies.

Dowling should do all he can to sucker-punch their nearest rivals.

AND in other news, West Brom dodged a financial nightmare with £65k-p/w summer target…

Slaven Bilic’s West Brom nightmare could be set to continue as the Baggies face a tough trip to Manchester City in the Premier League this evening.

Plenty of reports have emerged over the past few weeks suggesting that the Croatian’s job at the Hawthorns is merely hanging by a thread, so Albion are left with a tough ask in defeating Pep Guardiola’s lethal-looking side.

Last time out, the Midlands outfit suffered defeat – again – as former loan star Dwight Gayle piled on further misery with a late winner at Newcastle United whilst City drew to arch-rivals Manchester United in a dull affair.

Bilic has suspensions and injuries to contend with too, so what sort of line-up could we see at the Etihad Stadium tonight?

Here’s the XI we’re predicting…

Bilic could make as many as three changes as he looks to guide his side away from the relegation zone.

We know that the influential Matheus Pereira is absent as he serves the second of a three-game suspension whilst the Baggies will also be without central defender Kyle Bartley once again through injury. Conor Townsend is sidelined long-term too.

Between the sticks, WBA no.1 Sam Johnstone will remain, but he could see a back four rather than a back five in front of him this time around.

Kieran Gibbs returns to the side at left-back with Semi Ajayi and Dara O’Shea the pairing in the middle. It means Branislav Ivanovic is axed after a few disappointing showings whilst Darnell Furlong keeps his place at right-back.

The £38k-per-week veteran really should be doing better considering his experience in the top-flight, winning the Premier League twice with Chelsea.

We could finally see the return of club captain Jake Livermore in midfield as he partners Filip Krovinovic and Conor Gallagher. Both start in the place of Romaine Sawyers, who is dropped.

Matty Phillips has impressed at wing-back in recent matches and keeps his spot but will be deployed on the right flank with Callum Robinson getting the nod over Grady Diangana on the other side.

Finally, there could be a surprise inclusion for veteran striker Charlie Austin. He replaced Karlan Grant at half-time against Newcastle and may be given a shock chance to impress with the £13m-rated summer signing struggling to make an impact thus far.

AND in other news, Bilic must axe £13m man who “causes problems” after a string of poor performances…

If at the start of the season Aston Villa fans hoped their club wouldn’t be involved in a relegation battle by the time Christmas rolled around, then they must be absolutely bouncing at seeing their side’s incredible start to the Premier League campaign.

Dean Smith’s side have been the undoubted surprise packages of the season, particularly when you consider how they survived relegation back to the Championship on the final day of last season.

Heading into their Boxing Day clash against Crystal Palace, Smith will be keen to keep this momentum going, and below is a look at just how Villa might line up on Saturday afternoon.

In goal, Emiliano Martinez will look to continue his fantastic start to life at Villa Park, having helped his new side in becoming one of the meanest defences in the Premier League with just 13 goals conceded.

The back four could see one big change, with the £12m Ezri Konsa back in first-team training and likely to come straight back in for Kortney Hause who has deputised for him whilst he’s been out injured.

Both John McGinn and Douglas Luiz should be the central midfield duo once again, whilst Smith has a massive call to make over whether he brings Ross Barkley into the team based on how his fitness is during the week.

The England international has been out of action since picking up a hamstring injury in the early moments of the Brighton game, and Anwar El Ghazi laid down his case to keep his starting spot with a brace in the win over West Brom.

Smith may feel that with games coming thick and fast, and El Ghazi in form, it may be wise to just hold Barkley back for this game, and potentially bringing him off the bench to ease him back into action.

Predicted XI: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett; McGinn, Luiz; Traore, Grealish, El Ghazi, Watkins.

Southampton have been linked with a loan move for Manchester United full-back Brandon Williams ahead of the January transfer window, and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl looks to have dropped a big hint about him potentially joining.

According to The Athletic, the 20-year-old is the Saints’ top target ahead of the winter transfer window, with the South Coast club having also targeted him in the summer before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer blocked his move.

The United academy graduate has struggled for game time, perhaps due to the signing of fellow left-back Alex Telles from Porto, having made just one substitute appearance in the top-flight so far this season.

Therefore, a January exit could well be on the cards for the £9.9 million-rated defender, as he surely won’t be content playing reserve football with the Red Devils, when he could be potentially challenging for a spot in Southampton’s first team.

Hasenhuttl has certainly hinted that the club could move for Williams in January, as he recently said:

“If you want to do something then we do something for the future like we did in the last window in January with Kyle Walker-Peters.

“Maybe a player brought in on loan and then give him half a year’s chance to show if he’s good enough for us and then we can decide in the summer if we want to buy him.”

Therefore, it would not be a surprise to see the Saints replicate the deal they did for Walker-Peters with Williams.

The right-back originally joined on loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the January window before making the move permanent in the summer, having impressed Hasenhuttl during his stay.

If Williams could do the same, perhaps he would be convinced to make his stay with the South Coast club permanent, where he could establish himself as the ideal successor to Ryan Bertrand, with the 31-year-old’s contract with the Saints set to expire at the end of the season.

Certainly, it could be argued that Hasenhuttl is low on left-back options, with just young Jake Vokins available as a back-up to Bertrand at the moment, so a move for Williams in January seems a sensible move for all parties.

And, in other news… Saints will surely rue 2019 transfer decision on “terrific” winger dominating the PL…

Premiership giants Rangers reportedly ‘fear losing’ their star right-back James Tavernier amidst growing interest in the player.

It has been claimed that the Gers are aware of the fact that clubs are looking at Tavernier, as well as the likes of centre-back Connor Goldson and left-back Borna Barisic.

Rangers ‘fear losing’ Tavernier

Football Insider have recently reported about potential exits for the Gers and one name that has cropped up is that of Tavernier. The report states that Steven Gerrard’s men ‘fear losing’ at least one of their star defenders and while they haven’t sold any major players so far, that could well change soon.

The report states that the Gers are already looking at potential replacements for Tavernier, ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window. Rangers are currently hoping that they can fend off interest for their captain and others, but they know that it might not be easy when the time comes.

The 29-year-old right-back has been in great form for the Gers this season, scoring 11 goals and picking up nine assists in 22 Premiership appearances. Earlier in the season, Gerrard had been full of praise for the Englishman, saying:

“He’s looking like the powerhouse we know we can be. He returned hungry and his application and return from lockdown has really impressed me.”

Replacing Tavernier could be stiff for Rangers

In all competitions, Tavernier has contributed to 31 goals in 33 appearances for the Gers. 17 of them competitions have been goals, with 14 of them being assists. It shows the impact he’s had at Ibrox this season, even though he’s played at right-back regularly (as per Transfermarkt).

Because of his output from right-back, it could prove to be a tough task for the Gers to replace the 29-year-old and they should look to get a big fee from his potential sale so they have more funds available if they do need to find a new player to replace their captain.

In other news, Rangers have been linked with a League One star – read more about it here.

After crashing to a disappointing 3-0 defeat to Crawley in the FA Cup last week, Leeds United would have been hoping for a return to winning ways in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Instead, Marcelo Bielsa’s side slipped to yet another loss, this time 1-0 to Brighton, and Patrick Bamford certainly didn’t cover himself in glory with his performance.

With reports in recent days and weeks linking the Whites with a move for a new striker in this January transfer window – the likes of Christian Kouame of Fiorentina and M’Bala Nzola of Spezia being two of them – the pressure is well and truly on for Bamford to prove he should be the club’s out-and-out striker for both now and for the future.

But if Victor Orta was watching on at Elland Road on Saturday, then he will have been left unimpressed by the former Chelsea man’s efforts, and recognise that he absolutely has to dive into the transfer market in this January window.

As per Sofascore, he finished with a 6.5 match rating, the joint-worst of any Leeds player on the pitch, and when you look at some of his key stats it’s easy to see why.

With Brighton playing a back three, Bamford’s task as a lone striker was always going to be cut out, but he really struggled to get involved in the game and the build-up play for the Whites.

He had a measly 11 touches of the ball in the 90 minutes that he was on the pitch, by far the worst of any starter – to put that into context, Ian Poveda, who came on for the final quarter of an hour of the contest for Raphinha, had 13 touches.

Bamford made just four successful passes too, and that was particularly disappointing because Bielsa’s side needed an outlet and someone to hang on to the ball and get some runners next in and around him.

The likes of Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster and Dan Burn all kept him in check with relative ease, with Bamford losing every single duel that he was involved in and struggling to cope with the Seagulls backline’s physicality.

When you compare Bamford’s display against Brighton to how he’s done this season, then things really get laid bare. Per game in the Premier League this season, he’s averaged 23.3 touches, 2.5 duels won and three shots per game.

On Saturday, he managed significantly less than that in all departments, even attempting no official shots on goal – his performance was rather summed up by the amount of near misses he had in terms of narrowly missing contact with the ball.

Leeds’ number nine let his manager down with a woeful display, but rather significantly, it made it clear to the club’s hierarchy that a new striker has to be bought.

Meanwhile, Leeds United are facing a transfer battle for this French striker…