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

Ryan Edmondson has been a bit of an enigma at Leeds United over the past couple of seasons.

The striker has been featuring for the U23s over the past 12 months, and those performances have led to the fanbase clamouring for him to get a first-team opportunity in the near future.

Unfortunately, supporters may not get their wish as recent reports indicate that Leeds have some rather different plans for the youngster.

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What’s the story then?

Football Insider are reporting that Edmondson could be sent out on loan in January.

The report also states that this may only be the case if Leeds bring in another striking option, and that is a real possibility as the article also states that Marcelo Bielsa is getting fed up of the team’s woes in front of goal despite their dominance in virtually every game.

You can understand the Argentine’s frustrations as the xG league table shows that United should be running away with the league rather than sitting in third place as they currently are.

Find out what happened when a world-record-holding freestyler attempting skills with the worst pair of boots available on eBay in the video below…

Right decision

Letting Edmondson go out on loan makes a lot of sense, and if Leeds are trying to bring in another striker in January it is seemingly the right thing to do.

The striker has already proved himself at U23 level, and it’s time for him to make the step up to senior football.

Playing him for the first-team at Leeds is a bit too much of a risk as there is a lot riding on this season in terms of promotion, but if they loan him out to a League One or League Two side he can gain valuable experience while not having to play under immense pressure.

Failing to send him out on loan would only be wasting his time. After all, this is a youngster who played for the senior side in pre-season and scored a hat-trick.

On that evidence, he deserves to be playing first-team football, something he’s failed to achieve in competitive action throughout 2019/20. Leeds would only stagnate the 18-year-old by keeping him for the second half of the current campaign.

Luke Shaw must be absolutely sweating at the moment, and not because he’s struggling to complete a bleep test.Manchester United youngster Brandon Williams put in a man of the match performance on Thursday night as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side crept precariously past Partizan Belgrade to earn their first away win since beating Paris Saint-Germain last season.Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

It was just Williams’ second start for the club, and his first since signing a new long-term contract, but he showed all the hallmarks of a future starting left-back. The 19-year-old received an impressive 7.82 rating on WhoScored and was key to United scoring their obligatory single goal after going down in the penalty area following a mazing drive forward.

Ashley Young is currently occupying the starting spot at left-back in Shaw’s absence, and though Solskjaer recently confirmed that the 24-year-old has overcome the worst of his injury, he may have a new challenge to overcome in Williams.

This short clip from last night shows why…

Tottenham will be hoping to repeat their performance this weekend as they travel to face Liverpool for the first time since the Champions League final.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

After starting the Premier League campaign so brightly, West Ham were brought back down to Earth with a shuddering halt as they slipped to a 2-0 defeat away to Everton on Saturday afternoon.

Snapshot

The Hammers could have gone just one point behind last season’s Premier League champions Manchester City with a victory at Goodison Park, but a rather insipid display saw them lose to a team that had suffered four defeats on the trot.

Bernard’s first-half goal gave the Toffees a deserved lead at half-time, and though Manuel Pellegrini tried to shake things up with the introduction of Andriy Yarmolenko at the break, the Hammers didn’t really lay a significant glove on the home side.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Despite only trailing 1-0, the West Ham boss waited until there were only 16 minutes left before bringing on summer signing and bona-fide striker Albian Ajeti – a decision that proved to be too little, too late.

Off the bench

Though both sides were relatively even in possession, it was Everton who always looked the more dangerous. As per Sofascore, Marco Silva’s side registered 19 total shots on goal compared to the visitors’ measly eight. That dominance was largely in part to the complete isolation of Hammers forward Sebastien Haller.

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The Frenchman had just 43 touches of the ball, whilst he comprehensively lost his physical battle against Toffees centre-backs Michael Keane and Yerry Mina – only managing to win nine out of his 22 aerial duels. As a result, West Ham had no platform to build from going forward, and the ball just kept coming back towards their own goal far too easily.

Pellegrini needed to provide Haller with some more support, and bringing on Ajeti far earlier could have helped occupy the dominant Everton defence. It was rather telling that it was only after the Swiss man’s introduction that the London side enjoyed their only brief spell of concerted pressure.

The West Ham boss was perhaps afraid that if he gambled too soon, the Toffees would just hit them on the break and close out the game. But because of his reluctance to roll the dice sooner, Pellegrini cost his side a chance of snatching a result they did not deserve – the real hallmark of a truly good side.

Rangers claimed top spot in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday afternoon as they rounded off the latest set of matches before the international break with a 5-0 win over Hamilton Academical.

The Gers went into the game knowing that a win would see them top of the league whilst they also needed to bounce back from a European night to forget in Switzerland where they lost to Young Boys.

They responded in fine style at Ibrox, then, with a superb 5-0 win and Steven Gerrard and his players will be very pleased with what they managed to do during the game.

And, indeed, fans will be happy to see Jamie Murphy returning to the fold with him getting around 25 minutes of action after coming on as a sub with the game effectively wrapped up.

It’s been a long time since fans have seen him playing for their club thanks to injury, and the reaction on Twitter was suitably positive.

Here’s the best of what Rangers fans had to say about his return…

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… 

Roberto Firmino quietly dropped another master-class on Wednesday evening in the Champions League, including accomplishing something he has never done before at Liverpool.

The Reds suffered quite the scare at the hands of Red Bull Salzburg, surrendering a three-goal lead in the second half. Of course, Mohamed Salah popped up with the goods like he always does, but he couldn’t have done it without Firmino.

Liverpool’s mercurial ‘false nine’ has been lauded by fans and pundits alike this season, and it seems like he is finally getting the recognition he deserves.

For all the talk of the crazy Salzburg comeback, Virgil van Dijk finally looking human and Salah’s brace though, the Brazil international’s two-assist display has somehow flown under the radar.

In typical Firmino fashion, the 28 year-old set up the two most important goals of the game with inch-perfect passes. First, he linked up with Sadio Mane to open the scoring, and then he helped decide the match with a lovely dinked ball for Salah’s winner.

Of course, Firmino is more than just goals and assists, and he fired in two shots of his own, provided an extra key pass that was not converted, and also danced his way past a defender on one occasion, per Sofascore.

The spearhead of Liverpool’s pressing machine did his part defensively too, winning four duels, completing one tackle and making one clearance.

Perhaps most surprising of all, this was the first time Firmino has assisted both Mane and Salah in a single match, per Andrew Beasley.

Considering how often the Brazilian is the glue that holds the front three together – he has assisted both wingers three times each already this season – it seems scarcely believable that he hadn’t managed this feat before.

That said, this has us wondering if there is anything else the enigmatic forward can break his duck on this season. A scorpion kick? A one-two with himself? Rounding the goalkeeper while doing kick-ups? We wouldn’t put it past him…

Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to the performance of Takumi Minamino, who grabbed a goal and an assist at Anfield on Wednesday.

And breathe Liverpool fans! The Reds surrendered a 3-0 lead against Red Bull Salzburg, but Mohamed Salah did what he does best and popped up with a crucial goal to win the game 4-3.

That hasn’t stopped the Anfield faithful from gushing over one of their opponents though, and surprisingly it isn’t wonderkid Erling Haaland.

The teenage striker started the match on the bench, and although he scored within minutes of coming on, it is the man who set him up that Reds fans are stunned by.

Minamino scored a wonderfully controlled volley to make the score 3-2, and then skipped in behind the Liverpool defence to set up Haaland for a tap-in.

Jurgen Klopp of course has plenty of attacking talent at his disposal, but fans are heaping praise on the Japan international, with some even suggesting they sign him in the future.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Carlo Ancelotti brushed aside speculation linking Real Madrid with a move for Kylian Mbappe and insisted that he remains focused on the job at hand.

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• Mbappe continues to flirt with Real Madrid
• Ancelotti refused to be drawn in by rumours
• Insisted balance is most important thing

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Mbappe has reportedly informed Paris Saint-Germain of his intention to depart the club, once he hits free agency in the summer. Real Madrid have been long-term admirers of the 2018 World Cup winner and after being snubbed on two occasions in the past, it seems that they would finally achieve their target.

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• WHAT CARLO ANCELOTTI SAID

  However, Ancelotti remains unfazed about the growing speculations and told reporters: "I see and hear everything but nothing else. I understand that it’s the topic of the day for you but not for us. We have prepared for tomorrow’s game and that’s what we have talked about, not about anything else. I’d like to work on this season, there’s a long time to go before next season."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Aurelien Tchouameni reached for the popcorn after Mbappe's bombshell exit news went viral. However, Ancelotti asserted that the ongoing speculations won't be a distraction for the squad as they continue to fight for silverware on multiple fronts.

  "If I’m worried about Mbappe, do you see me worried?" he asked. "I think it’s going to be the same for the next few press conferences, I’m not worried."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Ancelotti currently has Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo, Joselu, and Brahim Diaz at his disposal in attack, with Jude Bellingham firing on all cylinders in midfield in an extraordinary debut campaign in Madrid’s colours. When asked if the inclusion of Mbappe would disrupt the equilibrium of the squad he explained: "Yes, I agree that good players can play together, but the important thing is to keep the balance. The most important thing is quality and balance. If you combine those two aspects well, it’s good."

  Real Madrid will be in action against Rayo Vallecano on Sunday in a La Liga encounter.

Sheffield United have been dealt a potential blow to their chances of keeping Morgan Gibbs-White at Bramall Lane for the duration of the Championship campaign.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claimed that Wolves manager Bruno Lage is strongly considering recalling the midfielder from his season-long loan deal at the Championship side in January.

The report added that the Premier League club are closely monitoring the performances of the 21-year-old, while Lage himself is believed to be keen on bringing the former England under-21 international back to Molineux, as the Portuguese manager was hesitant to loan out Gibbs-White in the first place.

Speaking shortly before the midfielder’s departure back in September, the Wolves boss said: “I prefer him to stay but I need to respect the player and Morgan wants to play more. I respect, a lot, that ambition.”

Jokanovic will be fuming

Considering just how impressive Gibbs-White has been for Sheffield United so far this season, the prospect of losing the 21-year-old halfway through the club’s Championship campaign, particularly taking into account how poor the Blades were prior to the midfielder’s arrival at the club, will undoubtedly have left Slavisa Jokanovic fuming.

Indeed, over his three Championship appearances this term, the £6.3m-rated man has scored two goals, registered two assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 2.7 shots and making 2.3 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the man who Chris Basham dubbed a “powerful” player earn an extraordinary average SofaScore match rating of 7.83, not only ranking him as United’s best performer in the second tier but also as the best player in the entire division.

As such, losing the services of Gibbs-White in January would undoubtedly come as a huge blow to the Blades’ hopes of securing an immediate return to the Premier League come the end of the season, something which would leave everyone involved with the club feeling gutted.

In other news: Jokanovic must seal Blades deal for £900 p/w “monster”, he could be the next Ramsdale

USMNT captain Tyler Adams has passed his 'return to play' tests for Bournemouth following a long spell out with injury.

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• USMNT star passes 'return to play' tests
• Underwent hamstring surgery last year
• Captain set to fight for USA role again

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Finnish orthopedic surgeon Lasse Lempainen posted on Instagram that he collaborated with the Cherries and Adams to perform the American's 'return to play' tests. The midfielder underwent hamstring surgery last year and has yet to make a league appearance for Bournemouth since his mid-summer transfer.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  In his photo with Adams, the surgeon states that he "will be back soon", and this surely has both Bournemouth and USMNT fans buzzing. More than anyone, though, it's likely the USMNT captain who is bursting with excitement. The midfielder has not played two matches in a row since last spring for Leeds United, with his lone appearance since coming in September for the Cherries before re-aggravating his injury, causing the surgery.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Adams has 36 international caps with the USMNT, scoring one goal. He has made just one appearance so far for Bournemouth, having been brought off the bench in his team's 2-0 win against Stoke in the Carabao Cup in September.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ADAMS AND BOURNEMOUTH?

  The Cherries take on Newcastle United in the Permier League on Saturday. Meanwhile, Adams is shooting for a return to the pitch this March.