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

According to Sportske Novosti, Manchester United are interested in signing Dinamo Zagreb starlet Dani Olmo this summer.

What’s the word?

The report claims that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side are willing to pay £35.7m for the 21-year-old, who originally came through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy.

Watch a Man Utd fan’s epic Ed Woodward rant in the video below…

Olmo impressed in Spain’s triumph at the recent U21 European Championships and a potential move for the midfielder would certainly tie in with United’s philosophy of trying to sign young players with potential this summer, such as Daniel James and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

A wise head on young shoulders

Having departed Barcelona’s academy in the summer of 2014 at the age of just 16, Olmo made the brave decision to move out of his comfort zone and join Croatian side Dinamo, where he would get regular senior minutes and not warm the bench behind the Catalan club’s array of talent.

Speaking to Jutarnji Iist in 2015 (via Goal), the Spaniard revealed: “There is no other club where, at my age, I would get so many chances as Dinamo. My former team-mates at Barcelona were first shocked, and then they understood my decision to move to Dinamo was the right one. Whilst I am playing senior football, they will have to wait two or three years, and that’s if they make senior football.”

Olmo has proven with this gutsy move that he is not afraid to take risks and has both the ability and temperament to take his chances with both hands.

United’s summer rebuild around youth is a refreshing approach to what the club has previously gone through and signing Olmo would certainly be the cherry on top.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A versatile player capable of playing on the right-wing or as a more traditional attacking midfielder, Olmo enjoyed a fine campaign in Croatia’s top-flight. But it was in the Europa League where the 21-year-old made his mark, scoring twice and providing a further four assists in Dinamo’s run to the last 16; the first time the club had reached the spring stage of a European competition for 49 years.

To then take that form and lead Spain to glory in the U21 European Championships, where he scored the crucial second goal in the final, again shows his willingness to shoulder responsibility even at such a young age.

Too often the biggest criticism surrounding United last season was how players like Paul Pogba appeared to play for themselves and completely hide away when the team needed them most. Olmo’s career path is one of having the right attitude, mentality and ability – all of which the Red Devils desperately need this summer.

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Arsenal’s 2019 summer pre-season is already long underway.

The Gunners are now in Los Angeles as they await their second challenge of the US tour which will be against Bayern Munich.

The first game saw them face off against Colorado Rapids in a game the London team won 3-0 while deploying a rather young squad. Unai Emery tested the waters with some fresh faces and it ended up paying off.

Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Eddie Nketiah, Arsenal’s rising star in a centre-forward role, was among the standout performers as he recorded an assist to his name, thus making his mark with his manager.

He immediately took to Instagram to celebrate it with a great message to the fans and his teammates.

And it didn’t take long for other stars to notice it as they showered the youngster with praise after a really great opening to the pre-season tour.

Many of his friends and teammates were extremely impressed with what they saw against Colorado and they all sent their best wishes and messages of support to Nketiah.

The youngster played a total of 20 games in all competitions at different levels in 2018/19 season and managed to score 11 goals, 10 of which came in Premier League 2.

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There may be changes afoot at right-back for Sheffield United as they have been linked with the signing of Todd Kane just one week after Celtic made a bid for George Baldock.

If Chris Wilder is going to have a change in personnel at wing-back, he must be very careful as that role in his system is one of the most demanding positions in football.

Wilder’s wing-backs

Sheffield United were promoted twice in three years playing a unique brand of football – Wilder’s patented 5-2-1-2 system where the wing-backs are key.

If Kane arrived at Bramall Lane, he would be asked to play a role much different to the one he has played in any of his previous loan spells.

Wilder deploys two wing-backs that aren’t afraid to push up high. Enda Stevens has often been the more attacking wing-back down the left, and he is tasked with delivering a barrage of balls into the attackers.

On the other flank has been Baldock, and the right-side has been more reliant on fitness and the ability to pass as the 26-year-old acts as a box-to-box player down the right side. Tireless running and great ball-playing abilities are two of the most critical attributes a wing-back in Wilder’s system must have.

Kane’s ability

The former Chelsea man had a great season at Hull City last term, and a return of three goals from right-back indicates that he is decent going forward.

Although the stat that is the most telling is his pass success rate. Just 65.6% of Kane’s passes found the mark, and if that doesn’t improve he could end up flopping at Bramall Lane.

Nothing captures the unpredictability of the Championship better than the video below…

Wilder’s full-backs have to be fantastic ball players and what Kane has shown so far in his career indicates that he isn’t one. Compare Kane’s pass rate of 65.6% to Baldock’s 77.3%, and it is clear to see where the 25-year-old would struggle if he moved to Yorkshire.

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Naby Keita was cruelly robbed of the chance to appear in a Champions League final when he picked up a groin injury in the semi-final, but no one will feel any sympathy for him if the same happens again after his latest decision.

The former RB Leipzig man was forced off in the first half of the Champions League semi-final first leg tie against Barcelona, with Jurgen Klopp later revealing that Keita would be out for two months and miss the African Cup of Nations as well.

If the Guinean completed his recovery properly, he should be back fully fit on the 1st July having picked up the issue on the 1st May – that would be just a day before the final AFCON group match.

Surely it would be pretty brainless to try and rush back for it, right?

Well, Liverpool’s No.8’s looks like he’s going to do just that.

You can relive Liverpool’s Champions League celebrations in glorious 2D thanks to the guys at 442oons in the video below…

Having arrived in Egypt for the tournament, Keita said: “I am very happy to meet my teammates. I think I’m going to work now, I’m not 100%, but when I was in Liverpool I had already started training with the ball.”

Given the fact that Keita’s first season at Anfield was already disrupted with injuries as well as a bedding-in period, it would be a huge risk for him to sacrifice his availability for the start of next term by playing at the AFCON.

Liverpool’s first-team stars are set to report back for pre-season duties on the 6th July, which would be when the Round of 16 will take place should Guinea get there – if he goes and Guinea do well, which is feasible, he will be very far behind schedule.

Some fans have already expressed their concern at Keita’s involvement for his country, and they are more than entitled to feel that way.

Given the way in which marquee signings such as Fabinho and Alisson settled last season and went on to have a huge impact, the pressure is on Keita to show why the club spent £52.75m on him.

He will have much less of a chance to do so if he puts his body at risk this summer, and another poor season may see the fans start to get on his back.

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Manchester United fans have taken to Twitter in fury after reading a story on Sky Sports, which states that former midfielder Darren Fletcher is a ‘leading candidate’ for the role of technical director.

Whilst their anger would be justified with that appointment alone, seeing as the current Stoke man is woefully under-qualified for a role like that, what has irked the United supporters more is the fact that whoever gets the job isn’t expected to be a ‘transfer guru’.

Will OGS still be in charge of Man Utd come next May? The Flying Pig discusses in the video below…

Instead, the report states that the Red Devils are simply looking for someone to act as the ‘glue’ between the board and the manager; this should mean that the much-disliked Ed Woodward stays in charge of recruitment.

Woodward isn’t highly thought of around Old Trafford, and the news that a technical director will merely act as ‘glue’ hasn’t gone down too well with the supporters on Twitter, who have slammed Woodward and questioned the merits of the role.

Here’s what the fans on Twitter had to say in response to the report…

كشف المدرب البرتغالي، جوزيه مورينيو، المدير الفني لنادي توتنهام هوتسبير، موقف الدولي الكوري الجنوبي، هيونج مين سون، من اللعب أمام مانشستر سيتي في البريميرليج، بعد أنباء إصابته بـ فيروس كورونا “كوفيد – 19”.

توتنهام يستقبل غدًا، مساء السبت، نظيره مانشستر سيتي، على ملعب “توتنهام الجديد”، ضمن لقاءات الجولة التاسعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وقال مورينيو في المؤتمر الصحفي الخاص بالمباراة:”سون؟ لقد عاد، واختباره جاء سلبيًا مرتين، اتبع البرتوكولات، وهو على ما يُرام وجاهز للعب”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. مورينيو: لم أعد سبيشال وان!

وعن ستيفن بيرجوين: “لقد ذهب إلى المنتخب الوطني مُصابًا، لم يُشارك ضد وست بروميتش لأنه كان مُصابًا بالفعل، ومنتخب هولندا قام بإجراء فحوصات طبية عليه، وقرروا عودته ليتعافى من الإصابة”.

وأكد: “لقد قضى أسبوعين يتدرب، وهو تعافى وأصبح لائقًا تمامًا، وسيكون مُتاحًا لمباراة الغد”.

وأتم تصريحاته قائلًا: “اليوم ستكون هُناك جلسة اخرى مسائية، سأرى فيها اللاعبين، لم أر البعض بعد عودتهم من منتخباتهم الوطنية، هاري وينيكز لديه إصابة صغيرة، ولاميلا، ولكن بصرف النظر عن ذلك، لا توجد أي إصابات”.

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Sheffield Wednesday fans on Twitter have been calling for Marco Matias to be released from the club at the end of the season.

The Portuguese forward’s contract is up this summer and supporters have been urging the Owls not to renew his deal.

This comes after an article written by Dom Howson in the Sheffield Star recommended that Matias was kept on at the club beyond his current deal.

Owls fans on Twitter were quick to disagree with Howson saying that Matias should be let go sooner rather than later.

The 29-year-old has scored six goals in 29 Championship appearances so far this season, but Wednesday fans seemingly no longer want him.

Steve Bruce’s side have been in fantastic form since the former Villa boss took charge at Hillsborough, but fans want to see the team changed up next season and Matias isn’t a part of their plans.

Here’s what Wednesday fans have been saying on Twitter…

Check out the video below to see how Brazil fans reacted to being asked how Cristiano Ronaldo would perform for them in a hilarious prank by Pl>ymaker FC…

As the season progresses, it becomes more and more apparent that the Premier League really messed up by not introducing VAR at the start of the campaign.

This weekend alone saw controversial penalty calls, Sean Dyche question why VAR hasn’t been introduced as far back as the 1990s, and West Ham yet again losing important points due to another poor mistake from the officials.

Lucas Perez was denied a perfectly good goal in the 90th minute when the former Arsenal striker was flagged for offside after beating the offside trap, rounded Kasper Schmeichel, and tapped the ball into an empty net, however, replays showed that the Spaniard was actually onside, and West Ham were once again done over by the lack of VAR.

Harvey Barnes would go on to score a stoppage-time equaliser moments later, further adding to West Ham’s misery and causing more outrage from fans.

There’s a good case to make that if VAR was introduced this season, West Ham would have been one of the teams to benefit massively from it.

We have seen countless times this season the Hammers be on the wrong side of poor officiating, from James Milner being offside in the build-up to Sadio Mane’s goal in Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with Manuel Pellegrini’s side to Manchester United being award two very debatable penalties in their 2-1 win over the east London team last week.

VAR should have been introduced this season and the lack of the technology has seen West Ham suffer more than most clubs, but next campaign will see the Hammers finally have the calls and decisions that usually go against them be overturned, which will more than make up the points for Pellegrini’s team.

West Ham fans, how beneficial will VAR be for the Hammers next season? Let us know!

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Leeds United fans on Twitter are praying that their poor run of results on Easter Monday can come to an end against Brentford.

The Whites’ promotion chances took a huge hit on Good Friday and they now sit two points off the pace in the race for the top two, with only three games left of the season.

A win on Easter Monday could potentially see their hopes resurrected but their recent record on this day shows that their chances of a win are unlikely.

Marcelo Bielsa’s side have apparently lost nine of their last 10 league games on Easter Monday, and are currently on a run of six consecutive losses on this date.

If this poor run is extended, then Leeds’ push for automatic promotion could be all but over so it’s no surprise fans are hoping that the bad luck will end this time.

Wigan finally ended Leeds’ impressive winning streak after scoring first in Championship fixtures and fans of the Yorkshire club are now hoping that they can break another trend for the second time in just three days – albeit with significantly contrasting consequences for their promotion dream.

Here’s what Leeds fans have been saying about the record on Twitter…

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Over the course of the last few seasons, Declan Rice has emerged as one of English football’s most exciting young talents, his rise resulting in a place in Gareth Southgate’s most recent England squad.

There is no doubting the West Ham youngster’s potential, although there still remains a debate over whether his qualities are best served in defence or midfield. So, what does Rice need to do to silence the doubters and emerge as a world-class presence in the middle of the park? Football FanCast’s writers give their verdicts below…

James Beavis – Leadership

“At the moment, Rice is a player that is consistently producing 8/10 performances for West Ham United, sometimes almost under the radar. To become a world-class midfielder he needs to start being more of a leader on the pitch and impose himself on matches even more. He needs to be the star man every week instead of merely the reliable one doing his job at a high level. He can learn a lot from Mark Noble in that respect, and that can be the difference for the 20-year-old if he wants to make it to the very top.”

Ben Goodwin – Keep it up

“At just 20 with barely a full season of first team football under his belt, Rice has to do little more than what he is doing right now. The twice-capped ace is controlling matches for the Hammers, and the technical qualities of this young crop of English midfielders are a breath of fresh air. Stay fit, stay consistent, keep performing and keep learning and the world class tag will arrive in no time.”

Jack Saville – Distribution

“Rice has the well-rounded skill-set to rise into the world class bracket. He is remarkably excellent and consistent with his distribution considering he started his career in central defence, but if he can fine-tune that aspect of his game he could step further upfield into a box-to-box role. Modelling his game on a complete all-rounder like Fernandinho could transform him into one of the Premier League’s best.”

Christy Malyan – Goals

“Deep-lying midfielders are never going to be judged on goals but it’s becoming increasingly rare for those in the engine room to boast the height and aerial prowess of a centre-half, something Rice demonstrated with great effect during his previous stints in defence. As there will usually be at least two centre-backs on the pitch already when he plays, he should be the free man at set pieces or at the very least marked by someone who will struggle to match him in the air. That should result in plenty of goals and if he provides them while maintaining his usual standard of performance, he’ll be an exceptionally unique commodity.”