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Luka Modric has just returned from another injury, his second one of the ongoing 2019/20 season.This time it was just a small bruise but it still meant the Croatian midfielder would miss two games in the span of eight days he was out of commission.Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Needless to say, the absence of such a key man is always a big thing for Real Madrid.

But now he’s back and before he could even don the royal white of the Galacticos, he got called up for Croatia’s upcoming two upcoming international games that will take place in November.

Upon hearing this update, many of the fans couldn’t believe he was going away once again because this season the 34-year-old has spent more time playing for his national side than he has for Real Madrid.

Currently, he tallied 246 minutes for Los Blancos since the start of the season and 337 minutes for Croatia.

Of course, this will balance itself out as the campaign goes on but many of Real Madrid fans were simply not happy that he’s spending so much time away from his club and, by doing so, risking further injuries.

You can see some of their replies down below:

Traore showed great humility in his post after netting a brace.

The goalscorer had every reason to heap praise upon himself after scoring the vital goals for his team this weekend, but instead, he wanted to give credit to everyone around the club from the players to the coaches to the fans.

This post just highlights the togetherness and team spirit within the club at the moment, and if that continues to grow Wolves could cause a few more upsets before the end of the season.

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…

If you hadn’t realised Theo Walcott had turned 30 on 16 March earlier this year, you would understandably be forgiven. The winger feels like he has been in the Premier League for ever, such was the early rise in his career.

The Southampton academy product was seen as the next big thing when he was named in England’s World Cup squad in 2006 as a fresh-faced teenager, but the 5 foot 9 man has arguably been the victim of too much hype and expectation.

The indoor football skills in the video below have to be seen to be believed…

To all intents and purposes, he has enjoyed a pretty impressive career in English football’s top-flight – after all, he has 73 goals and 54 assists in 327 games in the competition. But having made the decision to join Everton in the summer of 2018, there may have been concerns his career is on the decline.

His start to the current campaign has been less than auspicious, failing to score or assist at all. But his performance against West Ham on Saturday afternoon delivered a timely reminder to the Toffees that he still has plenty to offer. Lining up on the right-hand side of Everton’s attack, Walcott looked a constant threat with his pace in behind, and incisive movement.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

His finishing was slightly erratic (he had seven total shots on goal without scoring), but almost set the house on fire when his thundering volley cannoned off the cross-bar in the second-half. Whilst he went luckless in terms of finding the back of the net, he always showed a willingness to create for others – registering an assist and providing two key passes.

If Silva persists with Alex Iwobi and Bernard in his side – both silky smooth players but not blessed with a searing amount of pace – then Walcott can provide them with a truly unique attacking outlet. The Toffees can play on the counter-attack more, and give their more creative players the chance to play balls in behind the opposition defence for the ex-Gunner to run on to.

Walcott was once rather cruelly criticised for not having a “football brain”. He may not have scored against the Hammers at the weekend, but he certainly showed he has the intelligence and quality to still be a key part of a Premier League side.

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The Champions League was back in action this week for the first time since May when Liverpool lifted the trophy in an all-English final.

On Wednesday evening, several eagle-eyed Aston Villa supporters spotted one of their former players putting in a resounding performance against Real Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain won 3-0 with Idrissa Gueye putting in a star-showing in the centre of midfield. He created the assist for Angel Di Maria’s second of the match just after half an hour and finished on a match rating of 8.3.

It was the 29-year-old’s hard work from the right flank which eventually fed the Argentinian, who struck a wonderful curling effort from 20 yards out past former Chelsea shot-stopper Thibaut Courtois.

One Villa fan claimed the 5 foot 9 man was ‘absolutely bossing’ Madrid’s midfield of Eden Hazard, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.

Gueye was signed by former Villa boss Tim Sherwood in the summer of 2015 and made 38 appearances that season as the west Midlands club were relegated to the Championship.

In the time it’s taken the club to get back into the Premier League, Gueye went on to play regularly for Everton, making over 100 appearances, before sealing a huge move to the Ligue 1 champions earlier this summer.

Another supporter said it was no real surprise to see him smashing at the top level despite having a misfortunate campaign in the west Midlands earlier in his career.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

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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… 

West Brom continued their unbeaten run in the Championship with a convincing 2-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Saturday afternoon.

Second-half goals from academy product Nathan Ferguson and Matheus Pereira were enough to secure a ninth straight game without a loss for Slaven Bilic and his side.

The 18-year-old was given all the time in the world to advance into the opposition half before he cut in and unleashed a strike from 25 yards out that beat Joe Lumley in the QPR net.

Things then got worse for the home side as defender Yoann Barbet received his marching orders for bringing down substitute Hal Robson-Kanu when he was the last man.

The resulting free-kick was taken by the Brazilian loanee and was hit low under the wall to double their advantage.

Robson-Kanu replaced £4m summer arrival Charlie Austin after just an hour with the 30-year-old still looking for his first goal in a Baggies shirt.

The striker may have been taken off as a precaution ahead of their midweek game at Leeds United, but Austin still does have to be careful, with his place likely to become more under threat after this latest showing.

Former Wales international Robson-Kanu had been out injured for several weeks with this game marking his senior return to action.

Now that Bilic has another striker fit enough to call upon, Austin could well be axed should he not score sometime soon.

Kenneth Zohore, who also joined the west Midlands club this summer, has bagged two goals – albeit both penalties.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

In 61 minutes of game time, Austin recorded just one shot on target which certainly isn’t going to help his cause in trying to find his first goal for the club.

Per SofaScore, the former Saints striker also lost possession seven times, won just three of his seven ground duels and conceded two fouls.

That marks out another difficult afternoon up front despite West Brom coming away with a victory.

With Robson-Kanu back in the squad and Zohore wanting to prove his worth, having not started a game in over a month, Austin’s opportunity to lead the line may be wearing thin after this latest performance.

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The Fulham fans could not quite believe what head coach Claudio Ranieri did during Friday night’s Premier League clash with West Ham United.

At the interval of the match, with Fulham 2-1 down, Ranieri decided to bring both Jean Michael Seri and Ryan Sessegnon off, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Lazar Markovic entering the field.

It would be fair to say that the double change did not go down well with the Fulham supporters, with many taking to social media to blast their head coach.

As it transpired, Fulham suffered a 3-1 defeat at the London Stadium, despite taking the lead in the early stages through Ryan Babel, so it’s safe to say the half-time switch-up didn’t work out.

Indeed, goals from Javier Hernandez, Issa Diop and Michail Antonio secured the points for the Hammers, leaving Fulham in 19th position in the table, eight points from safety.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the struggling club’s fans – in relation to the double substitution at the break – can be seen below:

After a rather lacklustre 2019 summer transfer window in which they only signed one genuine global star in the form of Eden Hazard, Real Madrid could be poised to get more reinforcements in the not so distant future.

At least, that’s what their president, Florentino Perez, implied when talking to AS just recently.

He said that there is a certain French player Los Blancos really like and that they will go for him.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Naturally, only two players come to many fans’ minds: Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe. And while Perez hasn’t revealed the mysterious player in question, many of the fans have concluded it has to be Mbappe and they definitely want him to join.

Some even state how the 20-year-old star is destined to come to Real Madrid and that the white kit of the Galacticos really would suit him.

One way or the other, they seem to expect “madness” from Perez in the upcoming transfer windows.

Take a look at some of their replies in the collection of tweets down below:

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Aston Villa have reignited their interest in Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma.

That’s according to The Telegraph’s John Percy and Sam Wallace, which unsurprisingly has had a number of Villa fans talking on social media.

The reliable reporters shared the update on the morning of deadline day, revealing that a ‘key decision’ is set to be made today over a late January move or whether to wait until the summer.

Villa reportedly had a £25m bid turned down earlier this month for the Brighton midfielder and failed in their pursuit of Rodrigo Bentancur, but it seems as if they could attempt a late swoop for the Mali international.

Bissouma is now back from the Africa Cup of Nations and has less than 18 months remaining on his contract, with both Manchester United and Tottenham also credited with a late interest on Twitter.

Villa fans react

Well-known fan feed @villareport relayed Percy and Wallace’s claim on Twitter. It had these Villa supporters excited, with many urging Johan Lange to push through with a late deadline day deal.

“DO IT TODAY!”

Credit: @JordAVFCx

“Lange at the back post”

Credit: @avfctom_

“Would be unreal if we get him”

Credit: @GW_94

“Get it done today!!!!”

Credit: @SamSamchilton9

“Pleaseeeeee ”

Credit: @_JackAvfc

“Don’t play with my emotions, he’d be class”

Credit: @Mattachu_Avfc

In other news: ‘Hats off to the board’ – Sky Sports man purrs at ‘amazing’ out-of-the-blue Villa transfer news. 

Everton are reportedly now targeting a move to sign Ashley Phillips, but face competition from a number of other clubs in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Exciting prospect

At just 16 years of age, Phillips is a player that no doubt has a big future ahead of him.

His manager Tony Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers waxed lyrical about him earlier this season, claiming that he is ‘fast, mobile and can pass it really well’, adding that he has ‘got every attribute’ that a central defender needs to have (Lancs Live).

Mowbray went further to call Phillips’ attributes ‘amazing’, and claimed that he is an ‘exciting prospect’ (Lancs Live), suggesting that he has the potential to go to the very top.

The Latest: Targeted

Phillips is unsurprisingly attracting a lot of interest from the top flight, including the Goodison Park faithful, who are just one of a number of teams targeting him, according to a recruitment source at Football Insider.

Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Manchester United are also eyeing up his signature, with the latter said to be in ‘pole position’ at the moment.

Rovers are now bracing themselves for an offer from the Red Devils, as well as others, and the Merseyside club could be one to follow up their interest.

The Verdict: One for the future

In order for the Toffees to best prepare for the future, they must snap up talents like Phillips early before their rivals do.

The centre-back is clearly a hot prospect, having shone through the ranks at youth level for Blackburn, as well as representing both Wales and England’s youth sides (Transfermarkt).

Nonetheless, with just 18 months left on his contract at Ewood Park, he could be available for a bargain fee if the Blues can fend off the competition.

In other news, find out what worrying Blues claim this injury expert has dropped here!

Newcastle United are showing interest in former Tottenham midfielder Christian Eriksen, according to The Times (via The Chronicle).

The lowdown

The 29-year-old hasn’t played since he suffered a cardiac arrest during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland last June.

In December, Inter Milan terminated his contract by mutual consent, in the knowledge that Eriksen would not be able to play in Serie A because he has an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator fitted. However, he can feature in another league where the rules are different.

The midfielder racked up 226 Premier League appearances during his seven-year stint at Spurs from 2013 to 2020.

The latest

According to The Times, Newcastle are said to be among three Premier League clubs keen on signing Eriksen, alongside Brentford and Leicester City.

Brentford’s interest is the most advanced, with the Bees offering the Dane a contract until the end of the season. Therefore, Newcastle may quickly have to present a rival offer to ensure that they don’t lose out.

The verdict

Eriksen was excellent for Spurs, recording 159 direct goal contributions (69 goals, 90 assists) in his 305 appearances.

His overall career tallies stand at an impressive 114 goals and 158 assists, and his individual accolades include a PFA Team of the Year nod, the Premier League Goal of the Month for April 2018 and a FIFPro World XI nomination. Newcastle fans may also remember that he netted a direct free-kick against them in a 3-1 win for Spurs in 2015.

Given that he hasn’t played in so long and is coming back from such a serious medical episode, this would have to be have regarded as a risky move. On the other hand, he would be arriving on a free transfer and, if Newcastle match Brentford’s proposal, on a short-term contract.

Perhaps it’s worth a go.

In other news, Newcastle are plotting an £18m raid on this Premier League club.