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A number of West Ham United fans have been on social media discussing their hopes for the January transfer window, which is not too far away now.

The Hammers have collected 12 points from their nine Premier League matches this season to sit 11th in the table.

Manuel Pellegrini’s side were actually on an excellent run when they beat Manchester United 2-0 on September 22 but it has been a struggle since.

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Indeed, the capital outfit have lost three of their last four in all competitions – including their last two in the Premier League to Crystal Palace and Everton.

And the supporters have started to switch their attention to January, when new signings could arrive to boost the club.

There are a lot of different opinions on what should happen in the winter market, although many feel that a number of new players are required.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

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…

Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino has taken the north London club as far as he can in current circumstances, and the only way he can take them further is if a major exit happens.

The Argentine’s comments, as reported by Football London’s Alasdair Gold, following the embarrassing Carabao Cup exit against League Two outfit Colchester United on Tuesday – saying that he needs to sort his squad out in January and next summer – told you all you need to know.

It’s only been a few weeks since the previous transfer window closed for European clubs, and from those words it appears as though the 47-year-old wasn’t happy with how things panned out.

He has three key first-team players whose contracts run out next summer in Christian Eriksen, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld, with the former rejecting every contract he has been offered by Daniel Levy as he waits on a proposal from Real Madrid, according to Marca.

If those three leave for nothing, which looks conceivable right now, how much would Tottenham have to spend to replace them? Lots is the answer when you consider the world-record price tags of centre-back duo Virgil van Dijk and Harry Maguire, and it’s difficult to see that sort of spending being sanctioned by the top brass.

On top of that he has current first-choice full-backs Danny Rose and Serge Aurier, both of whom the club were reportedly willing to sell just a few months ago.

Pochettino didn’t get Paulo Dybala on deadline day, and he has been left with a bloated squad that is struggling to deliver results on the pitch following the closure of the European equivalent.

All is not well at Spurs right now and the blame may lie with one man – Levy.

It seems as though the 57-year-old hasn’t delivered exactly what his manager wanted in terms of his squad for the 2019/20 campaign, and that friction has been clear – Pochettino even had to hold clear-the-air talks with his chairman last month.

It is a recurring theme at Tottenham and following Levy’s recent comments that Tottenham won’t loosen their purse strings in the future, Pochettino has surely taken the club as far as he can as the situation is now.

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You certainly wouldn’t blame him if he was eyeing up moves to the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid, where he would more than likely be heavily backed in the transfer market.

While Tottenham have spent big on Ndombele, it doesn’t appear as though they have the financial clout to buy two or three players for a similar £63m fee in one window.

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In that respect, Levy needs to go if Pochettino wants to take Tottenham any further, and that is unlikely given he has been at the helm for 21 years and has shown no sign that he could be ready to leave the role.

That makes one outcome the most likely then…

Mesut Ozil’s days of lackadaisically meandering around Arsenal’s creative quarters look to be coming to an end.The German was left out of Unai Emery’s matchday squad for the third successive week when they faced Bournemouth at the Emirates on Sunday.Despite raking in £350,000 per week in wages, Ozil has made just two appearances so far this season, starting against Watford and Nottingham Forest last month, and is quickly becoming a fringe player in Emery’s plans as the Spaniard looks to integrate the plethora of young talent at his disposal.Watch Arsenal Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A competition typically reserved for peripheral players knocking at the door, Ozil’s exclusion from Arsenal’s Europa League bout against Standard Liege was a real statement of his position within Emery’s Emirates regime. Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock and arguably Bukayo Saka are all preferred ahead of him.

Understandably, Arsenal legend Ray Parlour believes Ozil has no future in north London…

Putting your mate into headlock that would make Khabib Nurmagomedov proud is an interesting way to greet them home, but that’s exactly what Jack Stephens did to Yoshida.

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Of course, the Southampton men were just being playful as Stephens made it clear in the comments that he’s missed his teammate during the international break.

Luckily Stephens’ headlock didn’t cause any injuries for Yoshida, and he’ll be fit to play this weekend. It’s also great to see such camaraderie in the Saints squad between two centre-backs, perhaps the position where chemistry is most crucial as a component for success.

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Some Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have slammed the man who rejected them in the summer, Dani Ceballos, following his latest display for arch-rivals Arsenal.

Sky Sports reported during the summer that Spurs were interested in a permanent deal for the Spaniard and were in talks with Real Madrid, but that the 23-year-old preferred a move to their north London neighbours instead – something he indeed opted for.

They ended up signing a similar player in Giovani Lo Celso on loan on deadline day, and it appears Spurs supporters aren’t too impressed with what they saw from Ceballos amid his latest outing against Watford on Sunday.

He may have chalked up two assists in the success against Burnley last month, but he hasn’t scored or assisted in any of his other four Premier League appearances to date, including against Quique Sanchez Flores’ men where he picked up a rating of just 6.16 from WhoScored.

Tottenham fans took to the popular social media platform to slam the Spain international for his performance at Vicarage Road, with one fan saying he isn’t fit to lace Harry Winks’ boots, and another saying they’d “rather have Lo Celso”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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Celtic would have known at the beginning of January that the Scottish Premiership was not going to be a formality this season, as bitter rivals Rangers will push them all the way.

Therefore, manager Brendan Rodgers would have sought to seriously strengthen his squad last month, to give Celtic the chance of securing their third domestic treble in a row, their tenth Scottish Premiership in a row, and even for success in Europe.

Celtic were very busy this January, with a number of incoming and outgoing players. With that in mind, these were the biggest mistakes Celtic made this January:

Squad balance

The Bhoys brought in a number of players in last month, including some very high-profile loan signings. PSG’s promising striker Timothy Weah arrived at Parkhead, as well as 21-year-old Scotland international Oliver Burke amongst others.

Rodgers now has a job on his hands of balancing his squad. Given the success that Celtic have already had so far this season, the manager will not want to make wholesale changes, as this could not only affect the performance of the team but can make some players very unsettled.

In what could be a historic season, the Northern Irishman will need squad cohesion more than anything. Luckily, Celtic are still competing in a number of competitions and will therefore need squad rotation, meaning Rodgers will probably be able to pull this off.

Departing players

Amongst the number of arrivals at Paradise last month, there were also a number which departed on loan.

One notable departure was Lewis Morgan to EFL League One outfit Sunderland. The move saw the winger reunited with manager Jack Ross, with whom he played under at St Mirren last season. Ross was able to get the best out of Morgan last term, something that Rodgers has struggled to do this season.

If Morgan and Ross can earn promotion with The Black Cats, there is a good chance that the player may opt to stay with his former manager, meaning Celtic could have lost out on a very promising talent.

Of course, this is a move to help the player’s development, but it could backfire.

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This article is part of Football Fancast’s Monthly Review series, which analyses what managers can learn from the previous month and what the coming month could have in store.

Wolves have endured a rough start to the Premier League season, even though the table says they’ve lost just one match.

The strain of European football has clearly had an effect on Nuno Santo’s men as they’ve drawn their three other league matches, whilst in the Europa League they have won all six games, clinching a spot in the group stages.

The Portuguese boss needs their form in the competition to translate into top-flight results otherwise they’ll continue the worrying trend of teams struggling because of the added distractions.

But what must be done to ensure that September is more of a success for the west Midlands club?

Check out the most insane fan meltdowns in the video below…

Play through Adama Traore

Traore has been quite the revelation at right wing-back for Wolves this season after Santo converted him from a winger and occasional right-sided forward.

In the Europa League, the 23-year-old has recorded three assists in six matches but this form has only earned him one start in the Premier League to date, per Transfermarkt.

Considering Matt Doherty’s lack of fitness and the impact of Traore, it only makes sense to continue to let him thrive in the role going forward – something that Ian Wright has also mentioned this week.

Rotation will be vital

Last season, Santo very rarely tweaked his side – he had no reason to considering it was just the Premier League and the domestic cups.

He only used 21 different players and two of those can even be chalked off considering they featured for just one solitary minute all year.

That trend has continued, despite the club adding a couple of squad depth options in the likes of Patrick Cutrone, Pedro Neto and Jesus Vallejo.

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The 45-year-old has utilised 17 players this season with nine of them featuring in all four Premier League matches so far.

Should they progress far in the Carabao Cup then two games per week will become very much the normality going into 2020. As a result, this key tactical tweak could be necessary on a regular basis.

Get Jimenez scoring

Their Mexican striker has been prolific in Europe, scoring six goals in six appearances, but has netted just twice in the league – one of which was a last-minute penalty.

Against Everton, the 28-year-old managed 46 touches but just five of those came from inside the penalty area – that’s not a recipe for success based off his xG chart, per Understat.

The forward is for some reason struggling domestically and if Wolves want to get better, they’ll need their number nine on form.

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Glasgow Rangers are reportedly now in a ‘strong position’ to sign Danilho Doekhi in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Souttar in

It has now been confirmed that John Souttar has signed a pre-contract agreement with the Ibrox faithful from Hearts, and he may even be able to play from this month if a further agreement can be made.

A few central defenders for the Teddy Bears are facing uncertain futures, and so bringing in a new centre-back was vital.

In truth, they could do with another one as well, given that both Connor Goldson and Leon Balogun’s contracts are up in the summer, with no sign of them renewing as of yet.

The Latest: Doekhi next?

As per The Athletic journalist Jordan Campbell, the Light Blues are now in a ‘strong position’ to sign Doekhi, after confirming Souttar’s signing.

The Dutchman is also a player whose contract is up in the summer, and so he could also be very attainable this month.

The Verdict: No-brainer

Assuming both Goldson and Balogun leave, it would be a no-brainer to sign Doekhi up alongside Souttar.

He has been described as having ‘all the ingredients’ for a good centre-half by Dutch football agent Freddy van der Hoorn, as he is ‘aggressive’ being six-foot-three, but also ‘very comfortable’ on the ball as well (Rangers Review).

Doekhi has also hinted himself that he would like the move, claiming that he is ‘flattered’ by the Gers’ interest, and that they are a ‘very beautiful’ club (de Gelderlander).

Nonetheless, to play under Dutch legend Giovanni van Bronckhorst could well be a match made in heaven.

In other news, find out what transfer update has Gers buzzing here!

Following on from their 2-2 draw against Manchester United in the Premier League last weekend, when they came from 2-0 down in the second half, Aston Villa secured all three points in their latest league outing with a 1-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon.

A headed goal from Emiliano Buendia just before half-time was enough to win the game for Steven Gerrard’s side against the struggling Toffees.

The Argentine was not the only Villa player who impressed on the day, with defender Tyrone Mings putting in the sort of performance which would leave his manager delighted.

Throughout the entire match, Mings was Villa’s defensive rock by racking up five clearances – with one off the goal-line – one tackle, one interception and two blocks (as per SofaScore), so it’s fair to say that he made a somewhat heroic contribution to his team recording a clean sheet as well as victory.

The defender also won six duels, showing how difficult he made it for Everton’s attacking figures such as Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin this afternoon.

This performance ultimately earned the England international an impressive overall match rating of 8.1/10, making him Villa’s highest-rated player on the day according to SofaScore and arguably Gerrard’s hero of the hour.

Birmingham Live’s Ashley Preece also picked up on the 28-year-old’s “excellent” display by saying that he “showed real leadership once again, blocking and clearing everything that came his way while he headed Godfrey’s goal-bound effort away as Everton pressed after the break.”

Having been praised in the past by former Villa attacker Gabby Agbonlahor for his “outstanding” performances on the international stage for England, Mings showed today that he is capable of delivering solid displays for his club as well, and that he is worthy of donning the captain’s armband.

Moving forward, if the 28-year-old can keep producing this standard of performance on a regular basis throughout the remainder of the season, he will surely give Villa every chance of comfortably finishing in the top half in the final Premier League table.

In other news: Ashley Preece drops Villa transfer claim amid Gerrard comments, fans surely delighted

According to a report by Craig Hope in the Daily Mail, Newcastle United are set to face an injury crisis; Callum Wilson has suffered a torn calf and will be sidelined for months, while Allan Saint-Maximin and Ryan Fraser have picked up muscle injuries as well.

The Lowdown: Defensive injuries already a nightmare

The Magpies have already suffered a number of injuries this season and many of which have exacerbated their defensive issues. This has led to the worst defensive record in the league, as Newcastle have conceded a staggering 42 goals in 19 games this season – three more than second place Norwich City.

The longest of these defensive omissions has seen left-back Paul Dummett sustain a serious calf problem that has meant he has missed a total of 20 matches to this date.

More recently, centre-back Federico Fernandez and left-back Jamal Lewis have suffered thigh problems and hamstring injuries respectively, leaving manager Eddie Howe very light in his defensive options.

The Latest: Magpies face more trouble

According to a report by Hope in the Daily Mail, Newcastle fear that Wilson has suffered a torn calf muscle and he will be sidelined for a number of months. This comes as a big blow to Howe, who will now miss his top goal-scorer throughout the hectic winter schedule.

Hope understands that the injury Saint-Maximin picked up, also in the Magpies’ 1-1 clash with Manchester United on Monday, was calf related as well. Fraser, meanwhile, has sustained a different muscle problem.

Hope shared the news to Twitter, saying: “Understand Callum Wilson’s injury is torn calf muscle & fears are period of months sidelined. Allan Saint-Maximin injury is also calf related, while Ryan Fraser has picked up a hamstring problem.”

The Verdict: Newcastle need additions desperately

Howe was unsure after the game as to the extent of the injuries sustained by Wilson and Saint-Maximin. However, he will now be devastated if Hope’s reports are accurate.

Without his top goal-scorer, the boss will be wondering where his goals are going to come from. This issue is further exacerbated by Saint-Maximin’s injury, as he is the only other Newcastle player to score more than one goal this season, having scored on four occasions.

This makes it imperative that the Magpies spend big in the January transfer window, as they look set to fight a relegation battle, which, if victorious, could see them begin a huge rebuild over the summer.