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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Barcelona take on Granada this weekend as they return to La Liga action following their Champions League draw with Borussia Dortmund and their success might depend on the performance Sergio Busquets musters up against Yangel Herrera in the middle of the pitch.

On the chalkboard

With only two wins in the ongoing 2019/20 La Liga season under their belts so far, the Blaugrana will be mighty keen to take all three points this weekend.

After all, both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are currently above them in the standings; the former are third, with eight points, Atleti are second with nine and Sevilla are top with 10. Barca sit sixth, with seven points.

Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

But slow and steady wins the race, as the saying goes, and Ernesto Valverde’s men will need to start putting a run of form together soon.

Their clash with Granada is an important one, then, and Busquets could play a key role in the result.

Experience vs youth

Not much connects the 31-year-old Busquets to the 21-year-old Herrera other than their positions on the pitch. In fact, they are divided by a decade of football experience and that will certainly play into the veteran’s hands.

But Herrera is a player that Barcelona should watch out for. So far, in the 2019/2020 season, the Venezuelan has been involved in two games for Granada, tallying one goal in the process as opposed to Busquets’ one assist in three appearances.

The 21-year-old is adept defensively, though. He has registered two tackles, 0.5 interceptions and 2.5 clearances per game in La Liga this campaign and has also registered 0.5 blocks. Busquets, on the other hand, has three tackles, 0.7 interceptions, 0.7 clearances and no blocks to his name.

When it comes to the attacking phase of the game, however, both players have slightly lower contributions. Herrera has 0.5 shots and one key pass per game while his weekend opponent has 0.3 shots and 1.7 key passes per game.

From the looks of things, this battle might be decided by who can defend and disrupt their opposition better from deeper midfield positions, providing the springboard for their side to move forward.

Will it be Herrera who will leads Granada to a massive upset or will Busquets help Barcelona’s return to winning ways?

We’ll find out pretty soon.

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After a barn-storming performance and result against Chelsea to kick off the Premier League campaign, Manchester United have suffered a major dip in form.

The Red Devils followed up a shock defeat to Crystal Palace with a 1-1 draw away at ten-man Southampton, and it means the club have picked up just five points from their opening four league games.

However, one silver lining for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side has been the explosive start enjoyed by summer signing Daniel James, who notched his third Premier League goal of the campaign at St Mary’s.

The strike means he has already equalled Alexis Sanchez’s record of three league goals, although it took the Chilean 45 games to do so himself.

Despite the disappointing draw to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side, United fans took to Twitter to hail James for his eye-catching performance.

Many supporters of the Manchester side hailed the 21-year-old’s work on the wing, with the Welshman registering five shots and a joint game-high six crosses.

Some United fans admitted James may have been the only positive from the game, and labelled him an “absolute baller”.

Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Injury News series, which considers the impact of the latest updates on players’ fitness

Michael Obafemi is back in training ahead of Southampton’s clash with Sheffield United this weekend, the club have appeared to confirm.

What’s the word?

Pictures on the club’s official website show that Obafemi trained with the first-team before the Saints’ return to Premier League action this weekend.

The 19-year-old limped out of the 1-0 win over Fulham in the Carabao Cup, having scored the Saints’ only goal at Craven Cottage.

He was subsequently left out of the squad for the 1-1 draw with Manchester United but could now potentially return as they take on Chris Wilder’s men.

Obafemi made his first-team debut in 2017/18 and went on to make seven league appearances in 18/19 before a hamstring injury ruled him out of the campaign.

Thus far, he has scored two goals and registered one assist at senior level for the club.

Watch Southampton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A chance for a comeback

The teenager has thus far seen his momentum stalled at every turn.

He has yet to have a genuine run of games in the Premier League but Ralph Hasenhuttl now has the opportunity to bring him into the fold once again.

A quick, lithe striker who can also play on the wing, he offers something different to the threats posed by the likes of Che Adams, Danny Ings and Shane Long.

It remains to be seen if he is fit enough to play from the start against the Blades but he is an excellent option from the bench.

His return to action can only be good news for all parties involved.

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Many Watford fans have given their response on Twitter to one of the club’s tweets which shows new signing Ismaila Sarr at training on his first day.

The club posted a video of Sarr walking through the training ground, carrying his boots in a plastic bag.

Sarr, 21, joined the club for a reported fee of over £25m, blowing their previous record fee of £18.5m for Andre Gray out of the water.

The Senegalese winger has penned a five-year deal at Vicarage Road after impressing for Rennes, scoring 13 times in 50 games for them last year.

Yesterday was Sarr’s first day training for the Hornets, and the club updated their fans, letting them know how much he impressed the medical staff.

Head of injury prevention and rehabilitation, Alberto Leon, said: “It was the first day with the player and the first approach is a positive one.

“He came in a good condition and we did all the tests to see more deeply how he is.”

“With all this information we have created a profile of the player and we can see if there is an imbalance or a weakness point.

“We are still collating the results but all the staff say he is in a normal shape and this is not a player we are going to have to work a lot on different things. He came with a good baseline, he looks good and we are really happy with the player. He looks a good athlete.”

Watford fans couldn’t help but poke fun at themselves, though, considering the video posted by the club has Sarr looking rather grumpy. Others also laughed about how Sarr was carrying a plastic bag with his boots in, rather than a boot bag.

One fan commented: “Would love to see film of him laughing and joking with the other players and staff. And please can someone give him a boot bag?”.

Here are some of the best responses below…

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Liverpool’s 2019 summer pre-season continues to go pretty well.

The reigning Champions League winners beat Bradford City 3-1 in their second friendly and some of the familiar faces were once again on the scoresheet.

James Milner netted two goals but it was the youngster, Rhian Brewster, who fired an impressive shot from a really tight angle to make it three for the Reds. Needless to say manager Jurgen Klopp was once again pretty satisfied with the team’s performance.

Brewster immediately took to Instagram to celebrate and his post was met with a lot of positive feedback from his teammates and friends.

James Maddison was really quick to shower Brewster with praise following another great goal for the Merseyside team and he only had one word for the 18-year-old.

Maddison called Brewster “bagsman”, emphasising how he “bagged” another goal for Liverpool. But he wasn’t the only one as other players did the same. Another Reds’ starlet, Bobby Duncan, was also on the scene.

The main thing about the game, though, was the fact it was a charity match being played in support of Darby Rimmer MND Foundation, launched by the ex-Liverpool and Bradford defender Stephen Darby following his MND diagnosis and retirement from football last September.

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West Ham United fans can barely believe that they have signed Sebastian Haller from Eintracht Frankfurt.

The club confirmed a record deal to sign the French striker had been struck on Wednesday. Haller has signed a five-year contract in east London.

Sources have told Football FanCast that the deal is worth an initial £45m plus £5m in performance-related bonuses.

The transfer comes about after the 25-year-old scored 20 goals in all competitions last season and also registered 12 assists.

A player with proven experience, he has netted a total of 24 goals in the Bundesliga, along with 41 in the Eredivisie.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He has been capped at various youth levels by France but has yet to make his senior debut though, nevertheless, supporters are beyond delighted with his acquisition, which eclipses the £36m the club paid to sign Felipe Anderson from Italian giants Lazio last summer.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

[ad_pod ]Lots of Southampton fans were crying out for them to sign Joakim Maehle after he scored two goals for Denmark at the U21 European Championships on Thursday night.The 22-year-old, who was subject to a £10.5million bid from Saints back in January which was rejected, netted either side of half-time despite playing in an unfamiliar left-back role to give the Danes a 3-1 win in their second group game.And regulars to St Mary’s couldn’t help but feel they had missed out on a promising young talent who is used as a right-back or right-midfielder for KRC Genk.

The versatile Scandinavian played 30 times in the Jupiler Pro League last season and contributed two goals and five assists.

Should the south coast reignite their interest and see a move through, he would be the second addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad after he signed Moussa Djenepo earlier this month in a deal that could rise to £15m.

Many Southampton fans are eager for that to happen and took to Twitter to encourage their side to get it done.

Neil Lennon’s comments sourced by the Scottish Sun towards the end of May did hint at a potentially busy summer for the club in terms of transfers, but that doesn’t mean they should be looking at players for the sake of it. 

“Recruitment will be important, we want to freshen things up a little bit,” he said. So, it could be a fairly eventful summer for the Scottish champions as they look to extend their domestic dominance and chase that glorious ten-in-a-row.

Indeed, it’s fair to say the Celtic gaffer probably needs more attacking players with Timothy Weah and Oliver Burke having departed after their loan deals. Elsewhere, in midfield, Olivier Ntcham has been linked with a move away while Tom Rogic suffered his fair share of injuries last season.

Still, one of the names linked with a move to Glasgow shouldn’t exactly excite fans. That’s because, according to Football Ghana, the Hoops are apparently interested in signing Deportivo Alaves’ Patrick Twumasi, a transfer which, in our minds, makes very little sense.

The Express reported in May that the SPFL champions might make up to seven signings in the summer but the 25-year-old’s potential purchase would, frankly, be rather perplexing. Having been unable to score a single goal and only making 11 substitute appearances in La Liga (stats Transfermarkt), it’s hard to argue that he’d be an upgrade on James Forrest or even a marked improvement on younger players such as Ryan Christie or Mikey Johnston.

Considering that Twumasi averaged 0.3 shots, 0.2 key passes (stats via WhoScored) per 90 minutes indicates his real lack of impact from the bench. Moreover, 0.9 unsuccessful touches per game doesn’t exactly scream the stat of a player who can come in and lift the club’s attack.

Just because he blew them away in a UEFA Champions League qualifier in 2017 doesn’t guarantee he’ll come good over the course of a season. Avoid.

Celtic fans, do you think Lennon should take a risk on Twumasi? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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Southampton are interested in signing £25m-rated Liverpool winger Harry Wilson this summer according to Sky Sports, but Saints fans on Twitter weren’t impressed with what they saw from him as he featured for Derby County in the Championship play-off final on Monday.

Rams manager Frank Lampard and the travelling faithful would have been looking towards the Liverpool loanee to make a big impact on Monday as he looked to lead the east Midlands outfit to the Premier League, but the 22-year-old largely flattered to deceive on the day.

That was both disappointing and surprising in equal measure given he enjoyed such an impressive campaign for the club – he scored 18 goals and provided a further six assists in 48 outings for County this term.

Southampton fans may love Ralph Hasenhuttl but do the owners? Check out the video below…

The versatile player could cost a potential suitor up to £25m this summer according to Sky Sports, but Saints supporters on Twitter clearly don’t think he is worth that much.

While one individual said they “wouldn’t pay £10mil for him”, another said he “isn’t worth 15 million for me”.

Another labelled him as a “free-kick merchant”, and it will certainly be interesting to see what happens next with Wilson as the likes of the south coast outfit, Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion reportedly circle.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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According to Express & Star, West Brom are in danger of losing Jay Rodriguez this summer with Bournemouth holding an interest in the player.

What’s the word?

Rodriguez was brilliant for the Baggies in 2018/19, finding the back of the net on 22 occasions.

However, after failing to achieve promotion, Albion could now lose their star striker.

Express & Star suggest that Bournemouth could be in for the player, just over a year after they first registered their interest.

Back in 2018 the Midlands club wanted £20m for the player but it remains to be seen how much they now value him at.

Last summer Burnley had a bid of £16m knocked back for the forward, but it may not be as easy to keep him on this occasion after Luke Dowling admitted that Premier League quality players may leave.

Disaster on the cards for West Brom

If Rodriguez does depart then it would continue to plummet Albion into mediocrity.

After declaring they wouldn’t be able to hold onto Dwight Gayle due to financial reasons, they simply must keep his strike partner from the recent campaign.

There is a serious rebuilding job facing whoever walks in as the next permanent boss at the Hawthorns but one of his first tasks must be to ensure the 29-year-old stays.

Following the climax of Gayle’s loan spell, they were staring at a lack of goals but if another player with over 20 strikes to his name walks through the exit door it would spell disaster.

Regardless of financial restrictions, the 6ft 1 attacker is a player they must keep at the club.

As another cracking Championship season draws to a close, check out the top 5 fan chants from 2018/19 in the video below…

Craig Dawson has been the subject of a possible move to Burnley and it’s players like him that they’d be better shipping on, rather than someone who is guaranteed to score goals at Championship level.

At the moment, Albion are in real danger of dropping off the pace altogether next term. Things are far from certain in most facets of the club but selling Rodriguez would only make things worse.

They cannot afford to let it happen.