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According to results from our recent poll, the majority of Swansea fans would love to give Liverpool’s Ben Woodburn a fresh start after a failed loan stint at fellow Championship side, Sheffield United.

The youngster shot to fame in his native Wales as he became a hero for the national side after scoring on his debut for the Dragons and is highly regarded at Anfield – a loan spell at Bramall Lane should have done him the world of good in terms of developing his game, but the 19-year-old struggled to break into the starting XI.

While it may have been a miserable few months for Woodburn in the English second tier, another Reds loanee has been taking it by storm – Harry Wilson has been sensational for Derby County and scored some absolute worlds.

Is The Championship the most exciting league in the world? Pl>ymaker FC’s Matchday with Max discusses the recent run of crazy results with Sky Sports’ Michelle Owen in the video above…

After Goal reported that Liverpool are mulling over the winger’s future this month, the race is on to sign him on loan – we suggested that Swansea take him for the remainder of the season in order to add some impetus to their attack and in the hope that he can become their Wilson.

It turns out that a resounding 84% of Swans fans voted in favour of giving him a fresh start – you can check out the full results of our poll below…

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Barcelona have entered the running for Tottenham defender Toby Alderweireld amidst continued uncertainty surrounding his future, according to The Mirror.

What’s the word?

Major changes are set to take place at Tottenham over the course of the next 12 months, as Mauricio Pochettino’s side prepare to move to a new stadium and are expected to see wholesale departures from their squad.

Amongst those in-line for an exit is defender Toby Alderweireld, who has entered the final months of his deal and, should Spurs choose to activate an extension, will see a release clause set at just £25m become available for the Belgium international.

Spurs could, therefore, choose to cash-in on Alderweireld in January and The Mirror states Barcelona have joined the hunt for the 29-year-old.

Should Spurs sell?

With no sign of a progression on a new contract that would eliminate the minimal release clause that is set to become active next summer, Tottenham have been backed into a corner and now have three options ahead of them.

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The first is to sell in January, where a fee of over £25m could probably be earned, while the second option for a sale is at the end of the season when that clause would become active. The final option and the least likely would be choosing not to activate an extension and allowing Alderweireld to leave for free next summer.

Selling in January is certainly the best option for Spurs and the interest from Barcelona should be capitalised on as it would eliminate the possibility of seeing Alderweireld move to join a Premier League rival, which could come back to haunt the club in the future.

According to The Mirror, Newcastle United are interested in bringing Everton defender Leighton Baines to St James’ Park in this summer’s transfer window.

Baines has been widely tipped to leave Goodison Park ahead of the 2018-19 campaign, with a number of MLS clubs believed to be interested.

Speculation surrounding Baines’ future has gathered pace with the news that the Toffees are nearing a deal for Barcelona defender Lucas Digne.

According to The Mirror, Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez is interested in signing Baines on a short-term deal in this summer’s transfer window.

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Baines made 29 appearances for Everton last season despite the presence of a calf problem, and there is no question that he has been one of the best left-backs in the Premier League over the last 10 years or so.

However, the Newcastle supporters are simply not interested in a deal for the 33-year-old this summer.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Diego Costa has admitted in an interview with the Daily Mail that he will only join Atletico Madrid if he leaves Chelsea.

What’s the word?

It has been reported for some time that the controversial hitman is on his way out of the Stamford Bridge exit gates.

The Spain international played no part in the Blues’ pre-season schedule and he has not yet joined up with the squad, despite the new Premier League campaign getting underway at the weekend.

It seems to have all gone sour between Costa and manager Antonio Conte, and the striker insisted to the Daily Mail that he did receive a text message from the Italian informing him that he was no longer wanted. The club have denied this.

When discussing his future, the 28-year-old made it clear that he only wants to play for Atletico if Chelsea decide to sell.

Costa played for the Spanish club between 2010 and 2014, winning four trophies in that time, including the La Liga title.

He told the Daily Mail:

“My desire is to go to Atletico. I’ve spoken to Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia. I said, ‘If the manager doesn’t want me, I want to go to is Atletico Madrid’.

“I have rejected other offers. They want to sell me to China or other teams. The language is better for me in Spain. If I’m off, I’m going to the club I want to go to, not the club that’s paying the most.

“Diego Simeone wants me. It is very clear. I have always had a bond with him. The fans and people love me there. They respect me.”

The striker admitted that he is willing to join the club even though he will be ineligible to play until January due to Atletico’s transfer ban.

What should Chelsea do?

The Blues have not had an ideal start to their title defence, as they were stunned 3-2 by Burnley at the Bridge on Saturday.

During the game, Conte lost Gary Cahill and Cesc Fabregas to red cards, meaning that both will miss this weekend’s clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley.

Losing Costa is not ideal for Chelsea, but Alvaro Morata’s cameo appearance on Saturday was positive, even though his goal failed to spark a comeback.

If the West London club want to get back on track, then they need to rid the dressing room of any negative energy or tension.

Even though Costa is not directly involved with the squad at the moment, the unresolved issue is a dark cloud over the club, and it will not help that he has spilled to the media.

The best thing for Chelsea to do is agree a sale this month and open a new chapter.

From a mockably expensive signing to one of the league’s best players, popular opinion of Sadio Mane has changed drastically in just a few months. Liverpool have grown dependent on the former Southampton livewire, as was evident when he was away at the African Cup of Nations with Senegal.

Jurgen Klopp has seen his Liverpool team wane. From their dazzling, electric football of earlier in the season that made them Chelsea’s greatest threat, they are now floundering with the rest of the chasing pack and look unlikely to finish in the top four. An inability to defend against counter-attacks or break down low-block defences has been the bane of Liverpool’s 2017 to date.

The one answer to their problems has supposedly been Mane. While he has not fixed everything that has gone wrong, his influence is still clear. He tore Spurs apart last weekend in a way that few players have done in recent seasons. For all the mistakes made tactically by Mauricio Pochettino, it was Mane’s presence that made Spurs look so abject, so incapable of defending properly. His pace is clearly what makes him so key for Liverpool, especially as Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino are naturally not as willing to run beyond a defence.

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It is that burst of pace, the lightening acceleration, which makes Mane such a joy to watch. He fits into Liverpool’s high pressing game as a result. He hounds opposition defenders in possession and disappears off their shoulder when a ball is played into the space behind them. He must be hideous to play against.

To put his importance solely down to his speed, though, is to do him a disservice. Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi are both fast – albeit not quite as rapid as Mane – but they do not have the same impact on Liverpool’s forward line. It’s his intelligence that sets him apart. The timing of his runs and the collective understanding he has with his teammates is part of what makes him such a vital cog. He has attacking instincts which, when combined with his physical attributes, make for quite a threat. A knack of knowing where the ball will drop and being able to beat anyone to the ball makes him  a terror.

While Coutinho will occasionally drift wide, Mane holds width more naturally as he has played as a winger for much of his career, offering his side a different option. He knows when to drift inside and run the channel between the opposition’s left-sided centre back and left-back, but he also will go to the touchline to create room centrally. Having loaned out Lazar Markovic, Liverpool lack natural width in the final third, without Mane they become congested centrally.

Although he was not signed as a solve-all to Liverpool’s problems, Mane has done a damn good job at doing just that. His role in the Liverpool team is far more complex than simply running beyond defences. He performs as a winger, he fills the gap of a striker at times and his goal scoring – which has seen him outscore Christian Benteke, Olivier Giroud and Eden Hazard this season – has been one of the keys to Liverpool’s success.

This summer Liverpool must find a plan B or a Mane mark two. In the meantime, they must hope he continues to score at a prolific rate and remains fully fit.

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Although Manchester City hardly provided the Premier League with its biggest set of spenders throughout the course of the January transfer window, the Etihad faithful were dealt their fair share of breaking news yesterday when Pep Guardiola’s upcoming summer appointment at their club was finally made official.

The former Barcelona head-coach will see out the remainder of the season with Bayern Munich, and although Manuel Pellegrini has been handed the rough end of the deal, the man currently tasked with manning the Man City dug-out will depart the Etihad in the summer once Guardiola eventually makes his much anticipated arrival.

So in light of all the recent drama and sensation surrounding the 45-year-old Bayern boss, will Pep Guardiola launch a new era of success at Manchester City and turn these hopeful Premier League title contenders into an out-and-out force across Europe.

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Whilst it takes a lot more than simply landing the biggest names possible to guarantee success at your club, the upcoming appointment of Pep Guardiola will provide the Etihad faithful with enough excitement to likely keep them satisfied throughout the rest of the campaign.

Alongside the recently displaced Jose Mourinho, Guardiola represents the most desirable name in world management at the moment, despite only operating at clubs with a huge amount of resources on offer behind the scenes, and enough talented players to keep the wheels turning in rather successful style.

The current Bayern Munich head-coach clearly knows what it takes to succeed on Europe’s grandest stage, the style of football adopted by his respective teams has been rather captivating and as the Spaniard has worked with the most impressive plethora of talent available, Guardiola’s links across the European circuit could come in very handy for City throughout the upcoming summer transfer window.

Yet although many Manchester City fans are quite understandably over the moon with this recent appointment at their club – especially as Pep Guardiola has supposedly selected them over arch rivals Manchester United in recent weeks – does Manuel Pellegrini really deserve to be cast aside under such unceremonious circumstances at the end of the season?

Getting some of the most over-priced and well-paid players in the world to work effectively with one another on a consistent basis has been something that Manchester City have arguably struggled with for years now. Although Guardiola certainly possesses a reputation worthy of developing something truly incredible at the Etihad, he possibly won’t fare any better than Pellegrini upon his initial introduction within the Premier League.

But as this is the manager who oversaw one of Barcelona’s most decorated eras not too long ago, Pep Guardiola has far more potential to build an impressive legacy with Manchester City, as opposed to the ageing and often forgettable figure of Manuel Pellegrini.

As all clubs must sacrifice in order to grow successfully with future plans on the horizon, it seems the Etihad boardroom have indeed made the right call behind the scenes this winter – with an exciting new era seemingly waiting round the corner for Manchester City and highly coveted Pep Guardiola himself.

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Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner was thrilled with his side's 3-0 win over Burnley and how their attack "forced" their opponents to go a man down.

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Palace beat Burnley 3-0Brownhill sent off for ClaretsGlasner thrilled with victoryGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The Eagles got Glasner's tenure at Selhurst Park off to a winning start thanks to second-half goals from Chris Richards, Jordan Ayew, and Jean-Philippe Mateta. Their pressure eventually told after Josh Brownhill was sent off in the 35th minute, with former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Glasner praising the performance and the way their attack led to the midfielder's dismissal.

AdvertisementWHAT OLIVER GLASNER SAID

He told : "Sometimes the players forget about keeping the balance in the game but how we forced the red card was brilliant and we attacked very high. It was really nice to see. We had a great spirit from the beginning and the players tried to do everything that the analysts prepared for them. Also thank you to my staff because we were only here for three days. My feeling was the fans were happy to see the players attacking and fighting, they were very loud, this is what we want. They had a great afternoon and now they can go somewhere in a pub and enjoy one or two beers."

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Ex-Wolfsburg manager Glasner replaced Roy Hodgson as Palace boss earlier this month after the latter agreed to step down from his role following a health scare and a poor run of results. While this win over relegation-threatened Burnley will not solve the club's issues, it does put them eight points clear of the bottom three. Conversely, Clarets boss Vincent Kompany will be under intense pressure to keep his job as they are 19th and eight points from safety.

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WHAT NEXT?

Glasner's Palace side, who are up to 13th in the table, travel to London neighbours Tottenham in their next Premier League outing on March 2 whereas Kompany's Burnley host Bournemouth in the English top-flight a day later.

It's likely the Blues wouldn't have signed him if Wesley Fofana wasn't injured, but the defender could prove to be an inspired addition

On July 18, Chelsea's pre-season preparations hit a sizable bump in the road. Wesley Fofana being omitted from the Blues' tour of the United States just one day prior had sparked some concerns, but few could have predicted just how bad his injury would prove to be.

Fofana was poised for a big 2023-24 season, following a debut campaign plagued by fitness issues. Instead, he will have to watch Mauricio Pochettino's new-look Chelsea side from the sidelines, with ACL surgery keeping him out of action for an extended period.

Not only was the news a bitter blow for the player – who has already suffered more than his fair share of cruel luck on the injury front during his fledgling career – it also left the Blues with a big decision to make in the transfer market. With Cesar Azpilicueta and Kalidou Koulibaly already having departed west London this summer, Chelsea were suddenly looking perilously short at centre-back.

After spine-chillingly being linked with Harry Maguire a few hours after Fofana's injury was confirmed, they have since gone in a different direction, swooping to sign Axel Disasi from Monaco for a reported fee of €45 million (£39m/$50m).

Disasi, 25, was somewhat of a late bloomer, not making his France debut until last year. But by securing this Chelsea move he is set to finally test himself at the very highest level after a few hype-building seasons in Ligue 1.

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  Where it all began

  Disasi was born in Gonesse, a suburb of Paris, in 1998. He is eligible to represent DR Congo, as well as France, through his parents. After signing on with two local teams, he was spotted by Paris FC in 2014 and enjoyed a meteoric rise to the first team.

  In December 2015, with Paris in the midst of an injury crisis, coach Jean-Luc Vasseur turned to a then 17-year-old Disasi for their Ligue 2 clash against French giants Lens. Vasseur explained his bold decision to at the time, saying: "I didn't hesitate to put him in, so he shouldn't hesitate on the pitch. I've never been afraid to put my faith in young players. Axel is the future of the club, he has great qualities. He'll be well looked after and chaperoned. So there's no reason why things shouldn't go well."

  Disasi was similarly enthused by the prospect of making his league debut, thanking Vasseur for the "fabulous" opportunity – even if he did admit that the game would distract him from his schoolwork!

  The match itself went well, with Lens triumphing 1-0 thanks to a bizarre, deflected goal. Disasi performed solidly and was rewarded with two further Ligue 2 appearances, though this time at right-back as opposed to centre-back.

  After this brief run in the first team, he did not feature for a struggling Paris FC side again and therefore could not prevent them finishing stone-dead last in Ligue 2 that season.

  Disasi was saved from the career-stagnating perils of third-tier football by Stade Reims, who signed him in the summer of 2016. Still a teenager, he had to be patient throughout his time at the club.

  He did not progress to the senior side for some time and his minutes were also slashed when Reims were promoted to Ligue 1 in 2018. However, the following summer, his big break came when Bjorn Engels was sold to Aston Villa. This opened the door for Disasi to start alongside Yunis Abdelhamid and he would make a career-high 27 appearances during the 2019-20 campaign. It would have been more too, if not for the season being cut short by the coronavirus pandemic.

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  The big break

  Disasi's move to Monaco in 2020 was the biggest moment of his career so far. While he'd been highly-rated in France during his time at Reims, joining Monaco – a finishing school for the best young talents in Europe – put him in the shop window for the continent's biggest sides.

  It was a brave decision too. Monaco could not offer Disasi European football during his maiden season – unlike Reims, who progressed to the Europa League via points-per-game. But it proved to be the right one.

  Straight away he forced his way into the first team, forming an excellent understanding with Benoit Badiashile, whom he is set to be reunited with at Chelsea. During his maiden campaign at Monaco, Disasi made 29 league appearances and scored three goals as his side finished just five points behind champions Lille in third.

  Overall, it was a coming-of-age season. Disasi was now fully established as one of Ligue 1's most reliable defenders.

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  How it's going

  By his own admission, one of the great disappointments of Disasi's career so far is that he's never tasted Champions League football – and he will need to wait at least a season to experience that a Stamford Bridge.

  Monaco's third-place finish in 2021 offered them the chance to secure a place at European football's top table, but they were beaten in the qualifiers by competition stalwarts Shakhtar Donetsk. It was a huge disappointment, but Disasi responded by taking his game to new heights during the season, missing just six games as Monaco again secured a third-place finish.

  The 2022-23 campaign began in an eerily similar vein, with Les Rouge et Blanc crashing out of Champions League qualification at the hands of PSV. But for Disasi, it would be his best personal season ever. Not only was he ever-present in Ligue 1, an injury to Presnel Kimpembe opened up a spot for him in France's World Cup squad.

  "I was on my way home to get my family and my luggage to go to the airport when I received a call from [France coach] Didier Deschamps," he told GOAL back in March. "I pulled over to the side of the road to continue the call. The coach told me I needed to be at Clairefontaine today. On the spot, I was so happy and proud, but I needed to arrange my departure very quickly."

  Disasi joined the exclusive club of players to make their national-team debut at a World Cup when he started at right-back for France's group-stage dead rubber against Tunisia. Although Les Bleus suffered a shock defeat, it's a day he will never forget.

  Disasi also came on for the final seconds of France's heart-breaking loss to Argentina in the greatest World Cup final of all time. He got the best seat in the house for Randal Kolo Muani's infamous one-on-one miss against Emiliano Martinez.

  "I see the Argentinian defender make a mistake and Randal comes up against the keeper. I'm thinking 'he's going to kill him, he's going to put it in' and seeing the scenario end like that, it would be so crazy. I tell myself he's going to score and we're going to be world champions," he recalled.

  Of course, it didn't happen like that, with Disasi having to content himself with a silver medal.

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  Biggest strengths

  Disasi can do special things with the ball at his feet. It's this ball-carrying and passing ability that made him stand out above all else when Chelsea were looking for Fofana's replacement. In his own words, his biggest strength is: "play[ing] the ball out from the back cleanly, and hav[ing] fun on the pitch," and it's hard to disagree with his assessment.

  Throughout his career, Disasi has largely been used on the right side of a centre-back pairing and occasionally in the middle of a defensive three. One of his favourite passes is a reverse long ball out to the left wing, though he can also fire shorter passes into a deep-lying playmaker, even sometimes asking for a one-two.

  The stats back up Disasi's excellent passing ability. Just two centre-backs in Europe's top-five leagues completed more progressive passes last season; the only Premier League player who came remotely close to matching him was Brighton's Lewis Dunk.

  Disasi doesn't only start off attacking sequences with his passing, either. He also relishes the chance to drive his side forward by striding out from the back. The Frenchman has wondrous close control and is strong enough to hold off most players. This deadly combination means he can power into the opposition half after making an interception, or when his side are struggling to bypass the initial press.

  Disasi averaged 1.73 progressive carries per 90 minutes last season. For context, that was comfortably more than every other Chelsea centre-back barring the man he is primed to replace: Fofana.

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  Additionally, Disasi has an impressive record in the opposition box, plundering 12 goals in 129 appearances for Monaco so far. This is partly down to his strength in the air, which helps in defensive situations too. However, it's also clear that he has a burning desire to find the back of the net.

  Whenever a set piece is swung in, Disasi attacks the ball with serious gusto. His strike against Nantes summed this up nicely, with the centre-back producing a textbook defender's finish, thumping it with all his might into the back of the net.

The Atlas Lions will be hunting for a place in the semi-finals against the Pharaohs on Sunday and we predict how they will line up

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  Goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou

  He has been selected in the last four matches, making vital saves to keep the Atlas Lions in the competion, and will surely be starting again.

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  Left-back – Adam Masina

  The Watford star has been solid defensively and in attack which has seen him start the first four games.

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  Centre-back – Nayef Aguerd 

  As Morocco hunt for a place in the last four, Aguerd is expected to be one of the men to take part in the mission.

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  Centre-back – Romain Saiss

  The Wolves defender has formed a formidable partnership with Aguerd.

From Arsene Wenger to Claudio Ranieri, Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte is not the first to rile the outspoken Portuguese

Getty ImagesSpecialist in failure!

"He’s [Arsene Wenger] a specialist in failure. If I do that in Chelsea, eight years, I leave and don’t come back."

Arguably Mourinho's most infamous insult was directed towards Arsenal's long-serving manager in February 2014, with Arsenal enduring a trophy drought and Wenger having had the audacity to suggest that rival bosses were playing down their Premier League title chances because they "fear to fail".

Mourinho also once said of a man he has endured regular clashes with down the years, on and off the field: "I think he is one of these people who is a voyeur. He likes to watch other people. There are some guys who, when they are at home, have a big telescope to see what happens in other families. He speaks, speaks, speaks about Chelsea."

AdvertisementGettyLearn the lingo!

“Ranieri? I guess he’s right with what he said I am very demanding of myself and I have to win to be sure of things. This is why I have won so many trophies in my career. Ranieri on the other hand has the mentality of someone who doesn’t need to win. He is almost 70 years old. He has won a Supercup and another small trophy and he is too old to change his mentality. He’s old and he hasn’t won anything. I studied Italian five hours a day for many months to ensure I could communicate with the players, media and fans. Ranieri had been in England for five years and still struggled to say ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon.'"

What had 56-year-old, then Juventus coach Ranieri done to spark such a tirade back in 2008? He merely stated: "I am not like Mourinho, I don’t have to win things to be sure of myself." 

GettyVery Inter-esting!

"I thought he was going to thank me for the title I gave him. Ask all the Inter fans what they think of me and him."

Mourinho sought to rain on the parade of Inter successor Rafa Benitez after a Club World Cup triumph in 2010 – with his Treble-winning exploits still fresh in the memory. Mourinho also chirped back at the Spaniard's spouse during a bitter verbal battle: “The only club where her husband replaced me was at Inter Milan, where in six months he destroyed the best team in Europe at the time. And for her also to think about me and to speak about me, I think the lady needs to occupy her time, and if she takes care of her husband’s diet she will have less time to speak about me.”

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GettyimagesPep talk!

"Guardiola is a fantastic coach but I have won two Champions Leagues. He has won [only] one Champions League and that is one that would embarrass me. I would be ashamed to have won it with the scandal of Stamford Bridge and if he wins it this year it will be with the scandal of the Bernabeu. I hope one day Guardiola has the chance of winning a proper Champions League, a brilliant, clean championship with no scandal."

Barcelona did win the Champions League in 2011 – handing Guardiola a second European crown – but not before they had irked Clasico rivals Real Madrid during a feisty semi-final encounter, with that coaching rivalry having now been rekindled in Manchester.