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Social media is, more often than not, a very good indicator of how a particular set of supporters feel about their team, or indeed an individual player.

It was Roberto’s turn to go under the microscope on Sunday when West Ham United’s official Twitter account posted an interview from the Spaniard following the 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on Saturday afternoon.

The 33-year-old, who arrived on a free transfer over the summer, has featured in West Ham’s last four Premier League matches with Lukasz Fabianski on the sidelines.

Roberto has conceded five times in his last three starts for the club, including a strike from Lys Mousset against Sheffield United at the weekend.

And whilst there are some supporters who have seemingly been pleased with the Spaniard’s form since stepping into the spot vacated by Fabianski, that is not an opinion shared by everyone.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction from the West Ham fans can be seen below:

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Jamie Carragher believes that Trent Alexander-Arnold could have a future in midfield as he has already proved he has the quality and creativity to match the best in the Premier League.

What did he say?

The former Liverpool defender spoke about the 21-year-old and how he and Andy Robertson bring a different aspect to the club because of their attacking intent.

Both full-backs made 13 or more assists last term and have shown no signs of slowing down this season, prompting Carragher to suggest Alexander-Arnold could play further forward.

Many of the right-back’s assists come from crosses and corners, reminding the pundit of Kevin De Bruyne. The Man City man hass already tallied nine assists in this campaign, with a lot of success coming via whipped passes from the right, as assists against Everton and Watford evidence.

Carragher, speaking on talkSPORT, said: “I was just thinking about in the future it could be something for Liverpool to look at [playing in midfield]. But, in terms of his creativity, he’s still probably getting as many assists or is just behind [Kevin] De Bruyne.

“You could imagine him in that De Bruyne position – just tucked in on the right. You see the assists De Bruyne has from a different position than Trent, he’s obviously wider and he’s crossing it, De Bruyne is more passing it really.

“So he is massively involved but I definitely see, going forward, if he wanted to play that role or if Liverpool have another right-back coming through or Liverpool wanted more creativity, there is no doubt.

“On the ball, he is probably better than what Liverpool have in those players.”

Future midfielder?

Liverpool’s attacking full-backs are a big factor in their goalscoring, but it is possible Jurgen Klopp could look to alter his team in future, and there are two key reasons for that.

Firstly, as Carragher notes, the Reds have a promising right-back coming through the academy in Ki-Jana Hoever, who made his debut for the club at the age of 16 back in January and has impressed U23 manager Neil Critchley.

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More urgent, perhaps, is the fact that the England international currently offers more in the way of creativity and chances created than his midfield teammates.

Alexander-Arnold’s record of three assists this season is no surprise considering he averages 3.5 key passes per game, and the quality of his crossing often puts opposition defences under pressure, whether from a set-piece or open play.

By comparison, of Klopp’s regular midfield trio of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Georginio Wijnaldum, the highest average key pass per league game is 0.5, with only one assist between them this term.

Against opposition who are likely to defend deep it may be worthwhile for Alexander-Arnold to play further forward and replace one of those three, as he possesses not only the necessary quality on the ball but intelligence with his runs, almost scoring against Newcastle as the result of one.

That could be because he has experience playing in midfield, having been utilised there in various Liverpool youth teams, and therefore it may not take too long for the youngster to adjust to a new position.

West Ham United suffered a disappointing defeat at the hands of Everton in the Premier League on Saturday, going down 2-0 at Goodison Park (via BBC Sport).

The Hammers were not at their best at all, and goals from Bernard and Gylfi Sigurdsson secured a much needed three points for Marco Silva’s side.

It would be fair to say that none of the West Ham players played well, but one player who came in for specific criticism from fans was Pablo Fornals.

The Spaniard really struggled in Merseyside, and managed to play no key passes and made no successful dribbles, whilst also having two unsuccessful touches, being dispossessed twice and also finishing with a poor passing accuracy of just 73.7%. He was ultimately dragged off by Manuel Pellegrini after 62 minutes and finished with a match rating of 6.15 (via WhoScored).

Fornals only joined West Ham from Villarreal in the summer, but it has been a tough start to life in English football for the 23-year-old. He has so far failed to register a single goal or assist in the Premier League, with his only contribution of note being a goal against Newport County in the League Cup (via WhoScored).

The fans are already beginning to grow impatient with the midfielder, and were extremely critical about his performance against Everton with some failing to even see any potential in him.

Here is what some Hammers fans had to say about Fornals’ display at Goodison Park…

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Joel Matip has started the season in very impressive form and his performances haven’t gone unnoticed by some parts of the Anfield faithful, particularly his display against Chelsea.

He has now cemented a place in Jurgen Klopp’s defence alongside Virgil van Dijk, and while he may go under-the-radar sometimes such is the quality of his partner, his importance in the win against the Blues cannot be highlighted enough, with a Man of the Match award recognising his display.

It was a necessary performance from the Cameroon international, too. Tammy Abraham was bang in form prior to the Stamford Bridge clash with seven goals in five league games, and Chelsea likely viewed Matip as the weaker defender compared to van Dijk.

Despite that, he dealt with Abraham comfortably for the most part, although the striker did have chances to score.

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That was mostly due to his three tackles and nine clearances, outperforming van Dijk in both departments in the process, leading some fans to suggest he has been better than the Dutchman recently.

Some fans feel the centre-back doesn’t receive enough recognition for his performances and are very impressed with what they have seen, as the reactions below show.

Some of Manchester United’s supporters have been very critical of Marcus Rashford following his performance against Arsenal on Monday.

The England international is really struggling for form at the moment, and he has now managed to score just once in his last six league appearances – and that was a penalty against Leicester City.

He was once again far from his best against the Gunners. Although he did manage to provide an assist, he also had three unsuccessful touches, which was more than any other United player, while also getting just one of his three shots on target and finishing the night with a poor passing accuracy rate of just 63.2% (via WhoScored).

Having also finished last season poorly, netting once in his final 11 Premier League appearances of that campaign, some fans are beginning to become concerned about his form whilst some have lost patience with him altogether.

There are United fans who now want to see the 21-year-old dropped from the first team.

With Mason Greenwood having scored in both of his starts against Rochdale and Astana, he is a possible replacement, although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears reluctant to start him in the Premier League, having given him just a handful of substitute appearances thus far.

Here is what these Manchester United fans have had to say about Rashford’s poor recent form on Twitter, with some drawing comparisons with the club’s former striker Danny Welbeck…

Do you think Rashford’s recent performances have been substandard? Let us know your views by commenting below!

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Arsenal are poised to offer Rob Holding a new contract, according to the Daily Mirror.

The 23-year-old is currently on the sidelines after sustaining a cruciate knee ligament injury against Manchester United in December.

He had made 16 appearances in all competitions prior to being ruled out and the Gunners were unbeaten in the Premier League when Holding was in the side.

Holding may be out until September but could commit his future to Arsenal in the coming months.

Indeed, the aforementioned report claims that Unai Emery is subsequently keen to reward his displays with a new deal.

Formerly of Bolton Wanderers, the defender has made a total of 60 appearances for the Gunners, and has won five caps for the England Under-21s.

And fans of the club are delighted with the news that Holding could be tied down for the foreseeable future, even though his current contract does not expire until 2023.

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

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Loan Watch series, which takes a closer look at those players who are aiming to galvanise their careers away from the spotlight of their parent club.

Real Madrid’s 2019 summer transfer window was far from perfect.

Yes, they brought in some big names like Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic but some of their decisions have been rather bizarre. One of the biggest mistakes, however, might have been their decision to loan out the 24-year-old left-back, Sergio Reguilon.

The Spaniard made a total of 22 appearances in 2018/19 for Los Blancos, registering three assists in all competitions.

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Real signed Ferland Mendy in the summer but they could well have kept Reguillon around simply for squad depth purposes.

Real reportedly forked out £47.1m to land Mendy from Lyon but that’s £47.1m that could’ve been saved in the first place looking at Reguilon’s performances for Sevilla.

So far, in the four games he has played for the Andalusian team, he has scored once and also registered an assist.

The 24-year-old left-back was solid at the back in the outing against Deportivo Alaves, registering one tackle, four interceptions and two aerial duels won.

Sevilla won the game 1-0.

But it was not just his defensive game that was great, either. Reguilon was brilliant going the other way as well, threatening the opposition in attack with two key passes, two dribbles and overall 83.3% passing accuracy.

By all standards, he was one of Sevilla’s best performers, leaving him with a 7.39 rating according to Whoscored, the second-highest on the team, just behind Joan Jordan’s 7.72, but the 25-year-old did net the winning goal.

It seems that Reguilon is thriving on his loan spell, so it’s difficult not to wonder what might have been had he stayed at the Bernabeu rather than the club spending big on Mendy.

These performances are bound to attract Zidane’s attention sooner rather than later and who knows, maybe the 24-year-old still has a future at the Spanish capital once his loan spell comes to an end.

Flocking to Twitter, many Southampton fans have been left excited following a big update on the club’s plans to sign Chelsea striker and loanee Armando Broja permanently.

Saints manager Ralph Hasenhuttl has seen the Albania international come on leaps and bounds since his temporary move to the south coast.

Over his 10 Premier League starts for Southampton, Broja has netted five goals whilst proving to be a consistent threat in the final third (WhoScored), drawing praise for his performances at St Mary’s.

This fine form has reportedly resulted in interest from Saints transfer chief Martin Semmens and the club to make his stay a permanent one, but they’re not the only side eyeing a move for the 20-year-old as a ‘string’ of prospective top-flight suitors also take note (Sky Sports).

In a big update, reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano has shared news on the Saints’ plans as the January transfer window slowly draws to a close.

According to his sources, Southampton – seemingly backed by new owners Sport Republic and Serbian-born businessman Dragan Solak – are ‘expected to launch’ a £25m club-record bid to sign Broja before Monday’s transfer deadline. It is believed that the proposal will be ‘submitted soon’, as plenty of Saints fans flock to this update on Twitter.

Southampton fans buzzing…

Signalling a real statement of intent, it’s little wonder so many Southampton fans are buzzing that the club are willing to smash their transfer record in an effort to secure Broja.

The towering Albania international has been a revelation under Hasenhuttl, and tying him down indefinitely would come as a major boost.

Here’s how some Saints supporters reacted to the development:

“absolute scenes if this is true”

Credit: @RichardDyba

“CMOOOON”

Credit: @saintsjwp

“The most comforting thing about this is knowing we actually can spend that much on a player now”

Credit: @AniefiokEkp

“YOOOOOOO”

Credit: @_sfcjay

“If we pull this off, it would make my year and we are less than a month into it!”

Credit: @MattRayB

“25m on one player? We are coming for Europe”

Credit: @fletchsfc

“yes yes yes”

Credit: @summa_symonds

“The best thing about all this is that due to the recent takeover, we can actually spend this. My feeling is it’ll be £25-30m with a buyback of £50-70m dependent on performance. Go and get it done, lads!”

Credit: @Jim_Mack7

In other news: Southampton in pole position to sign ‘very exciting’ attacker as journalist shares news, find out more here.

Rangers will be looking to return to winning ways in the Premiership as Gio van Bronckhorst’s side travel away from Ibrox this evening.

The Gers take on their fierce rivals Celtic at Parkhead in the Old Firm clash at the top of the table, with the Dutchman’s team currently two points ahead of their rivals as it stands.

They come into the game off the back of a disappointing 3-3 draw away at Ross County at the weekend, conceding an equaliser in the 96th minute.

Unleash him

One player van Bronckhorst must unleash against the Hoops is central defender Leon Balogun.

The Nigeria international is back and available for selection and he must be selected to start in the heart of the defence alongside Connor Goldson.

Former Gers boss Steven Gerrard once lauded the beast as “important” and that is exactly what he could be for the club in this clash. The £14k-per-week gem has averaged a SofaScore rating of 7.05 this term, winning 64% of his duels, after averaging a score of 7.13 and winning 61% of his battles last season.

This shows that he is a proven player at Premiership level as he has regularly provided quality displays at this level over the course of almost two seasons. He knows what it takes to perform in the division and is a reliable option for van Bronckhorst to call upon.

Calvin Bassey endured a rough afternoon against Ross County as he ended the match with a dismal SofaScore rating of 5.9. He made an error leading directly to a goal as his air-kick allowed the opposition to race clear through on Allan McGregor’s goal to make it 2-1 to the hosts at the time.

This means that it could be beneficial for the Gers to place him on the bench for this match to avoid the nerves getting to him after such a poor performance last time out. Balogun is an experienced operator, as shown by his form over the last 18 months, and could slot straight in.

Sir Kenny Dalglish previously dubbed him as a “real leader” and this is one of the reasons why it may make sense to bring him in for this match. In a high-pressure, high-stakes, match at the top of the table, the Gers need all the experience and leadership they can get on the pitch, with Balogun able to bring his mental qualities to the forefront.

AND in other news, GVB starts Ramsey, £16k-p/w gem left out: How Rangers’ best XI may look after January…

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Dean Jones of Eurosport has made a West Ham United transfer claim involving Sparta Prague striker Adam Hlozek.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye Hlozek…

As widely reported in recent months, the Czech Republic international is a striker West Ham and manager David Moyes have been keeping tabs on as the January transfer window opens for business.

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Indeed, Football Insider claimed just before the new year that the Irons, and by extension recruitment chief Rob Newman, made an early approach for Hlozek to find out what it would take to win the race for his signature.

They believe that Sparta could demand around £16-20 million for West Ham to sign him mid-season with The Daily Mail reporting since then that Hlozek is still firmly on the club’s radar.

Sharing an update, Jones has made a claim to GiveMeSport as he backs their interest further.

The Latest: Jones makes Hlozek claim…

Speaking to GMS, he says that West Ham are ‘definitely’ eyeing a move for the 19-year-old sensation who they like a lot.

However, he also claims his valuation could well be reason why they haven’t made their move yet.

“He is definitely somebody that’s on their radar and they like him a lot,” Jones explained.

“I can’t remember what his value is right now but I think that’s part of the concern of signing him at the moment.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

As West Ham remain in the market for a player who can back up striker Michail Antonio, a move for Hlozek in January comes with both ups and downs.

Lauded as ‘world class’ by his agent Pavel Paska (90min), the teenage hot shot has certainly impressed since the beginning of 2020/2021 – racking up 21 goals and 24 assists in all competitions (Transfermarkt).

These numbers at such a young age highlight his magnificent potential, but one red herring may well be that this comes in a far inferior division to the Premier League.

It remains a point of contention whether he could eventually replicate those numbers in England and there is an argument to be made he is more one for the future than the here and now.

West Ham shareholder Daniel Kretinsky’s ties as co-owner of Sparta, however, could gift the club an advantage in the race for his signature.

We believe a swoop for Hlozek is certainly worth considering even despite the slight drawbacks.

In other news: ‘Tears in my eyes’, ‘Finally’…Many West Ham fans flock to ‘very exciting’ transfer development, find out more here.