Hal Robson-Kanu’s Cruyff turn at last year’s Euros is the only highlight involving Jason Denayer that most fans are familiar with.

The 21-year old Belgian was one of the three players baffled by the Welshman’s skill and game-winning goal that sent the Stade Pierre-Mauroy and most of the world into hysteria.

That game was the beginning of what turned out to be an extremely difficult year for the centre-back. After spending this season on loan with rock-bottom Sunderland, Denayer approaches a summer of complete uncertainty. But his career should be going differently.

The Manchester City defender first broke into the senior Belgium squad in March 2015 on the back of a dominating season on loan at Celtic and now has eight senior caps to his name.

Denayer helped the Hoops to a league and cup double while being named as the Scottish Young Player of the Year, as well as in the SPL’s Team of the Year. He scored six goals, including one on his debut, and took a blossoming reputation back to Manchester.

He was expected to play a part in the City first-team in the 2015/16 season and was officially promoted from the club’s academy by Manuel Pellegrini. He made the bench in two of City’s first three league games but was sent on loan to Galatasaray when Nicolas Otamendi arrived from Valencia.

Like many academy players before him, City fans believed Denayer was good enough to play a serious role with the first team, only to be pushed back by an expensive import. After spending this past season with Sunderland, it appears that Denayer’s City career is over before it ever truly gets started, even though he could definitely play a role for Pep Guardiola.

The 21-year old cannot be blamed for the total ineptitude of David Moyes and the rest of the Sunderland squad.  A young centre-back needs an experienced and reliable partner to keep them focused and to provide some security, because all young players make mistakes.

The Belgium international’s main partner during his breakout season in Scotland was Virgil van Dijk, now being touted as a potential £50m move to Liverpool from Southampton, while the likes of Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea have all showed an interest in the Dutchman.

Imagine how good Denayer could be playing alongside countryman Vincent Kompany and not Papy Djilobodji or John O’Shea. When Kompany returned to the City squad in the final stages of this season, his presence did wonders for partners John Stones and Nicolas Otamendi, as a typically leaky City defence conceded only six goals in eight league games.

While the key in this hypothetical is that Kompany stays healthy, it will probably become a moot point when Pep either loans Denayer out again or sells him. The defensive overall that is coming at the Etihad would become far less expensive if the Spaniard would look at players already on the books.

A young player with Denayer’s professional and international experience should be peaking Pep’s interest. Instead, Sunderland’s horrific season might become a permanent stain on Denayer’s CV that sends another academy player away far too soon.

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According to reports in the Yorkshire Evening Post, Leeds United defender Charlie Taylor is set to join Premier League side Burnley.

The left-back’s contract with the Championship outfit is due to run out this summer and despite being offered a new two-year deal, he looks set to move to Turf Moor with a compensation fee due to be decided by a tribunal.

It will end a 14-year association with the Yorkshire outfit for the 23-year-old having come through the academy, and his future was essentially decided when he refused to be involved for their final day fixture against Wigan Athletic last season.

Leeds supporters were quick to have their say on the news of Taylor’s destination via social media, and they were far from impressed that he had swapped Elland Road for Turf Moor, while others feel he may regret his decision to leave in the future.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Tottenham fans have had a lot to be excited about over the last couple of years, with manager Mauricio Pochettino having moulded an exhilarating young side, spearheaded by ‘one of their own’ in Harry Kane.

The fans in north London take great pride in seeing young players from their academy rise through the ranks and establishing themselves in the first team. After top scorer Kane, there was another for those at White Hart Lane to get excited about last term.

Pochettino put great faith in young midfielder Harry Winks and the England U21 international took his opportunity with both hands and made a real name for himself.

The 21-year-old continually impressed, scoring his first goal for Spurs in a dramatic 3-2 win over London rivals West Ham. However, after an outstanding breakthrough season Winks suffered a season ending injury in April – ruling him out of the European Championships this summer.

However, there’s good news for Spurs fans as the club have tweeted a photo of the midfielder back in training alongside the first team once again – and the fans are loving the news…

Chelsea announced on their official website on Wednesday that midfielder Mario Pasalic had signed a new four-year contract before joining Spartak Moscow on a season-long loan deal.

The Blues signed the Croatia international from Hadjuk Split in 2014 and he is yet to make an appearance for the Premier League holders having previously spent loan spells away with Elche, Monaco and last season with AC Milan.

The 22-year-old made a positive impressive for the Serie A giants last term having scored five goals in 27 appearances in all competitions, but it wasn’t enough to convince Antonio Conte that he should be given an opportunity in the upcoming campaign and he has joined a number of his teammates in leaving the west London outfit on loan.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on the latest exit via social media, and the majority were disappointed that yet another young player isn’t going to be given an opportunity.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

New Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino will contact his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola over the availability of playmaker Patrick Roberts for a one-year loan deal, according to reports from Mail Online.

Where does Pellegrino stand?

The new Saints boss, appointed in the wake of Claude Puel’s sacking after just one season, has had their first pre-season training camp in Austria to asses his squad and the changes that need making ahead of his maiden Premier League campaign.

The club have bought just the one player so far this window, Polish defender Jan Bednarek, but will surely have to add further if they are to improve on their 8th place finish last season which saw Puel axed.

While their placing in the table was acceptable, it was the negative style of football which saw the Frenchman walk, meaning exciting attacking players are the order of the day on the south coast.

Roberts enjoyed a promising loan spell with Scottish champions Celtic over the past two seasons and returned to Manchester this summer having scored 11 goals and picked up 19 assists in the Celts’ invincibles campaign.

Worthwhile deal?

It would seem so, for both parties. While Guardiola will have a packed schedule to navigate over the next nine or ten months, it’s hard to envisage Roberts getting too much game time, meaning a loan move would be beneficial, especially one where he’ll be playing Premier League football.

At St. Mary’s, more creative spark is desperately needed. The Saints too often failed to break sides down and create chances last season and, whether the 20-year-old started or made an effort off the bench he would be of great use.

Although playing at a slightly lower standard for the majority of last season (barring six Champions League appearances), his tally of 19 assists in all competitions is 11 higher than Southampton’s top creator, Dusan Tadic.

With such an alarming lack of creativity last term, there seems no harm in bringing in a player of Roberts’ quality to the fold, even if it’s just for the one season.

Aston Villa suffered a demoralising 3-0 defeat to Cardiff City in their second league fixture of the new season in the Welsh capital on Saturday, and fans were quick to criticise midfielder Henri Lansbury.

Villa are one of the favourites to secure promotion to the Premier League this season, but their Championship campaign hasn’t got off to the best of starts with the 1-1 draw against Hull City at Villa Park last weekend being followed up by the heavy loss against the Bluebirds.

The Midlands outfit would have been looking for a huge improvement this term following a 13th-placed finish last time out, but a brace from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and a goal from Junior Hoilett condemned them to defeat at the Cardiff City Stadium.

Lansbury started the game in the middle of the park but he was replaced by Callum O’Hare before the hour-mark, with his substitution even being met with some boos from the visiting faithful.

Aston Villa supporters were quick to have their say on the former Forest man’s showing via social media, and many believe that he should be dropped to the bench as he isn’t offering anything on the pitch right now.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola confirmed in his Liverpool pre-match press conference on Friday that Arsenal wanted Raheem Sterling as part of the deal that would have taken Alexis Sanchez the other way on deadline day, but there was “zero chance” of it happening.

The Mirror claimed just hours before the window shut that the Gunners had accepted a £60m offer from the Citizens for the Chile forward, but the move never went through as the north London outfit failed to complete a deal for Monaco’s Thomas Lemar.

Now it appears as though Arsene Wenger tried to get Sterling in part exchange instead, but Guardiola wasn’t keen on losing the 22-year-old ahead of an important season.

Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on the news via social media, and while many are happy that they didn’t sign the England international, others say that they’ve “had enough”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

As reported by The Daily Record, Brendan Rodgers has set out how he wants his team to approach Tuesday night’s massive clash against Paris Saint-Germain.

What’s the story?

The Hoops are due to take on one of Europe’s best attacking sides right now as they kick-off their UEFA Champions League campaign at Celtic Park.

With the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Edinson Cavani set to feature, it’s going to be a massively difficult task for the home side to get any sort of result. However, that isn’t going to stop Rodgers’ side trying to stamp their presence on the match.

As quoted by The Daily Record, Rodgers said:

Our identity is important. Of course, you have to respect your opponent and the qualities they have. But I’ve always been about playing without fear – and making sure our rivals know they’re in a game. And PSG will do when the whistle goes. I always want us to really test the opponent. See how they feel under pressure. When you’re breathing right up against them, if you can touch them, you’re pressing them. If they get out of that press, that’s OK. They’ve earned their £600,000 a week. And they’ll do it a few times. But we keep going back. It doesn’t guarantee you a result but it gives you a chance.

Those will be thrilling words for Celtic supporters to hear ahead of the match, but can they possibly pick up a shock result?

The right approach

Brendan Rodgers is correct in his assessment of how the Hoops should go about their business on Tuesday night. Celtic fans, while hopeful, are not expecting any sort of result, but at the very least want to see their team have a real go at PSG’s richly assembled squad.

Celtic must play to their strengths if they’re to get a result and that means putting the focus on attack and getting players like Kieran Tierney and Olivier Ntcham forward in support of stars who can provide the finishing touch, such as Scott Sinclair and Patrick Roberts.

If there are no regrets on Wednesday morning, Celtic fans will be happy regardless of the result.

If the Hoops can execute Rodgers’ ambitious game plan, whose to say that result will not be a positive one against the odds?

On Friday, Divock Origi gave an interview to Sky Sports where he insisted that he would return to Liverpool a better player after a loan spell at Wolfsburg.

The 22-year-old managed 11 goals in 43 appearances for Liverpool last season, but was deemed surplus to requirements for the 2017-18 campaign.

Origi has scored once in five Bundesliga appearances for Wolfsburg, and was widely praised for his performance in the 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich last month.

During the interview, the Belgian revealed that the plan is to stay with Wolfsburg for the 2017-18 campaign, before returning to Liverpool as a better footballer next summer.

Origi, who is valued at £10.8m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has actually hit double figures in each of his two full seasons at Liverpool, while there is no question that he has shown promise.

There are many of the English club’s supporters that feel Origi could make a difference this season, but there are also those who feel that the forward is not quite good enough.

It would be fair to say that the Liverpool fans are split when it comes to the former Lille attacker. A selection of the best Twitter reaction can be found below:

After starting the Championship season with three straight away wins and unbeaten in seven matches, everything looked to be hunky dory for Leeds United as they topped the standings ahead of their trip to The Den to face Milwall on September 16.

Having failed to concede in their previous six league games, the Yorkshire outfit were resolute at the back and were getting the goals they needed – aside from the successive goalless draws at home to Preston North End and Fulham in August – at the other end of the pitch to ensure that they were picking up all three points more often than not.

Performing well and picking up positive results, Thomas Christiansen would have been confident that when his team came up against the Lions they had a real chance of picking up maximum points again, but it just didn’t happen for them and below-par performances from the likes of Samu Saiz, Pierre-Michel Lasogga and Pablo Hernandez certainly gave the United boss something to think about for future away trips during their 1-0 defeat.

Although the Whites bounced back with a 3-2 win against Ipswich Town at Elland Road, their season has derailed slightly over the course of the last two games.

Christiansen’s men conceded three times as they were beaten 3-1 by Cardiff City in their top-of-the-table clash in the Welsh capital on September 26, before they lost 3-0 against Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Sunday.

A defence that had looked so solid in the opening weeks of the campaign is starting to unravel, and Christiansen is facing his first major conundrum on the pitch since taking the reins earlier in the summer.

While the 44-year-old could point to the fact that Leeds only had 10 men for the whole second half against Cardiff after Liam Cooper’s red card on the stroke of half-time, the Yorkshire outfit already found themselves 2-0 down by that point.

Yes it was clearly a factor, but there were underlying problems with how Leeds were defending as a team, too.

Summer signing Mateusz Klich had found first team minutes hard to come by following his move from FC Twente, but after impressing against Burnley in the EFL Cup he was handed his opportunity to impress at the Cardiff City Stadium with Eunan O’Kane missing through illness.

However, the Poland international failed to take his chance alongside Kalvin Phillips in the middle of the park, and the absence in the starting line-up of Saiz and Lasogga – who struggled against Millwall – didn’t make the Yorkshire outfit any more solid defensively.

Klich didn’t even make the squad for the trip to Sheffield Wednesday as O’Kane made his return to the XI, with Ronaldo Vieira on the bench.

Their showing against an Owls side that had suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Steel City derby the previous weekend was probably their worst yet, with the whole back seven particularly disappointing and Kemar Roofe and Gjanni Alioski struggling to make an impact in attack.

It means that Christiansen certainly has a lot to think about during the international break before his side’s next away trip to Bristol City on October 21, and he may consider making some tactical changes at Ashton Gate.

One way he could do that would be to play with a 4-3-3, 3-5-2 or 3-5-1-1 system that would allow him to line up with three central midfielders, which would his team more control of the middle of the park.

While O’Kane and Phillips have done well this season, Leeds are still lacking that bite and energy in the centre of the pitch at times – something that Liam Bridcutt provided before his summer move to Nottingham Forest – and you can’t help but feel that if you were to add Vieira alongside the duo, they would be more of a tough nut to crack on their travels.

Of course, Christiansen will be thinking about how he will incorporate players like Hernandez and Saiz into that system, but at the end of the day you have to pick a side based on form and who is the best option to help you get a result.

More often than not that doesn’t seem to be Hernandez away from home. and perhaps a 3-5-1-1 system with the three central midfielders, Saiz behind Lasogga and Luke Ayling and Gaetano Berardi as the wing-backs could be the way forward.

With Cooper, Pontus Jansson, Matthew Pennington, Conor Shaughnessy and Ayling all able to play at centre-back, Leeds certainly have the strength in depth in their backline to play with a trio of central defenders too.

Whatever Christiansen decides to do, it is clear that something that needs to change on the road if Leeds United want to keep their promotion dream alive.