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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…

It’s a case of stick or twist for Nottingham Forest, except it could be a rather large twist.

Joe Worrall has been the centre of a lot of attention this week. First, there were the reports that Newcastle United were interested in making a push for him in the January transfer window.

Then, perhaps in response to these rumours, we may never know, the 22-year-old defender posted a tweet about how much he loves wearing the Garibaldi shirt.

Whilst further reports have tried to nip the idea of him moving to St James’ Park in the bud by suggesting how Newcastle would have to break the bank to do so, it is at least worth considering what sort of situation Forest would find themselves in if push came to shove and they ended up accepting the bid.

It depends on which way they end up going. Would they try to replace him from within? Or would they take the money and reinvest?

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They have got several defenders already on the books, so it’s not as if they would be short of options if they went down that road.

The only problem is that Worrall and Michael Dawson have put together such an impressive partnership, with one of the better defensive records in the division in terms of goals conceded, that there haven’t been many opportunities for other players to impress in front of Sabri Lamouchi.

Therefore, trying to replicate that sort of form through the likes of Chema or Tobias Figueiredo could prove to be a big risk. They lack experience in the English game and could suddenly find themselves in at the deep end. Certainly in that sense Forest would be playing with fire.

If Forest want to invest in a replacement, then a lot will depend on how much they get for him. Whilst his value on Transfermarkt is £5.40m, it’s reportedly unlikely to be done on the cheap if they are convinced into letting him go.

If they can get a fee of £10m and above, which certainly isn’t unreasonable given Adam Webster left the Championship for £20m in the summer, they should be able to get a replacement for him, but again it comes back to the breakup of the Worrall and Dawson partnership.

Should Lamouchi take such a big risk in letting the partnership fall apart? Whilst Dawson is in the final year of his contract, it’s best to get every last drop out of them that they can and readdress the situation on their terms, rather than have it dictated to them by the likes of Newcastle.

Real Madrid are two points clear at the top of La Liga despite a seemingly slow start but now they’re already planning for the future.

Now, Marca report that Los Blancos are planning a patient bid to bring Kylian Mbappe to the Bernabeu by 2021.

The news comes following an already eye-watering transfer overhaul in the summer in the Spanish capital with the likes of Luka Jovic, Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao arriving after a difficult campaign last season.

According to the report, president Florentino Perez has already set his sights on improving the squad further by waiting for Mbappe’s contract to run down in an effort to pay less for him.

This strategy has reportedly worked with other targets before, including Hazard, when Real paid well below the market price for his signature.

The Spanish contenders are not above waiting for the prime opportunity to strike, and it appears they are desperate to land the French sensation with just two and a half years left on his current PSG contract.

Real president Perez is allegedly ‘obsessed’ with bringing the 20-year-old to La Liga after being impressed with his incredible last three seasons at the top level.

Including being one of the youngest players in history to win a World Cup, akin to Pele, and notching an astounding 33 goals and seven assists in just 29 league appearances last season – dragging PSG to the Ligue 1 title, the former Monaco man is widely considered to be one of the best players in the world. Having lost Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 and Karim Benzema now into his 30s, there could be space for a big name to move to the club in the attacking line in the years to come.

Whether or not this strategy to land him will work is a different story but if the French champions fail to get the youngster to renew, then it may just pay off for Zinedine Zidane’s side.

Could you see Mbappe joining Real? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Queens Park Rangers might have moved to within a point of the playoffs following their 4-2 victory over Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon, but not everything was positive.Mark Warburton’s side produced an excellent attacking display with Nahki Wells, Eberechi Eze, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jordan Hugill all getting their name on the scoresheet.The visitors were handed a chance to get back into the game just before the hour mark when centre-back Yoann Barbet brought down Bradley Dack inside the area, only for the midfielder to dust himself off and duly score to make the match interesting at 2-1.Watch Queens Park Rangers Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

Just last weekend, the Frenchman did the very same as he picked up a red card against West Brom for scything down Hal Robson-Kanu with the Baggies scoring a winner from the resulting free-kick.

It appears that patience is wearing thin for much of the Rs’ fanbase, and several of them have taken to Twitter to vent their anger.

One supporter claimed the defender needs to be sold while he was also brandished as a ‘walking disaster’ and ‘liability’ by others.

Another fan joked that the 26-year-old must be trying to get into the Guinness Book of Records for giving away the most penalties.

Here’s the best of the reaction:

Last night saw a squad of Manchester City legends take on a squad containing some of the Premier League’s greatest ever players for Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match at the Etihad.

Among the players to take to the field were Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Jamie Carragher and Robin van Persie. The game ended 2-2 thanks to a last-minute equaliser from former Cityzens front man Benjani. Indeed, he even did that famous celebration afterwards, just for the fans.

50,000 people packed out City’s home ground last night and it was a great spectacle all around. The highlight of the evening, however, was certainly Robin van Persie’s goal in the second-half.

The Dutch forward, who famously turned out for Arsenal and Manchester United during his career in the Premier League, effortlessly curled the ball past Joe Hart with that trademark left foot.

The 36-year-old’s finish has expectedly been doing the rounds on social media today, with United fan page @UtdXtra posting the video to their 315,000-strong follower base last night.

Here are some of the replies from United supporters, who clearly wouldn’t mind it if the former Netherlands international returned to Old Trafford this season…

United fans, how much do you miss van Persie? Let us know by commenting below!

There was a lot of talk about Ivan Rakitic’s possible departure during the summer transfer window.

The 31-year-old Croatian midfielder was mentioned as a potential bargaining chip in Barcelona’s attempts to snatch Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain.

But the transfer window came and went and Rakitic stayed at the club in the end.

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Now, however, there are new updates on his possible departure in January, as Juventus have reportedly been monitoring the Croat, per Tuttosport, and would like to acquire his services in the winter transfer window.

Needless to say, the sheer possibility of Rakitic actually leaving Barcelona has many fans over the moon with joy. They have quickly taken to social media and Twitter to express their enthusiasm about the possible transfer.

Many of them seem to hope that it will indeed go through and they don’t really care where he ends up, as long as it’s far away from their team.

You can see some of their reactions in the collection of tweets below.

Check them out…

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Eddie Nketiah scored on his Leeds United debut as Marcelo Bielsa’s side recorded a 3-0 win over Salford City in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.

Much of the pre-match talk had been about Salford but Leeds proved far too strong on the evening – scoring three unanswered goals to book their spot in the next round.

Nketiah completed a loan move to the Whites last Thursday and is due to spend the 2019-20 campaign at Elland Road.

The 20-year-old was not involved in the team’s Championship clash against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, which finished 1-1.

However, the Arsenal attacker was thrown into the fold against Salford.

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He scored in the latter stages of the first half against the League Two club, before Gaetano Berardi and Mateusz Klich struck to make it 3-0.

As expected, the Leeds fans were delighted with Nketiah’s contribution and many took to social media to lavish praise on the new arrival, as seen below:

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Leeds’ 16-man tour squad for Australia includes some fabulously talented youngsters with the likes of Jordan Stevens, Bryce Hosannah and Clarke Oduor all among those to have travelled.

A host of first-team members have been left behind with Marcelo Bielsa also preferring to stay in England before making the trip over at a later date.

The Whites take on Manchester United on Wednesday on the other side of the world before they take on Tadcaster Albion a matter of hours later rather closer to home.

However, another youngster besides those already mentioned who will be hoping to make an impact is Mateusz Bogusz.

The 17-year-old was snapped in training scoring a curling free-kick and as a result, supporters of the club were left to rave about the midfielder.

One fan tipped him to become world-class whilst another claimed he’ll be in the first-team next season. A further supporter said he was going to be ridiculous in the future.

Bogusz signed for Leeds from Ruch Chorzow in January after scoring five goals in the Polish third tier. He made the bench four times last term, being included in the squad for both play-off clashes with Derby.

Here’s the best of the reaction.

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What does the future hold for Newcastle United? No-one is sure at the moment following Rafael Benitez’s exit from the North-East club.

Thursday’s Newcastle transfer roundup includes an update on the latest candidates for the role, comments from the club’s record signing and interest from a Premier League side in a 21-year-old midfielder.

Vieira, Gerrard and Arteta on shortlist

The Telegraph is reporting that Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard and Mikel Arteta are all being considered for the manager’s position. Vieira is at Nice, Gerrard is with Rangers, whilst Arteta is Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager at Manchester City. No contact has yet been made with the trio as they eye up Benitez’s successor.

Almiron responds to Real rumours

Miguel Almiron has commented on reports linking him to Real Madrid. The Paraguayan, who is currently at the Copa America, said, “It’s an honour that a team like Real Madrid looks at me, but I’m not aware of anything and now I’m focused on the Copa America and then Newcastle.”

United after Longstaff

Manchester United are very interested in signing Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff this summer according to the BBC. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly keen on the Englishman and would like to add him to the signing of Dan James, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka potentially on the way too.

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Dani Ceballos has issued mixed messages over his future at Real Madrid after being linked with Tottenham Hotspur, per Onda Cero via Marca.

What’s the word?

El Des Marque reported in May that Spurs are “the main player” in the hunt to secure the signature of the midfielder.

However, he has now said that he has a lengthy contract at the Spanish club, of which manager Zinedine Zidane has reminded him, and that he does not expect to leave the Santiago Bernabeu.

He said: “Zidane was very clear with me. I’ve accepted his explanations.

“I have a contract with a very high release clause.

“I have four years on my contract and I want to succeed at Real Madrid.”

But, in the same interview, Ceballos has outlined his conditions for an exit from the club.

He added: “If I leave I want to play for a team where I feel important.

“I want to show that I can compete at any team in Europe.

“I’m a young player who wants to succeed so I don’t want to have another year without playing.”

A thorny issue

This looks like a complicated deal for Spurs to do.

His release clause stands at €500m (£444.1m) and, while Real are unlikely to demand a figure of such a magnitude, his current deal runs until 2023.

The club are almost certain to ensure that they receive the highest possible fee for a player who has yet to reach his peak, then.

He made 34 appearances in all competitions this season and Real are not exactly known for letting their hottest prospects leave for negligible fees.

Spurs do need midfield reinforcements this summer but this deal may well be beyond their reach.

There are other targets out there – Giovani Lo Celso and Tanguy Ndombele immediately spring to mind – and perhaps they should focus on them instead.

He has posted a fairly lengthy post on Instagram, thanking Celtic for giving him a chance to re-establish himself after a difficult time in Manchester.

Celtic legend Craig Gordon was quick to respond to the post.

Boyata was at Celtic for a unique period in the club’s rich history, as they have dominated the entire of Scottish football for the last three years and the 28-year-old was a big part of that.

Overall, he made 135 appearances and scored a respectable 15 goals but when it came to contract negotiations the two parties were unfortunately unable to reach a fresh agreement.

He has signed a long-term deal with the Bundesliga club and will look to use his experience gained at Celtic to help him adapt to life in Germany.

Neil Lennon, meanwhile, will need to find a way to replace Boyata as Celtic go after yet another treble next season.