Having sold Romelu Lukaku to Inter, and then giving the green-light for Alexis Sanchez to join the Nerazzurri too, Manchester United headed into the current campaign with very limited options up front.

Anthony Martial’s injury earlier on in the season essentially increased the burden on Marcus Rashford ten-fold, and the 21-year-old has understandably struggled to carry the side’s attack, scoring just four times.

Reports in recent weeks have suggested the Red Devils are interested in signing Juventus man Mario Mandzukic, and Maurizio Sarri revealed last week that the Croatian is not training with the first-team group.

Now, Italian publication Calcio Mercato (via Sport Witness) have provided a transfer update, claiming United “should” be Mandzukic’s next destination, and that “everything indicates” Old Trafford will be his next stop.

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After hearing the latest news on their pursuit of the 33-year-old, United fans flooded to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the situation.

Many supporters of the Manchester side insisted it would be a major mistake, whilst one fan in particular suggested if the club signed the veteran forward it would prove Ed Woodward is “bonkers”.

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Check out some of the reaction of United fans below:

Marcelo Bielsa introduced Liam Cooper for Helder Costa in the 76th minute of Leeds United’s Championship clash with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday afternoon.

The substitution saw the Whites switch to a back three with their fit-again skipper slotting in alongside Ben White and Luke Ayling in defence.

However, the Yorkshire side could not find a late goal on the afternoon as they shared the points for a second successive match having drawn at Preston North End on Tuesday.

The club’s fans are already frustrated that their manager is not making more changes to his starting XI on a week-to-week basis.

And a number of the supporters were unhappy with the late alteration against Wednesday as Cooper replaced Costa.

Costa has actually been slammed by the fans for his form in recent weeks, but not too many could understand why a centre-back was introduced when their team were looking for a late goal at Hillsborough.

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A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Former Premier League footballer Danny Mills has likened the up-and-down form of Marcus Rashford and some of his Manchester United teammates to Theo Walcott – saying the striker has a mild form of ‘Theo Walcott Syndrome’.

Rashford had scored in United’s three games prior to their weekend defeat at Bournemouth, following the 22-year-old’s goals against Liverpool and Norwich City as well as his match-winning double at Chelsea in midweek.

But as United drew a blank on the south coast on Saturday lunchtime, Mills compared the extreme highs and lows of Rashford’s form to that of Everton winger Walcott, claiming a lot of United players are suffering from similar disparities within their performances.

He told TalkSPORT: “One minute he’s a world-beater and the next you are going, ‘what’s happened? He’s gone?’

“It’s not quite as dramatic, but it’s almost like ‘Theo Walcott Syndrome’. He’d score a hat-trick and you’d think, ‘oh my goodness, he’s arrived! That’s it, he is going to kick on’.

“But then he went missing for the next five or six games.

“I think a lot of United’s players are like that.”

Mills’ harsh critique of Rashford makes it hard not to feel sorry for the England international, here. It is as if Mills expects Rashford to keep scoring game after game, without considering the weight of pressure he must be feeling having been left to lead the line for an underachieving United side.

Even so, he has notched seven times for the club this season already.

That he has managed to score four in his previous four starts for the club – as well as getting on the scoresheet for England recently, too – is a sure sign of the youngster’s promise, with Rashford already racking up 50 goals in United colours having turned 22 last week, making the timing of Mills’ comments all the more bizarre.

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Meanwhile, Mills is also arguably harsh on Walcott, who but for a career stacked with injuries, could have got even more than the 108 Arsenal goals, three FA Cups and 47 England caps he has earned throughout his career to date.

However, that may leave Rashford well-placed to usurp the achievements of Walcott in the years to come, and prove Mills wrong – especially if he is tasked with spearheading United’s attack as he has done so far this season.

United fans, do you agree with Mills’ comments? How far can Rashford go at the club? Join the discussion in the comments below!

What a performance from Rangers at Hampden Park on Sunday.

In the semi-final of the League Cup, the Gers beat Hearts 3-0, and didn’t look under threat at any point during the match. Filip Helander set Steven Gerrard’s side on their way following a fantastic cross from Alfredo Morelos before the 23-year-old Colombian got himself on the scoresheet twice.

They will now face Celtic in the final as they look to end their domestic dominance.

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There were several impressive performances on the day from the Ibrox outfit, but Ryan Jack looked particularly good. So far this term the 27-year-old, who is currently valued at £1.35m by Transfermarkt, has played 19 matches, during which he has scored three times and provided two assists.

It is fair to say that the club’s supporters were absolutely delighted with the two-time Scotland international’s display.

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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts, and you can see some of the best comments from the social media platform below.

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…

Whilst Wednesday night’s draw to Vitória represented yet another disappointing on-field performance from Arsenal in the 2019/20 campaign, manager Unai Emery must take a degree of responsibility for a considerable mistake on his part in the Europa League clash.

Shkodran Mustafi rose highest to meet Nicolas Pepe’s free-kick in the 80th minute, but the Gunners appeared devoid of confidence, with the German centre-back’s header their first shot on target of the whole game.

In a week where Emery had made the decision to strip Granit Xhaka of the Arsenal captaincy and hand it to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the fixture against Vitória represented the perfect opportunity for the Gabonese forward to take over the armband and lead his side to victory against seemingly inferior opposition.

Yet the decision from the Arsenal boss to fully rest the Gabonese forward and not even take him to Portugal points to a manager who seems out of touch with the intricacies of motivation and management; the opportunity to set a precedent for the era of Aubameyang’s captaincy from the outset missed by Emery. 

Given the testing league fixture that the north London side will encounter on Saturday, coming up against the high-flying Foxes under the management of Brendan Rodgers, victory seems unlikely in Aubameyang’s first league game as captain of the club; certainly on current form.

Yet had the former Borrusia Dortmund man travelled for the Europa League game, playing and captaining his side, this could have represented a shrewd move from Emery for reasons that stretch beyond the quality of Arsenal’s football: this was a chance to send a statement to both the club’s fanbase and its critics that the decision to remove Xhaka’s captaincy has galvanised the squad.

But a 1-1 draw and an underwhelming performance on foreign soil is likely to only further intensify calls for Emery to depart The Emirates, with Saturday’s league fixture holding the potential to make it just four wins in 12 league games for the Spaniard. 

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Aubameyang could emerge as an outstanding captaincy option with innate leadership qualities, but the striker’s task of picking back up a side who have experienced another deflating result will be a true test of his ability to energise this Arsenal side. After all, he’s their top scorer this season.

But there can be no doubting that Emery’s decision for the forward not to travel, and to hand the captaincy to Rob Holding, marks yet another mistake in missing an opportunity to build some much-needed momentum in the Gunners’ bid to salvage their 2019/20 campaign.

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.

Takefusa Kubo is one of the brightest young talents in the world of football.

The 18-year-old prodigy is a Real Madrid loanee currently plying his trade over at Mallorca, and gaining some valuable experience in La Liga before eventually making his big return to the Spanish capital.

And a lot has already been said about his potential to usher in a new era with the Galacticos and start that revolution Florentino Perez wants to see at his club.

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But sometimes it’s easy to forget that Kubo is still very young and these are his first steps with the big boys in Europe.

And just recently, in Mallorca’s home game against Villarreal, the young “Japanese Messi” finally showed signs of his brilliance and registered his best game in La Liga to date.

His team won 3-1 against a very tricky opponent and it was largely due to Kubo’s gigantic efforts.

The young 18-year-old starlet bagged one goal himself but also won one penalty on the night, giving his team a huge boost in the process.

He was taken off in the 67th minute but that was enough time for him to really make his mark both on the game and the league itself, announcing his arrival to the stage and undoubtedly turning a couple of heads along the way.

Apart from his involvement in the goals, Kubo also registered six crosses and two successful dribbles.

But the best part is that he was not only effective going forward and while attacking but also going the other way.

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The 18-year-old prodigy tallied two interceptions and a total of three tackles on the night, registering a truly complete performance by the young Mallorca ace.

Zinedine Zidane will undoubtedly be happy to hear his loanee is doing exceptionally well at his temporary home and is gaining the necessary pedigree for his eventual return in the future.

If he can continue improving, Real Madrid will definitely have a major talent on their hands once he comes back from Mallorca.

We’ll have to wait and see.

Newcastle United are set to be without their captain Jamaal Lascelles for the remainder of the year after the centre-back suffered a knee injury against Bournemouth on November 9.

The 26-year-old was forced off in the 20th minute of the clash at St James’ Park and is not expected to return to the field until 2020.

As a result Newcastle boss Steve Bruce will need to name a new captain for the clash with Aston Villa on November 25, and indeed in the weeks ahead.

A decent amount of Newcastle fans have been on social media offering their views on the situation, and it would be fair to say that there are mixed opinions on the topic.

Indeed, a number of players have been offered up as potential candidates to wear the armband, and it will be fascinating to see what Bruce decides in the build-up to the Villa game.

A selection of the Twitter reaction is available to view below:

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

Sunderland have struggled of late but they stand a good chance of winning tonight if Phil Parkinson gets a key tactic right and exploits Burton accordingly.

On the chalkboard

The Black cats have weak aspects to their game themselves, but since those issues mainly lie in attack they should be able to deal with the threat posed by the visitors tonight, particularly as they have only scored 18 goals in 15 league games.

Another point of weakness of Nigel Clough’s side is their ability on the ball. The Brewers have averaged a pass accuracy of just 70%, which shows they can be got at when in possession.

Phil Parkinson has to make his players aware of that fact, and instruct them to close down their opponents with greater intensity, especially the defenders.

Such pressure could cause a mistake which leads to a Sunderland goal, but failing that it should at least rush Burton in their decision making, and lead them to concede possession easily, which will lead to the home side dominating the ball – making it more likely for them to find a breakthrough.

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Change in personnel?

If Parkinson is to adopt a high-press strategy for this clash he may be best suited to making a few changes to his starting lineup.

Players with more pace like Duncan Watmore and Benji Kimpioka could be drafted into the side with good effect, replacing the maligned Chris Maguire or Aiden McGeady.

That would allow the Black Cats to defend from the front, and perhaps ensure that the majority of the game is played in the opponent’s half, which would keep them pinned down and allow Sunderland to pile on the pressure.

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With that in mind, it may also be useful to recall Marc McNulty to the side. He has built up a reputation over the years as a hard-working forward, and such work rate and desire could prove very useful in shutting down defenders.

All but one Burton defender has a pass accuracy lower than 70%. If Parkinson doesn’t attempt to exploit that it would be a missed opportunity, and Sunderland could once again find themselves in a position where they’re struggling to break a team down, as the visitors have only conceded 16 league goals this season.

Meanwhile, Parkinson has also been going wrong by repeating this simple failure throughout his tenure so far.

Aston Villa will be looking to book a place in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup when they take on Liverpool at Villa Park, but the West Midlands side may be without a number of supporters who have been voicing their concerns over the pricing of the fixture and the quality of opposition that may be on show. 

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Due to the Club World Cup commitments of Jurgen Klopp’s side, the Merseyside outfit will be playing two games in less than 24 hours; fielding two separate teams.

This is despite a request from the club to consider an alternative arrangement for the scheduling, and consequently, some of the Villa fans feel that they may be paying a premium ticket price to see a ‘reserve match’, while other simply aren’t happy about the cost.

Although a League Cup quarter-final should be a great experience for the newly-promoted side, these fans have been venting their frustration. Here are some of the best reactions following a tweet from the club.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

Newcastle earned a brilliant draw with Manchester City on Saturday with a few players stepping up and showing their quality when it was needed.

Steve Bruce set his team up in the same way he had against Aston Villa, but there was more energy and determination to their play.

Another who improved dramatically was Miguel Almiron, who stuttered once again last time out, yet put those disappointments behind him to act as a key player in the Magpies picking up a point.

His energy and direct running throughout meant he was a thorn in City’s side. It allowed him to pick up clever pockets of space which he could run into once the ball was played into him, and from there he displayed his effectiveness more often than not.

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Alongside Allan Saint-Maximin, who was his usual tricky self with seven successful dribbles, Almiron was able to weave through at times, and managed three dribbles himself, as per WhoScored.

The most noticeable difference to his play was his awareness, however. When he first joined his decision-making was found to be lacking at times, but against the Citizens, he did brilliantly to find Willems, who subsequently slotted the ball in for Newcastle’s first equaliser.

It was also a first Magpies’ assist for the Paraguay international, and that achievement should do him the world of good, both in lifting huge pressure off his shoulders and in proving to himself that he does have to quality to succeed at this level.

To do so against such a good side should be even more of a boost for the 25-year-old, and if he can take up similar positions and find his teammates in the box more often then the goals and assists should flow.

The £18m-rated Paraguayan works so hard for the team and can be effective in a number of other areas, but it is still a credit to Bruce that he trusted the winger and stuck by him when he easily could have been dropped.

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WhoScored gave him a rating of 7.5 for his Man City display, the fourth-highest score of anyone on the pitch, which means that if he replicates that display on a regular basis he will soon be the key man for Toon.

Demonstrating that attacking prowess is just what Newcastle need given their struggles to score at times, and if Almiron can find Joelinton in the box more often then both should be able to fire their team up the table, and really kickstart their careers in the north-east.

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