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Manuel Pellegrini has promised to bring a new brand of football to West Ham this season, so could the Chilean’s arrival bring the best out of Manuel Lanzini?

2017/18 was a difficult season at West Ham for several reasons, but in and amongst the manager tension, fan strife and owner troubles, the injury to Manuel Lanzini was undoubtedly a huge factor in the Hammers’ struggles.

The Hammers lost the little Argentine at a crucial stage in the season, and despite starting just 23 of 38 Premier League games, he still managed five goals and six assists this season.

Lanzini was at his brilliant best in Argentina’s friendly win this week, as the 25 year-old played in a deeper midfield position than he is used to in the 4-0 win over Haiti.

He did not directly contribute to the goals, but linked defence and attack wonderfully, exhibiting exactly the kind of swagger and confidence on the ball that West Ham fans have become so used to seeing from him.

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Under Pellegrini’s free flowing style next season, Lanzini could be the veteran manager’s most important player. Pellegrini likes a 4-4-2 formation, but it becomes more of a 4-2-2-2 when attacking, and Lanzini will flourish roaming in one of those two spots behind the strikers.

Only five players registered both ten goals and ten assists in the Premier League this season, and Lanzini can join this elite club next season.

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There has been plenty of talk about Marko Arnautovic amidst the Austrian’s links to Manchester United, but Lanzini could just be the most important Hammer under Pellegrini.

So, West Ham fans, do you think Pellegrini will get the best out of Lanzini next season? Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Throughout his entire senior career, spanning 279 appearances, Eric Lichaj has produced just ten goals. And yet, the hardworking, largely defensive right-back dug deep to find the miraculous quality to sink Arsenal with an incredible brace in the Third Round of the FA Cup on Sunday.

The USA international rose highest and quickest at a free kick to head past David Ospina at point-blank range, but his second was something truly special altogether; as Arsenal failed to clear from another set piece, Lichaj unleashed a volley that combined force with delicacy – dipping into the far top corner of the net.

But it shouldn’t be forgotten the 29-year-old’s efforts in defence were heroic as well; he made the joint-most tackles of any Forest player, alongside three interceptions, three clearances and two successful aerial duels.

It’s nights like this when true cult heroes are born and although Nottingham Forest’s glorious history boasts some phenomenal footballers, particularly in the full-back department, Lichaj’s brace won’t be forgotten in a hurry.

Combining gorgeous goals with rugged defending at the other end, there was certainly something Stuart-Pearce-esque about it.

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It may seem like a trivial point at this time, with Mesut Ozil on the receiving end of flak and criticism following his most recent display against Bayern Munich. But Arsenal and Arsene Wenger also have to deal with a smaller issue in Jack Wilshere and where he fits into this team short term.

Like Ozil, though not to the same feverish degree, Wilshere took on a lot of stick for his performance at Anfield in Arsenal’s 5-1 loss. It was a passionate display that compensated for his wastefulness in possession and otherwise poor footballing performance. It mimicked what he produced away at Manchester City in Arsenal’s 6-3 loss, once again being guilty of giving away possession far too cheaply and not having the influence on a game that fans know he’s capable of.

With the myriad options Wenger has at his disposal, it is a fight for Wilshere to get a game further up the pitch in the No.10 role. Either Ozil will occupy that position or one of Santi Cazorla or Tomas Rosicky. Wilshere has also been used on the flank briefly this season, yet like Aaron Ramsey, it’s not his natural environment, and offering him a central role will be beneficial to him and those around him.

But the problem and worry is that he hasn’t really kicked on from the season in which he made such strides at Arsenal. Wenger was accused of running Wilshere into the ground during the 2010-11 season, but you can understand the temptation to continue to play a youngster who was at the time showing such promise.

During that run, Wilshere was paired with Alex Song, while Cesc Fabregas drifted a little further up field. Nevertheless, it was, for arguments sake, a three-man central midfield, each most comfortable in that deep-lying role. Importantly for Wilshere, he had two players with experience who could shield him and guide him through the rigours of ties against opponents such as Barcelona, who he was magnificent against.

It would be odd, then, that players with the experience of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini are unable to bring equal performances out of him. It’s even more curious that someone like Ozil ahead of him hasn’t furthered Wilshere’s contribution to Arsenal this season. It’s not to say Wilshere has been terrible throughout; there have been very good performances this season, and fans are more than happy to see a player who is unquestionably one of their own show some fight and passion during a campaign such as this.

However, the good performances have been fleeting. They’ve been one of three likely contributions: good, average or downright awful.

It should also be mentioned that Wilshere has played extremely well alongside Steven Gerrard for England, perhaps another indicator of a player who is there for the youngster to lean on.

Like Ramsey, there is the issue of injuries and that Wilshere was out for over a year following his breakthrough season with the club. And at 22, there is a long way to go before the glass of hope is drained completely.

For this season in particular, Wenger needs to find a way to bring subtlety and simplicity back to Wilshere’s game. When Fabregas was in the team, he became the reference point for Wilshere, the player who he would look to for the simple, possession-first passes. Now, he’s trying to do too much himself, taking on three or four players only to be dispossessed without much effort.

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Ramsey kick started his career by going back to basics. There’s an outstanding footballer in Wilshere; we’ve seen evidence of it. But micro-managing his immediate future in the way Wenger did with Ramsey will get him on the right path. For now, he looks as if he’s not entirely sure what he’s supposed to be doing.

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England manager Roy Hodgson has stated that Arsenal defender Carl Jenkinson is likely to get his England debut in the side’s next friendly fixture.

The full-back has had an impressive start to the 2012-13 campaign, and was touted as an outside chance for the upcoming Three Lions squad to take on San Marino and Poland in World Cup qualifiers.

Despite Jenkinson being left out of the squad for October’s games, Hodgson has confessed that the Gunners’ prospect will be involved against Sweden in the next friendly game. In November

“We kept Jenkinson up our sleeves on this occasion, but he’ll be in our thoughts for the next friendly,” Hodgson is quoted as saying by The Sun.

Jenkinson also qualifies to represent Finland, but is thought to have decided to play for England internationally.

Another player of dual nationality is Raheem Sterling, and it is also believed that the Liverpool youngster will play in the fixture against Sweden to prevent him representing the country of his birth, Jamaica.

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Manchester United fans have not been enthralled by their team’s football this season despite them finishing second in the Premier League and reaching the FA Cup final.

The contrast with Liverpool – who have reached the Champions League final – and Manchester City – who have swashbuckled their way to two trophies, including a record-breaking Premier League title does not bear favourably for United in terms of playing style and not many are expecting much of a spectacle when the Reds take on Chelsea at Wembley in the season’s showpiece occasion.

Mourinho has moved to defend his style of football with some controversial comments about what actually constitutes entertaining football and it has not gone down well at all with the club’s fans.

While United’s fans won’t care too much if Mourinho continues his record of never having lost a final in normal time and brings in the club’s third trophy in two seasons in charge at Old Trafford, the concerns about the style of play linger…

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Liverpool and Barcelona confirmed on Saturday night that star attacking midfielder Philippe Coutinho has finally made the switch from the English Premier League to La Liga, after a transfer saga that has rumbled on for more than six months.

Coutinho joins the European giants on a five-and-a-half year deal for a reported £142m, £105m of which will be paid upfront, a British record for a sale of a player.

It’s a bitter blow for Liverpool’s season given the form the Brazilian has been in for the last few months, scoring 12 goals and assisting nine more in just 19 appearances between the Premier League and UEFA Champions League.

Fans are upset the club couldn’t continue to say no to the Catalan side until the summer, believing signing a direct replacement will be difficult in the January transfer window.

With a top four place at stake alongside progression in Europe, will Jurgen Klopp’s side be the same now he has left Anfield?

Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

Two goals in extra-time against Newcastle United secured Manchester City’s place in the last eight of the Capital One Cup.

In a game short of action, Manuel Pellegrini’s men soaked up increased pressure from the hosts in the first-half to eventually see them leave with victory after goals from Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko.

Pellegrini made 10 changes to the side that lost to Chelsea in the Premier League last weekend and that showed early on as Newcastle enjoyed the better of possession and looked the more likely to open the scoring.

But Costel Pantilimon, standing in for Joe Hart, made a number of crucial saves to ensure the hosts were not out of sight by the interval.

Papiss Cisse wasted two good chances before Shola Ameobi had a goal ruled out for offside after he tapped in Cisse’s miscued shot across goal. City, on the other hand, lost Stevan Jovetic in the opening stages to a calf injury and Alvaro Negredo was introduced in his place, but they still lacked any real threat in front of goal without the rested Sergio Aguero.

Micah Richards headed over early in the second-half and James Milner missed a sitter after Tim Krul found himself at sixes and sevens with a through ball.

Spanish midfielder David Silva came on mid-way through the second half and immediately gave City the cutting edge they so desperately needed, but Negredo spurned two good chances as the game headed towards extra-time.

The first-half of extra-time saw much of the same from both sides, with Cisse wasting another golden chance to give the hosts the lead as Pantilimon saved expertly after Hatem Ben Arfa’s superb ball.

City eventually found the breakthrough in the 99th minute, though, after Negredo showed why City splashed out £22million on him. Dzeko worked his way down the left of the Newcastle penalty area before squaring goalwards to Negredo, whose movement to lose defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was impressive, and he slotted past Krul with ease.

And City doubled their lead just six minutes later, putting the game out of sight for Newcastle. Milner and Silva’s impressive link-up play led to Dzeko easily rounding Krul to slide home.

The defeat will have been a hard one to take for Magpies boss Pardew who will have been impressed by the way his side reacted to their loss to arch-rivals Sunderland at the weekend. His major worry will be the lack of goals coming from his strikers, particularly after the likes of Cisse spurned several chances throughout the game.

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Meanwhile, Pellegrini was delighted with his side’s patience to win the game and insists City deserved to go through despite having to rely on Pantilimon to keep them in the match on various occasions.

City will now travel to the King Power Stadium to face Leicester City in Round 5.

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Keith Downing believes West Brom boss Steve Clarke has provided a seamless transition from the Roy Hodgson era as the Baggies prepare to tackle Capital One Cup holders Liverpool.

Assistant head coach Downing believes Clarke has combined the defensive solidity of current England boss Hodgson with a more attacking approach. Albion are fourth in the Premier League and will be looking to complete a quick-fire double over Liverpool after their 3-0 opening-day win at the Hawthorns. Downing told Sky Sports:

“The manager (Clarke) takes a lot of credit because he stepped into some big shoes in terms of Roy’s work previously. Steve is a very quiet man, he doesn’t take the plaudits too much and he does his work in the background. But the transition has been seamless. He has come in and put his own slant on it. He has worked off Roy’s principles but put his own mark to it.”

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When asked to compare the qualities of the duo, Downing said: “They are very similar, very organised, structured, know exactly what we are doing on the pitch. In general terms, Steve has added a bit in terms of ideas going forward on the offensive side. But there are a lot of principles in terms of what Roy has done in terms of structure and team ethic and he has carried that on. The sensible thing is Steve has realised what is good and added the things he feels need improving and has done that really well.”

Everton sacked Sam Allardyce on Wednesday and Shakhtar Donetsk manager Paulo Fonseca is already one of the frontrunners to replace the unpopular 63-year-old at Goodison Park this summer.

Despite leading the Merseyside outfit to an eighth-place finish, the former England boss was relieved of his duties because of disapproval from the fans over the style of play, and with the club looking to take a new direction.

It would be no surprise to learn that Fonseca is near the top of the list of the Toffees’ targets given his impressive record with Donetsk – where his contract runs out at the end of next month.

The Portuguese boss has overseen 73 win in 93 matches in all competitions, with his team scoring 205 goals during that period, conceding 82, as per Transfermarkt.

The fact that the Ukrainian outfit were only narrowly knocked out of the Champions League at the last 16 stage on away goals by eventual semi-finalists AS Roma shows the quality they have in their squad, and they have certain individuals that could make a real difference for the Merseyside outfit in the 2018/19 campaign.

Here are three Donetsk stars Fonseca should bring to Everton with him, if he is appointed…

While whoever Everton’s new boss is next season will likely keep the faith with Michael Keane following an up-and-down debut campaign at Goodison Park, a new centre-back is likely to be on the agenda.

With Phil Jagielka and Ashley Williams now not up to the standard they once were and Ramiro Funes Mori surely likely to leave this summer, the Merseyside outfit will be left a little short of options at the heart of the defence.

If Fonseca is the man to succeed Allardyce in the next couple of weeks, he should look to bring 6ft 4in Ukraine international Ordets with him, in order to provide Keane with a dominant partner.

Everton would have been hoping that Yannick Bolasie could recapture his best form following a return to the first team following a long injury lay-off earlier this year, but instead he struggled – and has often by heavily criticised by his own fans on Twitter for his displays – and it could mean that the Merseyside outfit look to buy a new winger this summer.

While they do have Ademola Lookman and Henry Onyekuru on their books, they may well be better off with a slightly more experienced player on the left-hand side if they really want to push on and progress, and Shakhtar’s Bernard could be the ideal player.

The tricky Brazilian has scored 10 goals and provided a further four assists in 29 appearances for the Ukrainian club this season, while he will be available on a free transfer when his contract expires next month.

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Allardyce had previously mentioned that Everton need a new striker to provide Cenk Tosun with more competition next season, and you would assume that will still be the club’s plan even though they have sacked the 63-year-old.

With Oumar Niasse potentially deemed not good enough in the long-term and Dominic Calvert-Lewin still relatively inexperienced, bringing Ferreyra to Goodison Park could be the answer if Fonseca gets the job.

The 27-year-old former Newcastle youngster has scored 30 goals in 41 appearances in all competitions for Shakhtar this term, including three in eight Champions League outings to show the quality that he has.

Do you agree, Toffees fans? Let us know below.

Rangers managed to avoid defeat against Celtic for just the second time since Brendan Rodgers arrived in Glasgow, after a creditable 0-0 draw at Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership on Saturday.

In a match that the Hoops were expected to win comfortably, Rangers gave a spirited and determined performance to play out a stalemate.

In truth, the Light Blues could have won the match in the second half with Alfredo Morelos missing some big chances to put his team ahead.

Rangers had to defend stoutly too of course, with Rodgers’ side piling the pressure on in spells.

It was a day that supporters were proud of a defence that has had severe criticism over the last few months.

Particular praise went to youngster David Bates, who was thrown into the deep end in the first half, replacing an injured Bruno Alves.

The 21-year-old central defender helped keep Celtic’s attack quiet for most of the afternoon and even ended up winning Sky Sports’ man of the match award.

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Rangers fans took to Twitter to enthuse about his performance…

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