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Manchester City suffered a huge blow to their title aspirations in August as Kevin De Bruyne was ruled out for approximately 3 months with a serious knee ligament injury, but the club have received a promising update in relation to his recovery.

Indeed, a recent report from City Watch has claimed that De Bruyne returned to training on Friday for the first time since he sustained his knee injury last month. Although it’s still early days in his rehabilitation period, the news has absolutely delighted the supporters on Twitter.

Without the brilliant Belgian lynchpin pulling the strings in midfield it’s fair to say Guardiola’s well oiled machine has not quite been working as effectively as he’d have hoped.

De Bruyne’s absence can go some way to explaining City’s lack of fluidity through the midfield and their failure to match Liverpool’s record of 4 straight wins so far, so the sooner he returns the better.

Liverpool’s compelling start to the new campaign suggests that they possess the necessary tools to go head-to-head with the Citizens for the Premier League title, and whilst De Bruyne remains sidelined they will be looking to capitalise on the situation.

Whilst the update is certainly promising for the club, De Bruyne will remain absent from first-team action for another 2-3 months so it’s too early for the supporters to get carried away by the news.

But that hasn’t stopped them from expressing their sheet delight at De Bruyne’s update…

After a solid start to the season, Tottenham have bookended the international break with losses to Watford and now Liverpool. 

Despite those two losses, Spurs will still be expected to finish the season in the top-half and maybe even finally capture some silverware for a squad that has so far underachieved over the last few years.

Since his arrival, Mauricio Pochettino has constructed a very strong squad without really spending too much in the transfer window. Within that squad, three Belgians make up what is a very strong core: Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. With those three ageing, Pochettino should once again revisit Belgium to find some more talent to add to his squad.

Siebe Schrijvers 

Despite being just 22, Siebe Schrijvers has amassed a pretty healthy career in Belgium so far. Capable of pretty much playing anywhere across the attacks, Schrijvers’ goalscoring record isn’t the best but moving to Spurs could well be the place where the attacker blossoms.

Valued at £3.15 million, the forward could be a great addition to the Tottenham squad due to his ability to not only play in multiple positions, create goals but also score them too.

Signed from Genk over the summer, the under-21 international could be a cut-price deal that could add some great depth to Spurs, although it may not be a popular one.

Thorgan Hazard

A known name to the Chelsea faithful, Thorgan Hazard has quietly established himself as a solid player in the Bundesliga away from his brother’s shadow at Chelsea.

Last season for Borussia Monchengladbach, the Belgium international scored 10 goals to go along with eight assists in 34 games in the Bundesliga. Despite not scoring in the league so far this season, the Belgian has been a key part in the club’s unbeaten start.

Capable of playing as a 10 or on either wing, Hazard would add some great quality to a Spurs side that needs to help Harry Kane. In reality, Erik Lamela isn’t a part of the club’s long-term plans while Dele Alli is going through a patch of poor form.

Valued at £19.8 million, Hazard could be a cheap January pick me up for a side that needs to be pushing to stay in the Champions League.

After a truly miserable start to the season, life is looking a touch rosier for Queens Park Rangers under Steve McClaren. Indeed, the former England boss may have an awfully long way to go before he endears himself to the Loftus Road, though things aren’t quite as bad as they looked when the campaign kicked off. 

So, we’re sorry to kill the good feeling somewhat. Still, QPR are the latest club to feature in our The one that got away series, detailing their missing out on one of Europe’s most decorated ever players.

QPR – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 1998

While fanbases outside of QPR may often associate the West London outfit with signing big-name players towards the end of their careers, their brief encounter with Zlatan Ibrahimovic is at the complete opposite end of the transfer spectrum.

Indeed, back in 1998, Gerry Francis’ Rs side took the then 16-year-old marksman on trial during his stint at boyhood club Malmo, along with his friend Tony Flygare. Now, the former Manchester United and Barcelona striker’s audition with London rivals Arsenal during a similar time period has been widely reported for years now, though an account in Flygare’s book (serialised in the Daily Mail back in 2014) explained all on the nightmare the towering Swede endured with Gerry Francis.

In the second division at the time, Francis had a strikeforce consisting of Ian Dowie, Kevin Gallen and Steve Slade from which to choose from, so the introduction of an awkward looking Swedish wonderkid would have certainly have been a risk. However, and perhaps indicative of English football at the time, Francis never gave the clearly talented teen a chance to shine.

‘Zlatan was holding on to the ball for too long and the trainer tackled him when he wasn’t expecting it”, Flygare told Sportsmail.

‘For that, Zlatan tackled him back and then told the trainer to “**** off”. He went mad at Zlatan.

‘Being in England was so much different. He just told Zlatan: “for that, you’re going to breathe through your a***”. I’ll never forget it. We didn’t hear from QPR again.’

Obviously, a struggling second-tier side in the 1990s may not have been the best place for a budding talent to grow, though these kind of stories show QPR made some rather terrible decisions on the transfer front long before the Tony Fernandes era.

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Benfica loanee Diogo Goncalves was sent off on Wednesday as Nottingham Forest beat Stoke 3-2 to progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, and many Forest fans took to Twitter after the game to debate whether the decision was a fair one.

Forest started the game brilliantly and Ben Osborn, who was playing at left-back on the night, gave the home side the lead after 19 minutes when the ball bounced off Stoke keeper Adam Federici and off the Forest man’s knee into the net.

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Five minutes before half-time, Daryl Murphy doubled their lead with a convincing finish and again five minutes on the other side of the break, winger Joe Lolley made it 3-0.

With just over 10 minutes to go though, with the scores now at 3-1, Goncalves seemed to go over the top of the ball and catch Tom Edwards, for which he was shown a straight red card.

Despite conceding again though Aitor Karanka’s side held on for the win, but after the game fans couldn’t agree on whether they had been hard done by. Check out some of the best tweets below.

So, Forest fans, do you think a red card was the right decision for the Goncalves tackle? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

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Loads of fans have been reacting to some comments made by Mauricio Pochettino after Tottenham’s defeat to Barcelona, as the boss hailed his players’ performance.

While the 4-2 scoreline suggests it was an enthralling end-to-end game, Tottenham can really consider themselves lucky to have only lost by two against Barcelona on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi was absolutely unplayable, Tottenham made far too many mistakes, and the Barcelona midfield completely ran the game.

Spurs did show plenty of fight though, scoring twice in the second half to cut the deficit before Messi wrapped up the game in the closing stages with his second of the night.

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Pochettino has often been criticised for his lack of trophies, and rival fans are bashing his mentality after the match.

“To concede a goal so early, we destroyed the plan,” he said.

“If we start the game this way, it’s so tough for the players. In the second half. I feel proud for the effort of the players.

“We were handicapped against Barcelona after conceding after one minute. I think our players were heroes to chase the game against a team with Messi, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.”

While it’s great to see a manager sticking up for his players, the Tottenham boss is taking loads of stick on Twitter for having a losing mentality.

You can find some of the best reactions down below, where even a few Tottenham fans are bashing the comments…

The majority of Leeds fans that answered our recent poll want the club to make a move for former Sheffield Wednesday youngster George Hirst in January.

Journalist Phil Hay recently told the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Inside Elland Road podcast that the club could sign Hirst fairly cheaply in the January transfer window.

The 19-year-old joined Belgian second division club OH Leuven, who are managed by Nigel Pearson, in the summer. However, Hay also claimed that Leeds were interested in the highly-rated striker during the summer, but buying from abroad now will be cheaper than a direct Championship rival.

The 6ft 3in front-man signed his first professional contract with Wedensday in March 2016 and made his first-team debut in the EFL Cup against Cambridge United later that same year.

He has also represented England at every youth level since U17 and was in the victorious squads for the 2017 U20 Toulon Tournament and the 2018 UEFA European U19 Championships. Check out the full results of our poll below.

It’s fair to say that Marcos Alonso is a divisive player at Chelsea. Whilst most fans would recognise his importance going forward, owing to his tremendous goalscoring record, his defensive work has long split the Stamford Bridge fanbase.

Occasionally found out of position and undoubtedly enjoying himself more in the enemy half that in his own penalty area, there is no denying that the defensive side of his game is the weaker facet of Alonso’s skill set.

However, that doesn’t mean that he’s poor at the back. To the contrary, in fact, and Chelsea appear to recognise that, as they seem to rate him very highly. Alonso recently confirmed that he’s close to signing a new contract at Stamford Bridge – despite the fact that he still has a few years left on his current deal.

Clearly, given Chelsea’s plan and eagerness to give Alonso a new deal, that indicates just how highly they rate him, and that’s in stark contrast to how most fans would rate him.

When you think of Chelsea’s most important players, you generally think of individuals like Eden Hazard, N’Golo Kante, and even Cesar Azpilicueta. However, Marcos Alonso rarely comes up in the conversation, and that makes little sense. He’s started practically every game this season, and he’s impressed unanimously. Defensively, he’s been far from the worst of Chelsea’s defenders, and with 1 goal and 2 assists, he’s already been able to make a significant impact going forward.

The Spaniard’s ability to pop up with an important goal is also hugely underrated. He was Chelsea’s hero when they beat Arsenal earlier in the season, and that wasn’t for the first time. He’s a match-winner, and Chelsea don’t have many of those.

It’s time for Alonso to start being talked about as one of Chelsea’s players. Indeed, it’s time for him to be in the conversation when discussing Europe’s best left-backs, because the form he’s showing at the moment indicates that he is. Chelsea clearly recognise that, given their contract plans, and it’s about time fans did too.

Dejan Lovren raised plenty of eyebrows when he declared himself as one of the world’s best defenders ahead of Croatia’s World Cup final, which they lost to France.

The Liverpool centre-back has divided opinion during his time at Anfield, which has spanned four years and counting.

Injury and the form of Joe Gomez has kept Lovren on the sidelines for the majority of the season so far.

There is no doubt that the Croatian has improved at the back following the arrival of Virgil van Dijk in January, but he will have to fight his way back into the first team.

Interestingly, it seems that Spanish giants Barcelona have taken a liking to Lovren as Mundo Deportivo reports that he is one on a list of candidates for the January transfer window.

The news has unsurprisingly sparked a reaction from Liverpool fans, with some making light of the reports and others urging the club to reject Barca due to their previous dealings with the Catalans.

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The La Liga outfit have swiped two of Liverpool’s key players in recent history – Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.

Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).Comment from discussion Dejan Lovren is a target for Barcelona this January as they look for a Central Defender (Aguilar, Mundodeportivo).

Wolves were seen off by a strong Brighton and Hove Albion performance this weekend to put a dent in their excellent start to the season.

Nuno Santo’s men on the whole have been hugely impressive, and given the way some of the other promoted teams are performing, the Molineux outfit deserve all the praise they have been getting in the opening months of the season.

However, there does seem to still be some gaps in quality in the Wolves squad, and with January just around the corner, there could well be chance for Santo to make moves in the market and strengthen his Wolves squad.

And one player we at the Tavern have identified as someone who can take the club to the next level is Swedish star Emil Forsberg, who has been a mainstay of the successful RB Leipzig team of the last few seasons.

Valued at some £22.5m by Transfermarkt, Forsberg is by no means out of the price range that Wolves can look to afford, and he would bring with him a wealth of experience and quality from the highest of levels.

A classy operator with the ball and someoe who Leipzig fans have come to count on in their XI, Forsberg would no doubt bring plenty of improvement to a Wolves squad which is not too far off being able to compete in the upper echelons of the Premier League.

Wolves fans, what do you think? Would Forsberg be a good signing? Let us know in the comments!

Stuart Dallas has not had the easiest ride as a Leeds United player in recent seasons.

The 27-year-old has been at Elland Road since 2015, but he has been in and out of the team under various managers.

This season, the Northern Ireland international has only started four of his 11 Championship appearances.

On Sunday, Marcelo Bielsa chose to switch Dallas from his natural position as a winger and play him at right-back due to a handful of injury problems.

The Irishman played the full 90 minutes against Wigan Athletic, who took the lead in the sixth minute via a free kick from Chelsea loanee Reece James.

The Whites bounced back instantly through Pablo Hernandez, who struck the equaliser three minutes later.

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Kemar Roofe found the winner for Leeds, who moved to the top of the Championship table as a result.

On Twitter, plenty of Leeds fans posted their thoughts on Dallas’s performance and there was praise galore.