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Leeds United have been pretty busy already this summer. They’ve welcomed a new manager in David Hockaday, an £11million reimbursement from the sale of Ross McCormack to Fulham and a fresh transfer policy, inspired by owner Massimo Cellino, that’s obsessed with talents from Serie A.

But an incredibly disappointing 2-0 defeat to Millwall on the Championship’s opening weekend suggested there’s still work to be done at Elland Road. And Hockaday agrees, citing three areas of the squad that still require strengthening.

So with that in mind and the summer transfer window coming somewhat close to it’s conclusion, here’s a list of FIVE signings the Yorkshire outfit could still make before the end of deadline day.

[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON CHRIS WOOD TO REVEAL ALL

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CHRIS WOOD

Leeds United’s search to replace the fire-power of Ross McCormack has reportedly thrust them into the hands of Southampton’s want-away striker Billy Sharp.

But another option the Yorkshire outfit should be considering is a bid for Leicester City front-man Chris Wood. The towering Aussie was expected to join Wolves amid interest from several Championship sides but recent speculation suggests the Molineux deal has now broken down:

It gives Leeds a fantastic opportunity to weigh in, and Wood certainly has the quality to address the goal-scoring gulf McCormack has left behind at Elland Road.

He’s netted 36 times in his last 107 Championship appearances, and measuring in at 6 foot 3, uses his height and strength well to bring others into the game.

Here’s a look at the former West Brom youngster in action:

//www.youtube.com/embed/VjqT9eiYUTE?rel=0

An argument could be had to suggest Wood is too similar to Leeds target man Matt Smith, but at just 22 years of age he’s a fantastic prospect that the Whites would be wise to get their hands on.

SHANE DUFFY

Shane Duffy absolutely excelled on loan to Yeovil last season, in fact, the 37-game spell saw Whoscored.com rate the Everton youngster as the best player in the entire division, picking up an unbelievable nine Man of the Match awards:

But time is running out for the 22 year-old at Goodison and he admitted earlier this summer that pre-season performances could well go on to decide his immediate future with the Mersey outfit.

Roberto Martinez’ appraisal is yet to be revealed, but with England prodigy John Stones shining through, first team opportunities are likely to be slim next term either way.

Leeds currently only have two centre-halves on the books and that has pushed them towards rekindling a deal with Chesterfield’s Liam Cooper.

But the Republic of Ireland international would be a wise investment too. Just take a look at his incredible averages-per-match from last term:

And with just a year left on Duffy’s contract, the current window is the ideal time to convince the Toffees to sell.

KIERAN AGARD

Despite being personally scouted by Massimo Cellino last season and refusing to extend his contract at Rotherham United, Leeds appear to have cooled off their pursuit of Kieran Agard.

Which in my opinion is one monumental error, not least because the former Everton youngster destroyed League One last season, netting 26 times in all competitions to help Miners achieve promotion through the play-offs. Here’s a look at all his goals from the campaign:

//www.youtube.com/embed/2EY8tktd6HE

The 24 year-old comes with blistering pace and can feature as a striker or out wide – two areas of the Leeds roster that desperately require an injection of youth and quality.

Furthermore, although Rotherham were able to extend Agard’s contract until 2015 through a club option clause, they will be powerless to stop the English forward walk out the exit door for free next summer.

Thus, League One’s third-top scorer will be available at a realistic price. But well-known interest from Bristol City could prove to be a stumbling block.

MATTHEW LOWTON

Matthew Lowton will be forever famed for this sensational goal which went on to trigger Aston Villa’s dramatic great escape at the end of the 2012/13 campaign:

But the 25 year-old’s Villa career has since taken a downward turn, in no small part due to a reported spat with Paul Lambert after turning up late for training in January this year.

The Villians boss denies a rift, but rumours persist that the defender could be ousted this summer, amid alleged interest from Middlesbrough.

Lowton – who spent five years at Leeds’ academy before moving to Sheffield United in 2005 – is primarily considered a right-back, an area Leeds don’t currently require drastic strengthening in. But in truth, he’s a utility man, capable at playing anywhere across the backline or in midfield.

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The Whites roster could certainly do with some Premier League quality and versatility, which the Englishman possesses in abundance. Here’s a look at some of his highlights for the Birmingham outfit:

//www.youtube.com/embed/khwV-cIEV3c?rel=0

NICK POWELL

Entrenched hatreds aside, Manchester United’s Nick Powell would be an impressive addition to the Leeds roster for next season on a year-long loan.

The highly-rated Crewe product impressed in the Championship last year during a term-long stay with Wigan, as viewable below:

He also netted three times in six Europa League outings. Here’s a collection of the 20 year-old’s career highlights thus far:

//www.youtube.com/embed/ZfclynD35gY?rel=0

Furthermore, Powell, who can operate in midfield or as a striker, doesn’t appear to be in Louis van Gaal’s plans, having been left out of the Red Devils’ squad for their pre-season tour of the USA.

Elland Road would be a perfect location for the 20 year-old to get some much-needed playing time, but Wigan are keen on his services permanently and Premier League side Leicester City have also been linked:

Manchester City are lining up a shock move for Brazilian superstar Neymar in the summer, according to Mirror Football.

Roberto Mancini will request funds to initiate the transfer when he meets his new director of football Txiki Begiristian later this week.

Despite the interest across Europe for the Santos wonderkid, the Citizens may have an distinct advantage in Begiristian who spent months trying to sign the player when he was sporting director at Barcelona.

It was understood that Barcelona were set to sign Neymar in the summer after forking out £6m simply to secure first refusal. However Santos have since insisted that no such deal exists.

Mancini said: “I don’t know if it is true that Barcelona have already made a down-payment for Neymar.

“I think when Txiki starts to work here next week we can start to talk about the future for us because this is very important.

“Neymar is a Santos player and I don’t know what can happen with him in the future.

“But I am very happy to work now with the new sporting director because he gives us the chance to move very quickly regarding some players.

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“If we work well together then the next three or four years for Manchester City can be very strong.”

Mancini will be keen to add a player of Neymar’s class after an inadequate summer transfer window where the Premier League champions missed out on long term targets Robin Van Persie and Daniele De Rossi.

Roy Hodgson salvaged a brilliant 11th-place finish for Crystal Palace in the Premier League last season, following a disastrous start under his predecessor Frank de Boer.

The Eagles had lost their opening four games without scoring a goal when the Dutchman was sacked and replaced by Hodgson, but the poor run continued until their eighth fixture when they netted for the first time and secured an impressive 2-1 win against Chelsea at Selhurst Park.

From then on they gradually moved up the standings, and their final placing and tally of 44 points was particularly impressive, with the likes of Wilfried Zaha, Andros Townsend and Chelsea loanee Ruben Loftus-Cheek excelling in attack, while Mamadou Sakho shone at the back on his return from injury alongside James Tomkins at the heart of the backline.

Having only finished 10 points seventh-place Burnley last term, there is certainly the potential for the south London club, whose fans want to see a 29-year-old re-sign for them this summer, to replicate Sean Dyche’s men’s success if they are enjoy a successful summer transfer window, and Hodgson will be relying on chairman Steve Parrish to delive the players he needs.

Here are three signings Palace must make to guarantee they finish seventh in 2018/19…

While Mamadou Sakho and James Tomkins formed a strong partnership towards the end of the 2017/18 season, you can’t help but feel that the Eagles could be even better defensively if they find an upgrade on the latter.

Dragovic could be the answer even though he often failed to make it into the starting XI under Claude Puel during a season-long loan spell with Leicester City last term.

The Austria international may not want to join the Foxes on a permanent basis if he isn’t guaranteed regular minutes, and Hodgson should move to bring the no-nonsense defender to Selhurst Park instead.

While he suffered from a few injury niggles during his season-loan spell with the Eagles last term, it would be fair to say that when he was on the pitch during his 24 Premier League appearances that he was a huge success.

As well as scoring two goals and providing a further four assists, his skill and link-up play with the likes of Andros Townsend and Wilfried Zaha was particularly impressive, and if Hodgson could bring him to Selhurst Park on a permanent basis he would surely jump at the opportunity.

The 22-year-old says that he will decide his future after the World Cup, and Parrish must bring him in if he leaves Chelsea.

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If Palace are to gatecrash the top seven next season then they need a centre-forward who is going to make a bigger impact and score more goals than Christian Benteke will, and they should make a big-money move to bring FC Porto striker Aboubakar to Selhurst Park.

The Cameroon international scored 26 goals in 43 appearances in all competition last term, and the pace, power and goalscoring threat that he clearly brings, he could form a fearsome attacking trio alongside Zaha and Townsend next term that could take the Eagles into Europa League contention.

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

Aston Villa managed to put pressure on second-placed Cardiff City on Saturday, winning 4-2 away to Sheffield Wednesday in the English Championship.

Steve Bruce’s side had to work hard for their victory, scoring twice in the last five minutes to turn a 2-2 draw into three crucial points in their quest to win promotion.

After dropping points in the previous two matches, the win against Wednesday could prove to be a massive turning point in the closing stages of the season.

Fans were delighted with the win and had lots of praise for attacker Lewis Grabban, who was making his first start for the club following his January loan switch.

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The 30-year-old put in a tireless shift across the 90 minutes, scoring his second goal for the club and showing the kind of determination that connects with supporters.

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Is he the kind of shrewd January signing that will help the Villans win automatic promotion to the Premier League?

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

A matter of inches, a goal post’s exact width to be precise, was the difference between Wayne Rooney becoming an England hero against Italy on Saturday night. Unsurprisingly, he’s now been labelled fairly unanimously as the Three Lions’ biggest, most overpaid and underperforming, zero.

Alan Smith of Arsenal and Sky Sports fame believes the Manchester United star should now be dropped along with Liverpool’s Glen Jonhson, the Daily Mail have described his performance as ‘underwhelming’ and massaged the wound with a plethora of salt by dubbing his shanked corner ‘the worst ever’ (not just England’s worst ever, but quite ridiculously, football’s worst ever), and the Telegraph’s Paul Hayward is now questioning Rooney’s ‘relevance’ to the England cause.

It’s interesting how split seconds can quickly define entire narratives. Not that Rooney’s performance was particularly pleasing against Azzurri, not that the his crucial miss on the hour mark should be instantly forgiven.

The 28 year-old is the current England team’s most iconic player and the best-paid player in Premier League history. With either side of the goal at his mercy, the ball just within the realms of the penalty box and Italy’s Salvatore Sirigu completely sold, letting such a glorious, unchallenging opportunity to equalise whistle past the near post is nigh-on-inexcusable at World Cup level.

But let us consider the alternative for just a moment. Let us flirt with the futile possibilities of ifs and buts. Let us advocate devilishly. If Rooney’s ill-fated strike had veered into England’s preferred side of the post, he would have ended the evening as the Three Lions’ hero, with every beer-soaked England fan up and down the country singing his name along the early-morning walk home from their favourite drinking holes.

Although the intrinsic, driven performance of Raheem Sterling is duly noted, one goal and one assist – that exceptional far post cross to Daniel Sturridge after 37 minutes – would have made the United forward, by default, England’s Man of the Match. Any criticism of his limited overall contribution from the left-hand side would have been entirely forgotten – rather, Rooney would have been heaped with praise for his ability to provide result-determining quality whilst undertaking a role for the sake of the team that doesn’t lend itself to his more natural strengths.

But the combination of one skewed shot and one disappointing result from a fixture we were never likely to win is all the ammunition the British press needs to start a witch hunt, as if England would have beaten the Italians if Adam Lallana, Ross Barkley or Jack Wilshere were on the pitch instead, all of whom boast a combined record of just one goal in 25 appearances for the Three Lions.

Yet Steven Gerrard’s performance against the Azzurri was equally as uninspiring. The 34 year-old was as consistent on the ball as ever, but over the course of 90 minutes had relatively little impact on the match itself. He actually recorded fewer touches of the ball, one less shot and only seven more passes than Glen Johnson. Hardly what you’d expect from an England captain and our most in-form midfielder during an opening World Cup fixture.

Likewise, questions have to be asked of Joe Hart for Italy’s second goal, and the entirety of England’s defence for both.

Perhaps we expect more from Wazza Roo. After all, he is the only England player who can stake a claim for being truly world class whilst amid his peak years. After all, this is the Premier League’s most lucratively-paid player of all time, and a forward who has won five titles with Manchester United. Many felt that considering the lukewarm tone of the 28 year-old’s Three Lions career thus far, a committed and clinical performance against Italy was a timely opportunity for redemption.

I’d subscribe to that theory too – the Italy match was a fantastic opportunity for Rooney to hit back at his wealth of critics, whose numbers have multiplied like heated yeast since the end of the Premier League season.

But the England international has always been a player who takes a while to get going; Sir Alex Ferguson often remarked of Rooney’s limited sharpness unless he’s playing bi-weekly football, and the cliché that his scoring form tends to improve towards the midseason-mark is no coincidental misnomer.  Furthermore, striking an ideal equilibrium between quality, age and experience, he is still by far England’s most threatening individual entity.

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Many will feel Three Lions managers have overlooked soft international performances from Rooney only too often in the past,  but he surely deserves the courtesy of featuring in all three of England’s group games before he’s made into public enemy No.1. Judging him on a single performance, where he played in a significantly less influential position but still almost produced the quality required to earn England a point, is nothing short of scape-goating.

But perhaps that is England’s eternal curse – whilst our young players impress and delight, free from the pressures of a nation’s expectations, it is those we feel we deserve more from that we are most prepared to blame.

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Following Manchester City’s surprise 3-1 defeat to Ajax in the Champions League last night, Citizens defender Micah Richards has spoken out regarding Roberto Mancini’s decision to change formations from last season.

City started last night playing 4-5-1, however the City boss has opted for a three man defence in recent games – a style which has come back into fashion in Serie A.

It has not yet had the desired effect at City who have conceded seven goals in three games in the Champions League. Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has openly criticised the choice in formation, as well as employing full back Gael Clichy at centre back.

During last night’s defeat to Ajax at the Amsterdam Arena, Mancini took off England International Joleon Lescott and re-organised City into a 3-5-2 system. After ten minutes, the City boss decided the changes had made little effect on his lacklustre team, and averted back to playing with four at the back.

In a post-match interview, Micah Richards, who was shifted between right-back and centre-back by Mancini, spoke to Sky Sports about the change in formations.

“It’s not something that we’ve worked on a lot, we’re just used to a back four,” admitted the England international.

“But the manager likes it and if we want to do well with it then we’ll have to work harder on it.

“It’s a hard system and I think the players prefer a 4-4-2 but he’s the manager and we’ll do what he says.”

Richards also reflected on the disappointing result, which has left City’s Champions League ambitions all but over.

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“We’re disappointed today, we thought we would come here and get the three points but it wasn’t to be.

“No disrespect to Ajax but we expected to come here and win, we’ll look to the next game and see what we can do,” he added.

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Borussia Dortmund centre-back Manuel Akanji shone in Switzerland’s impressive 1-1 draw with pre-tournament favourites Brazil in their opening World Cup group game on Sunday, and Arsenal fans have urged their club to sign the 22-year-old.

The former Basel man lined up alongside Gunners new boy Stephan Lichtsteiner in the back four against Neymar and Co, but he and his defensive teammates produced a strong performance as they picked up what could be a valuable point in their bid to reach the knockout stages.

Meanwhile, the north London outfit already look set to add Dortmund defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos to their squad this summer, but Unai Emery could be tempted to sign another centre-half given his new team’s problems last season, and the fact that Laurent Koscielny could be out of action until 2019.

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Arsenal supporters, who want their club to make a shock move to sign another 31-year-old star after his impressive World Cup performance, were quick to have their say on Akanji’s display via social media, and while one labelled him as a “future Arsenal CB”, another said “please Arsenal go and sign this Akanji”.

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Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

The names ‘Harry Kane’ and ‘Real Madrid’ being uttered in the same sentence is becoming the norm.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker’s scintillating form has sparked rumours about his future.

The 24-year-old is arguably in the form of his life as he currently leads this season’s scoring charts with 22 Premier League goals.

Kane has won the Golden Boot in the past two campaigns, and he scored his 100th in the top flight last Sunday in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield.

It is an exciting time for Spurs as they prepare to move into their state-of-the-art stadium for the 2018-19 campaign, and Kane is certainly the talisman of the team.

However, despite breaking records at the North London outfit, the striker has not won any silverware with the club that aided his development in the academy.

Wales manager Ryan Giggs has suggested that Kane’s thirst for trophies will lead to him to look at Gareth Bale, who moved to Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 and since then has won 10 trophies, including three Champions League crowns.

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In his Class of ’92 diary for Sky Sports, the Welshman said:

“When a player goes to a team where they are going to be competing for leagues and trophies then you go up another level, but winning things with a club where you’ve come through the ranks is different and more special, so you’d prefer to do that, especially with a brilliant manager and the new stadium coming.

“[Kane] might also be looking abroad, and maybe seeing what Gareth Bale has achieved in winning three Champions League titles with Real Madrid.”

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has slammed referee Phil Dowd for his performance in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool, reports Sky Sports.

The Magpies had led 1-0 at Anfield following a Martin Skrtel own goal, before quickfire goals from Daniel Agger and Daniel Sturridge turned the game in the Reds favour.

Newcastle found themselves reduced to nine men, with Dowd showing Shola Ameobi two yellow cards in quick succession for dissent, before sending off Paul Dummett for a challenge on Luis Suarez.

“I know Shola. He doesn’t swear. I told the ref he doesn’t swear so how angry can he possibly get,” said Pardew

“I don’t actually know how angry you can get. He said: ‘If you carry on I am going to send you off’.

“Whether it was sarcastically I don’t know but Shola said: ‘You are going to send me off!’ And he did.

“That’s sort of explanation that Phil gave me. So I think he should have managed that far better than that.

“It was shame. Liverpool then got two goals but with 10 men it was always going to be difficult.”

Pardew felt his side deserved more from their performance, and insisted Dowd had a big influence on the outcome.

I thought our season in terms of performance was strong,” added Pardew.

“We had a good game plan. Perhaps we were slightly unfortunate not to get the second goal when Gouff (Yoan Gouffran) was one on one.

“The ref played a part in my view in the second half.

“He should have managed the game a lot better than he did. And we conceded two goals.

“He had a part in the first one by Vurnon (Anita). Then there was a foul from Agger on Shola.

“Liverpool have had a fantastic season and they showed their quality. If you give too many set plays away it will hurt you.

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“Unfortunately we didn’t quite do as well as we should have.”

It has once again been a captivating start to the domestic season in all four leagues of English football. From the Premier League through to League Two, there have plenty of close games, goals, Sending offs and controversial issues for all us football fans to enjoy.

Certain teams have played well below par. As a result, some gaffers are now walking the managerial tightrope, knowing that their next game could potentially be their last. However, some players and teams have played well above expectations this season. As a result, some teams who were expected to be expecting their sides to appear on the second page of the teletext, are loving seeing their beloved club at the echelons of their respective tables.  Additionally some players have either rejuvenated their careers or blossomed their reputations as unexpected starts of the future.

From the top league in England to the bottom, look out for your team and players in the list of the 20 surprise packages in English football so far this season.

Click on Thomas Ince to unveil the 20 surprise packages

 

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