It’s fair to say that Helder Costa hasn’t had a dream debut season at Elland Road.

The winger has contributed to just five goals despite appearing in all of the Whites’ league games this term, and that isn’t really a return you’d expect from a man you’ve agreed to pay £15m for this summer.

The annoying thing is that we all know he’s capable of better, he once hit double figures in terms of goals for Wolves in the Championship, and he also provided 14 assists across two seasons.

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Unfortunately, Costa’s Premier League record indicates things may be about to get that much worse for him.

Despite Wolves reaching the lofty heights of seventh last season, Costa had what can only be described as a lacklustre campaign.

Three goal contributions across 25 appearances is poor for any attacking player, and if he can’t improve on those numbers when Leeds are in the Premier League it will be a cause for concern.

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At £15m, he should be one of United’s star performers, but he’s often struggling to really make anything happen, and that will only get worse once he has to play against some of the world’s top defensive talent in the top-flight.

Costa’s first season hasn’t been ideal, and unless he improves a lot during the close-season, his second campaign at the club could be even worse.

You can’t account it down to luck either, his shots per game and key passes stats during his time in the Premier League took a significant dip, and with Leeds unlikely to be as dominant as they are in the Championship he’ll need to make sure to be as clinical as possible when it comes to converting those shots and key passes into goals and assists.

Costa’s failure to perform in the Premier League should have alarm bells ringing at Elland Road.

In other news, Leeds fans’ complaints from last year have been justified.

Leeds United centre-back Gaetano Berardi may have just been pushed closer to the exit door at Elland Road – that’s if recent reports are to be believed.

According to the Daily Star, the west Yorkshire outfit are eager to land 6 foot 3 Middlesbrough centre-back Daniel Ayala this summer, irrespective of the division they’ll be competing in.

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It’s claimed that the 29-year-0ld is out of contract at the end of the season and will be leaving the Riverside Stadium, even if they escape relegation into League One, which has put Victor Orta and co on full alert ahead of a potential switch.

This latest report practically closes the door on the zero-to-hero Swiss defender and his long-serving career at the club.

Berardi has been limited to just 17 appearances in the Championship this campaign but has impressively clocked 11 clean sheets, and his recent form has led to fans begging for him to be handed a new contract.

His current deal is set to expire in just a few months, and any fresh information on an extension have been far and few between.

With the club seemingly set to capture Ayala regardless of the circumstances, you’d imagine it being the final nail in the coffin for the 31-year-old at Leeds.

It would be a sorry way to go after six years in west Yorkshire, where he has racked up 150 appearances – he’s also one of the few remaining survivors from the Massimo Cellino era at the club.

Bielsa is certainly going to need a centre-back or two in the summer, so it may not be wise to completely disregard the talents of Berardi just yet.

Ben White is almost certain to head back to parent club Brighton and Hove Albion, which means skipper Liam Cooper is set to be the only senior option in the role at the moment.

AND in other news, Leeds can banish Ben White woes with a swoop for the next Javi Martinez…  

Crystal Palace are no strangers to snatching bargain buys from the clutches of their rivals.

The south Londoners did just that in 2011 when moving to sign Glenn Murray from Brighton, a man who would go on to net 30 Championship goals in the 2012/13 campaign to fire the Eagles into the Premier League.

However, cast your mind back two years before the English marksman arrived at Selhurst Park, and Crystal Palace once again nabbed a future club legend from a rival of theirs.

With fellow south London outfit Charlton needing to offload players from the wage bill after failing to confound the 888sport odds and suffering relegation to League One, Palace – who had just been docked one point and fined £20,000 for ineligibly fielding Rui Fonte on the final day of the 2008/09 season – snatched the midfielder on a free transfer.

In terms of being eased into life at his new club, Ambrose was instead thrown into treacherous waters.

Just months after his arrival, the club was plunged into administration and also docked ten points, transforming their ambitions for the campaign from playoff hopefuls into serious relegation candidates.

Assets were stripped. Neil Warnock – who had signed Ambrose – left for QPR, the highly-rated Victor Moses was sold to Wigan, and the future of the club was in jeopardy. Crystal Palace needed a saviour, but any potential buyer would surely prefer to throw their millions at a Championship club rather than one relegated to League One – survival was imperative.

So, when the final day of the season came around, and Paul Hart’s Palace side needed to avoid defeat against Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough to avoid the drop, nails were being bitten.

However, coming into this game with 19 goals already under his belt from midfield in his debut campaign, Ambrose wasn’t in the mood to see the Eagles go out with a whimper.

It was his coolly converted effort from Sean Scannell’s second-half cross which put Palace 2-1 up, where they eventually earned the point they needed thanks to the midfielder’s 20th strike of the season – that 2-2 draw may have saved the club from extinction.

Steve Parish and the rest of the ‘CPFC2010’ consortium eventually swooped in to save the club financially, but it was Ambrose whose incredible goalscoring efforts decided things on the pitch, and all for free.

This inspired free transfer would go on to net 37 goals and record 23 assists in 124 appearances for Palace.

Ambrose is without question a cult hero in SE25, and his work helped provide a platform for the Eagles to mount a promotion charge in 2013, which would lead to them still playing top-flight football seven years later – the club’s longest run in the Premier League.

His goals after arriving on a free transfer helped Palace shape their own future – it truly was a piece of wizardry from Warnock.

ScorecardParas Dogras’s half-century enabled North Zone to take control of their Duleep Trophy match against West Zone on the second day in Chennai. His 77 pushed the overnight 251 for 3 to 484 all out shortly before the close. An early wicket then put West Zone on the back foot.Dogra struck 10 boundaries and a six in his 147-ball innings and shared a partnership of 88 with Rishi Dhawan and took North Zone from 299 for 5 into a strong position at 387 for 6. Dogra became the third wicket for Kamlesh Makvana but there was more to come for North Zone as Amit Mishra settled in and found a most stubborn partner in Ishant Sharma, who survived 72 balls scoring just 8. He hung around long enough for Mishra to strike two fours and two sixes in his 48 from 94 balls.The eighth wicket stand added 47 before Makvana removed both players lbw to complete his five-wicket haul. But there was still time for a cameo from Parvinder Awana, who made 23 from 22 balls to boost the total.West Zone had three overs to survive to the close but Ajinkya Rahane fell caught behind to his first ball from Sharma.

Angelo Mathews has been appointed Sri Lanka’s Twenty20 captain for a period of one year starting with the Twenty20 against New Zealand at Pallekele on October 30. The 25-year-old allrounder succeeds Mahela Jayawardene, who quit the Twenty20 captaincy after the World Twenty20 final.”We are giving Mathews a free hand to captain the T20 side for one year, after which we will review his performance,” chief selector Ashantha de Mel said.Mathews has been vice-captain since July last year, and is the most obvious candidate to be Sri Lanka’s next captain in all forms. His elevation to the T20 captaincy is an indication that he remains the frontrunner for the Test and ODI captaincy.The selectors may also have to name a new Test and ODI captain as early as February next year, with Jayawardene set to reassess his role as captain after Sri Lanka’s tour of Australia. Jayawardene took the reins from Tillakaratne Dilshan in January, and has seen himself as a caretaker captain in that time, holding the position only until a younger team member is ready to lead.Fast bowler Lasith Malinga has been named vice-captain, also for a one-year term.New Zealand’s tour to Sri Lanka includes two Tests and five one dayers, in addition to the one-off Twenty20.

Paul Robinson believes Mauricio Pochettino is ready to embark on his next managerial adventure and would ‘jump at the chance’ to take the right offer if it presented itself. 

A recent report revealed that the Argentine is ready to listen to offers and Newcastle are a ‘firm possibility’, according to Ossie Ardiles in an interview with Infobae (via Metro).

Pochettino was dismissed by Tottenham Hotspur last November after five and a half years of service (via BBC Sport). Robinson told Football Insider: “If the right job came up he would definitely jump at the chance.

“I do not think he foresaw his sacking at Spurs. He will have recharged his batteries and he will be more than ready to step back into management.”

The Magpies are waiting anxiously for their reported £300 million takeover to unfold, which could see a brand new era at St James’ Park.

It would be unfair to make a decision on Steve Bruce’s future right now, given the fact no football has been played since March. However, Newcastle have struggled under the Englishman’s reign this season, currently sitting 13th in the league table having lost 12 games. As new owners arrive with new ideas, they could decide to dispose of Bruce as head coach and bring in someone to help drive the team forward and look to challenge the top sides.

Pochettino certainly has experience in battling against some of the world’s best, particularly after making club history by leading Spurs to their first ever Champions League final last season.

“Should the right job be offered to him, I can see him taking it,” commented Robinson. There’s no saying for sure at the moment whether Newcastle is ‘the right job’ for the 48-year-old, but he would be a very smart appointment by the new owners given his Premier League experience from his days at Spurs and Southampton, as well as in the Champions League.

Newcastle fans, would you like Mauricio Pochettino considered for the manager’s role at the club? Have your say in the comments below!

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino vetoed a move for AS Monaco midfielder Youri Tielemans, per Belgian media outlet Het Belang van Limburg, via Sport Witness.

According to The Telegraph’s Midlands football reporter John Percy on Twitter, the midfielder is now reportedly poised to move to Leicester City in a loan deal that will see Adrien Silva go the other way, also on loan.

However, the aforementioned report, via Sport Witness, claims that Spurs’ hierarchy were keen on a move for Tielemans, with a purchase option included in any loan deal.

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Pochettino, however, is said to have nixed the potential deal, as he was unconvinced by the qualities offered by the Belgian.

Tielemans has won 19 caps for his country, per Transfermarkt, and has been a key member of Monaco’s squad this season, starting a total of 30 games in all competitions and chipping in with five goals.

And it’s fair to say that the news that Pochettino was not keen on the midfielder has not gone down too well on Twitter.

According to Le 10 Sport, Everton have made an approach for Paris Saint-Germain defender Thomas Meunier ahead of this summer’s transfer window.

What’s the word, then?

There is no getting away from the fact that right-back has been a problem for Everton in recent weeks, with Seamus Coleman and Jonjoe Kenny sharing the position.

Recently, the Everton supporters debated whether they wanted Coleman or Kenny to start the clash with Cardiff City on February 26.

However, according to Le 10 Sport, the Toffees are looking further ahead and have approached PSG over a move for Meunier at the end of the campaign.

The 27-year-old will see his contract with the French giants expire in June 2020, suggesting that he could be available for a reasonable price.

And Everton must move for the 6ft 3in ace, who could turn out to be one of the best signings of this summer’s transfer window.

Why would Meunier be an upgrade?

Meunier, who is a 36-time Belgium international, has made 23 appearances in all competitions for PSG this season, scoring four times and contributing six assists.

Before arriving in the French capital, Meunier, who can also play wing-back, won the Belgian Pro League with Club Brugge.

Quick, powerful and impressive on the ball, the defender would be a serious upgrade on both Coleman and Kenny.

Indeed, it would be fair to say that Coleman has not been the same player since recovering from a horrific leg break, whilst Kenny has not really shown that he is capable of being a consistent, long-term option at right-back.

Everton must do all that they can to attempt to bring Meunier to the Premier League for the start of the 2019-2020 campaign.

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Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos received his third red card – all against Aberdeen – of the season in his side’s 4-2 victory on Wednesday night, and his imminent absence from the starting XI gives January addition Jermain Defoe the real break he has been waiting for.

On the chalkboard

The 36-year-old would have been hoping to be a starter for the Glasgow giants following his loan move from Bournemouth last month, and it looked as though that could be on the cards when he started alongside Morelos up top in the 2-1 defeat to Kilmarnock.

Manager Steven Gerrard had moved away from his preferred 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 systems to accommodate the striker in a 4-4-2 diamond, but it backfired in the end in what was a disappointing display.

Defoe has been named on the substitutes’ bench against Livingston and then Aberdeen last night since then, although he was given the centre-forward berth against St Mirren at the weekend with his Colombian teammate starting on the right wing.

Chance he’s been waiting for

It remains to be seen how long Morelos will be banned for this time around, but it is certainly the break Defoe would have been desperate for.

The veteran striker will know that he can get goals at this level – he already has three in four SPFL appearances – and he could be set for a run in the starting XI for the foreseeable future depending on what fate awaits the South American attacker.

It certainly eradicates a major selection headache for Gerrard even if he would clearly prefer to have both players available, and now Defoe needs to step up to the plate to keep Rangers in the title race.

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Legendary Premier League goalkeeper Petr Cech will retire from professional football at the end of the season.

Cech has enjoyed a wonderful career in England with both Chelsea and most recently Arsenal. The former Czech Republic captain has been a fantastic servant for both clubs, operating at the very highest level. The 36-year-old holds the record for clean sheets in the Premier League as well as lifting four league titles and one Champions League crown.

His departure will be a massive blow to the Arsenal dressing room and leaves Unai Emery with a gap that needs to be filled. Adding competition to Bernd Leno in between the sticks will be one of the Spaniard’s top priorities in the summer transfer window. Reports in the Daily Mail suggest that the Gunners could make a move for Burnley’s Nick Pope.

Instead, Arsenal should be aiming higher and make a move for Fiorentina starlet – Alban Lafont. Valued at £11.7m by Transfermarkt, the 20-year-old was earmarked as a star for the future after progressing through the Toulouse youth academy. After breaking into the first-team, he was snapped up by the Italian side this summer, who paid £7m to lure the talented ‘keeper to the Serie A.

Lafont has performed well since making the move abroad, keeping seven clean sheets in the league so far. The France U20 international possesses excellent reflexes and his size allows him to pull off miraculous save. His vast amount of experience at such a young age is extremely rare and should make adapting to life in the Premier League much easier.

Developing and improving with every game, Lafont could prove to be a massive star at the Emirates.

Arsenal fans, thoughts?