There has undoubtedly been some big news from the international break these past two weeks, such as Wales qualifying for their first major competition since 1964 and the Netherlands somehow failing to qualify for next summer’s Euros in France.

However, in terms of the Premier League (and especially the Fantasy Premier League), no news is as breaking as the hamstring injury to Manchester City star Sergio Aguero, who is now set to miss the next seven weeks of first-team action.

This will come as a huge blow to many managers, who immediately purchased the Argentina international right after his five-goal haul against Newcastle United in the previous gameweek, earning him a massive 25 points.

Owned by 32.3%, his quick-fire sale will definitely see his £13.3m price drop over the next few weeks, but that brings us to maybe the only positive from his injury.

Selling the striker will give you an extra £13m to spend in the market, and there are a plethora of striking options for you to consider.

Here are FIVE strikers for your consideration to replace Sergio Aguero…

Graziano Pelle

The leading striker in the Fantasy Premier League game, Graziano Pelle (8.2) is the bandwagon pick to replace Aguero after a magnificent start to the season, scoring five goals and supplying another five assists to his team-mates.

What makes him a fairly obvious choice is Southampton’s current form and fixtures, which sees the Saints play Leicester City (Home), Bournemouth (Home), Sunderland (Away), and Stoke City(Home) in the next five, with only a tricky trip to Liverpool in Gameweek 10.

Not only that, Pelle has been scoring with the Italy international squad in the qualifiers and his confidence must be soaring through the roof at the moment.

Romelu Lukaku

Romelu Lukaku (8.3) may be the third highest points-scoring striker in the Fantasy Premier League, but his continued tendency to go missing in Everton’s less appealing fixtures has come as a huge frustration to managers.

Yet his ability is without doubt, as the Belgium international continues to grow and develop into the ‘Drogba 2.0’ Chelsea fans were predicting when he was playing with the Blues.

The Toffees’ difficult starting fixtures are also set to end after Man United and Arsenal in the next two games, but as mentioned earlier, it could be against the Red Devils and the Gunners in which he performs and not the easier games thereafter.

Wilfried Bony

With Aguero out, it is almost certain that Wilfried Bony (8.2) will be deployed by Manuel Pellegrini as Manchester City’s lone striker in the upcoming games. And let’s not forget, this is a striker that scored 17 goals in his debut Premier League season with Swansea.

The current league leaders also have a enticing run of ‘easier’ fixtures, with Bournemouth (Home), Norwich (Home), and Aston Villa (Away) in their next four. They travel to Manchester United in Gameweek 10, but the Citizens have a fairly decent record scoring at Old Trafford.

‘Assist master’ Kevin de Bruyne is also on great form, and Bony will be expected to get some decent service from the Belgian.

Diego Costa

Don’t know how many times this will be said this season, but Chelsea will have to turn their stuttering season around sooner rather than later don’t they? And it seems that Diego Costa (10.9) will play a big part in that if they do.

The Blues’ last league victory was their 2-0 win over Arsenal back in Gameweek 6, which also happened to be Diego Costa’s last game in the English top flight after being punished for his confrontation with Gabriel and Laurent Koscielny… but now he is available for selection.

Chelsea have a decent run of games with Aston Villa (Home), West Ham (Away), Stoke (Away), and Norwich (Home) coming up in their next five… and Costa could bring back the form that saw him score 20 goals in just 26 league games last season.

Batefimbi Gomis

Yes Batefimbi ‘The Panther’ Gomis (7.1) is under consideration despite his massive price drop over the past four fixtures… because if you think about it the Frenchman currently has four goals in eight games, which is a fairly decent record.

His massive sales also makes Gomis a decent differential, but what is the most enticing about the former Lyon striker is Swansea’s very enticing run of games. The Swans face Stoke (Home), Aston Villa (Away), Norwich (Away), and Bournemouth in the next four… and they won’t be too scared of Arsenal at the Liberty Stadium in Gameweek 11 either.

Gomis was hands down the biggest bandwagon during Gameweek four, so to see his massive drop (mostly for a change to Martial) was rather shocking. Now is his chance to prove doubters wrong.

We’re almost there, folks… the January transfer window! Not universally popular, the first month of every year kicks off with flurry of deals, goes quiet, then kicks back into life again as the clock ticks towards the deadline, and it seems that during every edition of this window Arsenal fans are left a little underwhelmed. Okay, Gabriel Paulista was a decent acquisition last time, but in 2014 a month of rooting around led to a loan move for an injured Kim Kallstrom. The Gunners subsequently fell out of the title race and into a battle for fourth.

There are some parallels between 2013/14 and 2015/16 it would seem, with Arsenal having started well while a major title rival wallows (Chelsea this season, the last time it was Manchester United). The door is ajar for a push it would seem, so maybe the Londoners should look back to the lesson they, hopefully, learnt and bolster an area of their squad that’s clearly deficient by buying a striker.

The candidate – Mauro Icardi

A £30m move for Inter Milan’s Argentine has been mooted, and even though the solidity of the claims made is unknown, Arsenal fans are, understandable, delighted. The 22-year-old has been talked about as one of Serie A’s top talents for the last 18 months, with his performances in a pretty average side at the San Siro having been standout.

Although he’s not yet scaled the highs of 2014/15, in which he netted 22 goals in 36 outings and fired more than three-shots-per-game, this time around Icardi is still Internazionale’s top scorer in league action with four goals and was named in the Team of the Week last time out for his performance in the 4-0 battering of Frosinone.

What’s he like?

Think Luis Suarez-lite. Icardi has already been compared to his South American compatriot, and a quick glance at his playing style shows why. Not an orthodox centre-forward, the one-cap international is a flurry of energy and pressing, with his desire to run from the front often opening up space for team-mates. Some have suggested in the past that he’s not a natural finisher, but his record since leaving Barcelona’s youth set-up is pretty formidable.

Would he fit at Arsenal?

Yes and no. In terms of being another option Icardi is ideal, with Arsene Wenger possessing only Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott as orthodox choices – although questions surrounding the latter’s best position rumble on. However, the Arsenal manager has shown a desire to operate with a more physically imposing forward through the years, and standing at 5ft. 11”, Icardi doesn’t really offer the same threat as Giroud or another former Wenger favourite, Emmanuel Adebayor.

Worth a punt?

£30m is steep for a player that may not directly fit Wenger’s set-up and is more comfortable working with a strike partner. This one looks like a long shot…

Stats via WhoScored

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At last, there’s a good feeling around St. James’ Park now. The Toon recorded back-to-back wins for the first time in over a year as they outfought and outrun two of the most hipster teams in the Premier League.

Steve McClaren has some breathing space. By no means have his side been imperious, but they have simply tried. As a result, they downed a rampant Liverpool and ended Tottenham’s 14-game unbeaten run in the league. Maybe they aren’t so bad after all.

Far from getting carried away, it’s at least time to highlight some of the players performing well. Summer signing Georginio Wijnaldum receives most of the plaudits, of course, and Aleksandar Mitrovic is already on the verge of being a cult-hero in the North East, despite his relatively indifferent start.

However, one of the most important pillars of this Newcastle side is defender Chancel Mbemba. It’s been easy to overlook his sterling efforts amid the embarrassing results this term, as the team’s defence has been bombarded and run ragged on more than one occasion.

Still, the 21-year old has shown what a class act he is. The former Anderlecht man has not been imperious though, but he is constantly improving. Paired next to a careless Fabricio Coloccini for most of the season hasn’t helped his bedding in process, but the Congolese centre-back has shown he has some of the raw materials to make it as a top operator in his position.

While he’s prone to the odd rash challenge and occasionally heading out of position, the towering defender is both pacey and powerful in equal measure. His speed and direct running can help recover possession when an opposition striker is seemingly clean through on goal, and he’s shown brilliant ability to read the game. At times.

Never likely to be outmuscled, other than by Jamie Vardy (who’s in superhero mode), the young centre-back is strong in the challenge and can push attackers away from goal. Perhaps it’s been easy to look at results and criticise the Toon rear-guard, but Mbemba has been one of its only bright spots.

Though he’s not always easy on the eye, the African star has shown a great ability to bring the ball out of defence and push the side up the field in order to elevate pressure. Should he sort his first touch out, he could be a great asset to have when backs are against the wall.

His surging runs may put hearts in mouths at times, but they gets backsides off seats and Newcastle up the field. All in all, isn’t that what Newcastle fans what? To be excited, to see people caring enough to drag their team-mates up the pitch when the going gets tough?

Obviously, there’s room for improvement. If he can cut out his tendency to dive in to tackles, stand his ground and track runners rather than go towards the ball, he certainly has the ability to be one of the best defenders in the league. Not since Jonathan Woodgate has St. James’ Park played host to such an exciting central defender.

While he’s not perfect, the £8.5m arrival is beginning to look like one of the signings of the season. The sky is his limit.

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Ever wondered what a Premier League footballer gets paid?

When you hear the astronomical wages that the top stars get paid, what we often forget is that these wages are usually quoted as a weekly wage, which really undersells the overall monthly pay packet.Â

So when you see this payslip Manchester City issued to their former striker Carlos Tevez, it’s an incredibly impressive wage.Â

The other hugely marked thing about this leaked photo is the amount of tax that such high earning stars pay to the treasury. Even though Tevez earns over £700,000 per month, he pays over £300,000 in tax! The amount that Tevez pays in tax is the kind of money that most Football League clubs would consider steep when talking about a potential transfer fee!

You can read more on this and other top stories via our Manchester City News page.

This Tevez payslip, datedÂMarch 2010 and recently resurfaced, also shows that he gets paid a standard wage and an accommodation allowance of £20,000 (as if that’s necessary). It also shows that he has to pay for his own tickets to take family and friends to see a match (bit harsh).

On top of that, there’s a particularly hard-hitting FA fine of £24! Ouch …

Liverpool have had a very topsy-turvy season. A cruel defeat in the Capital One Cup final a couple of weeks ago sums it up rather aptly for Jurgen Klopp’s side – close, but no cigar.

If the truth be told, the Reds have had some fantastic results this season and should probably be a little higher in the table. But some careless performances and some seriously ‘off’ weeks have taken their toll on their overall points total, Jurgen Klopp’s side sit in 7th in the table.

Consecutive wins against Crystal Palace, Manchester City and Aston Villa (in the Premier League) have left the Reds well in contention for a Europa League place, with the Champions League spots still not light-years away.

But what has been clear for some, if not the majority of the season is the lack of depth in Klopp’s squad. The club have a cluster of players out on-loan who never look like they will return to the first-team and some serious dead weight in the match-day squad.

But who needs to go?

There are a select few whose futures at Liverpool are definitely in doubt and who will surely never step foot in the first-team again after this summer.

And leading the way is hapless striker, Christian Benteke, who finally managed to get on the scoresheet against Crystal Palace this weekend, albeit from the penalty spot. Unfortunately for the big Belgian, he just doesn’t suit the Klopp style of play and he will never be able to warrant his £32.5m price tag.

He’s got bags of potential and in the right team, he could be absolutely deadly – just as he was at Aston Villa – but sorry Christian, under Jurgen it’s just not going to happen.

Simon Mignolet and Adam Bogdan are Liverpool’s two senior goalkeepers and sadly, they’re both not good enough to be in a team that is pushing for Champions League qualification. Mignolet has been at fault for a few goals this season and despite some cracking saves in the League Cup final, he should have stopped Fernandinho’s effort for City’s opener, whic is the moment that will be remembered. Bogdan on the other hand is nowhere near Premier League quality – simple as that. There were a fair few at Bolton who disliked the Hungarian thanks to his tendency to flap at the ball, and it’s the same at Anfield. He’s just not good enough. You know your behind in the goalkeeping stakes when Manchester United can afford to exile Victor Valdes and you play Adam Bodgan in the cup.

Luis Alberto, Lazar Markovic and Tiago Ilori are also three names that spring to name when it comes to fruitless signings. All three have been on-loan this season and have failed to make an impact in the Liverpool first-team.

To be fair to Markovic, Klopp has promised him another shot at an Anfield career, but £7m signing Alberto is nowhere to be seen, currently on loan at Deportivo La Coruna in La Liga. Ilori couldn’t even manage an appearance at relegation-bound Aston Villa, so his inclusion in any future Liverpool squad seems unlikely.

As you can see, Jurgen has some trimming to do this summer.

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Grassroots football is key, keeping people from playing Virgin games all day. We simply wouldn’t have the sport we all love if it weren’t for the very building blocks that help to form every young footballer – facilities and coaching. And this is what makes the Football Foundation’s work so special, as they are on the frontline, ensuring that the raw materials are in place.

We spoke to Sky Sports News presenter, Hayley McQueen, at the opening of a new £470,554 floodlit, 3G artificial grass pitch Woodhouse College in Finchley, North London, which was made was made possible thanks to a £220,554 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation.

It was Hayley McQueen’s first official engagement as an Ambassador for the Football Foundation and we caught up with her to get her views on the new facilities and the work the Football Foundation does, as well as some of the big stories in football right now. Enjoy!

Could you tell us where you are and what you are doing today, Hayley?

“Today is the opening of a fancy, new exciting 3G pitch, which is floodlit, at Woodhouse College. We’ve had a tour of the building, which is a very traditional old college, but very forward thinking with modern technology. This is not just for the children [at the college], but other football teams as well, so other teams around the area can benefit from the facilities, too. It’s been in action since January, but today is the grand opening.”

How important is it that the Premier League & Facilities Fund, through the Football Foundation, continue investing in top class facilities like the new one at Woodhouse College?

“It’s hugely important. The future of football depends on the grassroots game. If there wasn’t the funding I’m sure we wouldn’t have the talent in Britain that we see now, not just at the top level, but when you drop down through all of the leagues and even in non-league football, too. If you’re not being coached and you don’t have the facilities, interest will then wane. Also, having been shown around the college, where the kids are in their classrooms, heads down, learning, it shows that this will allow them the freedom relax a bit and use sport as a break from studies. As well as this, the pitch gets them out being active. We’ve seen over the years with modern technology people aren’t out getting as much exercise as maybe when I was growing up.

“Looking at some of the stats, since 2000 the Football Foundation has delivered £1.3bn of grassroots investment across the whole of the country, with 589 all-weather pitches, which is amazing.”

Do you think this sort of investment can help to unearth the new Dele Allis and Harry Kanes of English football?

“Players like Dele Alli and Jamie Vardy, and you’ve got your Chris Smallings and others as well, are guys who’ve come from local, lower league teams, and everybody is discovered somewhere, not every player comes through an academy. Quite often kids are discovered by just having a kick-about, and scouts from the big clubs are often coming out to look for this talent to unearth the next big players. So more pitches that they’re aware of where there are kids out there playing football, even if it’s just for a school team, or a local side, means more talent can be discovered. More pitches means more chance of finding talent.”

Moving away from this and on to some current football chat… Leicester have sewn up – barring a disaster – the Premier League title, is this the greatest achievement in the Premier League era?

“Yes, I think it will be the greatest achievement. Everyone describes the Jamie Vardy story as like ‘Roy of the Rovers’, and that’s what it is. These are the stories as journalists and football fans that you want to see happening, and it seems like every neutral up and down the country has become a Leicester fan. It’s an amazing story, and even if it weren’t Leicester I wouldn’t mind Tottenham winning the league just to upset the form and have the whole situation of the rivalry between them and Arsenal. But for Leicester to come and do something completely, completely unexpected makes it all the more magical.

“Who’d have thought that Leicester could potentially being going to Manchester United with three games left to play with the chance of winning the title? If you’d have said at the beginning of the season that a team would be able to win the title at Old Trafford at this stage of the season you would have said ‘of course, Manchester United’, but no, it’s Leicester.

Manchester United have made the FA Cup Final, do you think winning the trophy at Wembley will be enough to save Van Gaal’s job?

“Yes, I think it would. But the crazy thing is that you have some Manchester United fans at the moment almost not minding if the team don’t win the FA Cup because they dislike Van Gaal so much that they don’t want him at the club. I wouldn’t say it’s the majority of the fans, but opinion seems split and there are those against him. I don’t know why he’s not popular; he’s a great character after all. Okay, he hasn’t achieved what Manchester United fans wanted him to achieve, but not winning the FA Cup wouldn’t be a disaster.”

EURO 2016 now not far away, how far do you think England can go in France?

“Realistically, getting out of the group stages would be something. It’s a real shame they’re in the same group as Wales. I was at the PFA awards the other night and there was Martin O’Neill, Michael O’Neill, Chris Coleman and Roy Hodgson all chatting about the EUROs, and it’s just such a shame that they have to come up against each other so soon and potentially a result come about that will mean one of the two doesn’t go through.”

“I think semi-final. Why not? This is the first tournament we’ve gone into where there’s an abundance of talent up front. It’s at the point where you can now take Wayne Rooney out of things and still have enough good strikers. I just think with such amazing talent heading into the tournament, ‘why not?’ This is also the first year we haven’t placed too much pressure on the side, like we have done in the past, and I think we’ll just go with the flow and see what happens.”

Hayley McQueen was speaking at the launch of Woodhouse College in Finchley, North London’s new 3G pitch, her first event as a Football Foundation Ambassador. The project was made possible thanks to a £220,554 grant from the Premier League & The FA Facilities Fund, which is delivered by the Football Foundation on behalf of its Funding Partners: the Premier League, The FA and the Government, via Sport England.

Arsene Wenger has completely changed his approach to the transfer window and is treating this summer as if he is playing career mode on FIFA 16. Wenger signed Swiss international Granit Xhaka for around £30m in May, and just a few weeks later the Londoners look to have completed the most extraordinary, and strange, transfer of all time by securing a deal for Jamie Vardy, albeit this is yet to be confirmed by the club itself.

Olivier Giroud stated in an interview with Sky Sports, that Wenger may even look to sign another striker during this window, largely due to the fact that Danny Welbeck has sustained an injury ruling him out for up to nine months, so Gunners fans may be in for an overdue transfer window bonanza!

There is no doubting that this Arsenal side does need improving if they are serious about winning the Premier League. The team showed no real fight in the second half of the campaign just gone, and needs strengthening urgently.

Wenger looks to be signing players to make sure that his (potentially) last season in north London is a successful one. Here are FIVE stars that could follow Vardy to the Emirates Stadium…

Riyad Mahrez

Leicester fans, look away now! Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez seemingly came as a package last season, with the pair scoring an outstanding 41 goals between them. Mahrez was named PFA player of the year whilst Vardy was named as Football Writers’ Player of the Year, and The Sun believe that Arsenal are interested in signing the Algerian with Vardy in a move that would definitely strengthen the Gunners and perhaps leave Leicester fighting for survival again.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

Arsenal and Chelsea are both interested in signing the Armenia from Borussia Dortmund but according to reports,the Gunners are winning the chase for the playmaker. It is very unlikely that Wenger would sign both Mahrez and Mkhitaryan, as eluded to by ESPN, but both would be superb signings.

Mkhitaryan was Dortmund’s very own Mesut Ozil last term, as the winger provided an astonishing 20 assists in the Bundesliga and a further 12 in cup competitions, whilst also grabbing 23 goals. The 27-year-old actually scored against Arsenal in the Champions League in 2013.

Kalidou Koulibaly

Yes football is about scoring goals, and goals win you games, so that is why all the media attention has been on Vardy, Mahrez and Mkhitaryan, but Arsenal are very interested in signing Napoli centre back Koulibaly, who is a match winner himself.

The Senegalese defender played in 33 of Napoli’s matches last season in Serie A and was a vital part in the side’s runner-up campaign. The 24-year-old would be an excellent signing as he is strong, composed and calm on the ball.

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Ricardo Rodriguez

Another excellent possibility here. Rodriguez is known for being close friend’s with Arsenal’s new signing, Granit Xhaka – the pair have been pictured together on numerous occasions in Switzerland’s build up to EURO 2016. The left back is a very exciting player who provides plenty of great runs and assists for Wolfsburg, so he would be an excellent replacement for Nacho Monreal, who is entering the latter stages of his career.

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Vincent Janssen

And the last man that Arsenal could be targeting is 21-year-old forward, Vincent Janssen. The Netherlands international, who scored 27 goals for AZ Alkmaar in the Eredivisie last season, wants to make the “next step” in his career. Arsenal fans have been begging for a striker for years now and it would be incredible for Wenger to sign two in one window. Janssen would surely be a signing for the future.

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Here’s a statistic to give hope to all Brighton fans.

37% of all third place teams in the Championship go on to gain promotion. West Ham, Swansea and Norwich City all came up via the prestigious play-off final, the game that’s now dubbed the £200m match.

Albion go into the play-offs for the third time in four seasons. They lost to Crystal Palace in the semi-finals in 2012/13 and then to Derby County in 2013/14.

The Seagulls will travel to Sheffield Wednesday in the first leg on Friday and then host the second leg on Monday evening at the Amex. The winners will meet either Hull or Derby in the final at Wembley on May 28. But, whatever happens in the play-offs, the faithful Brighton fans will look back on this season with a great deal of pride.

After a relegation scrap last season, when they finished 20th, Albion manager Chris Hughton recruited well in the summer and Brighton started the season with a 21-game unbeaten run. To follow that, they have ended the season 14 matches unbeaten after the tense draw with Middlesbrough.

There have been some sparkling performances in that time and also some which showed real grit and resolve to grind out a result. There is no doubt that with the character and team spirit in the Albion squad they will be ready for the next two matches, a final and the buzz of the Premier League next season.

The Seagulls were early pace-setters in the Championship, but mid-term nerves led to them fighting their way back into contention for an automatic promotion spot and then the knowledge of a confirmed play-off place.

When you look at the club as a whole, the superb new stadium and the magnificent training ground, you get the feeling that this is a club going somewhere and one that won’t settle for mediocrity.

When asked about whether The Seagulls would survive in the Premier league, Hughton was honest in his assessment. “The answer to that is simply I don’t know,” he said. “We have seen teams getting promoted doing very well. Bournemouth and Watford have had a very good season. What I do know is, the club that wants to be in the Premier League has to get promotion first. And I am sure we have enough to get out of this division.”

It is hard to imagine that 19 years ago at this very point of the season, Brighton & Hove Albion had no home and had a very real threat of relegation to the Conference hanging over them.

And Hughton has done an excellent job in keeping focus as his club steer close to the financial rewards of the footballing holy grail. He took over from Sami Hyypia in December 2014 when the team were going nowhere. He refreshed the squad last summer, adding players of experience such as Bobby Zamora, Steve Sidwell and Liam Rosenior, and began the season with a flurry. The mid-term wobble was overcome and, with the addition of new recruits such as the free-scoring Manchester United loanee James Wilson, he is neatly placed for the final run-in. And he has done it all without a sniff of the Premier league parachute payments which have distorted the Championship’s competitive processes.

Look no further for a team deserving this promotion and ready for the challenge. Others in the play-offs may have been there before, but don’t underestimate the club and its ambitions… and don’t underestimate a manager with something to prove.

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Despite finishing second last season, Arsenal were deemed to have had a disappointing campaign by many, but they do have something promising to build on.

However, the investment that the other big guns look to be promising this summer is something that my worry Arsenal fans and will need to be matched, if not exceeded by Arsene Wenger to mount a serious title challenge next season.

Wenger has a good starting XI available to him, but it needs fine tuning. Some quality additions to provide competition for players such as Olivier Giroud and to give depth that can be trusted when the inevitable injuries start to come would give Arsenal the consistency that they have been missing season after season.

The transfer market is a competitive one, but Arsenal have the funds to challenge and side in the Premier League and make big offers to big stars, with that in mind here is FFC’s list of Arsenal’s 10 most likely signings this summer…

ALVARO MORATA

Morata has just made the move back to Real Madrid after they activated a buy-back clause in his contract, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be staying with the Galacticos for too long.

Madrid are looking to make a massive profit from the instant re-sale of the Spaniard and it is being reported that Arsenal are hot on his tail, but will have to stave off competition from other Premier League sides and offer up a big sum of money to get their man.

KARIM BENZEMA

Yep, this guy again. Another transfer window and another link between The Gunners and Mr. Benzema, but will it actually happen this time?

With Morata back at Madrid, whether that be simply for business purposes or not, Benzema will surely be questioning his place at the club and well be more open to a move to London than ever, especially is Morata ends up staying.

However, if Morata leaves but for one of Arsenal’s transfer rivals, a solution will need to be found, and one that will please the fans.

In terms of strikers there aren’t many bigger names than Karim Benzema and therefore the famously fickle Arsenal ‘faithful’, can’t have many complaints should Wenger finally move for the Frenchman in this window.

ROMELU LUKAKU

Widely rumoured to be looking for employment away from Goodison Park, Lukaku could be just what Wenger needs to remedy his problems up front.

Lukaku is a powerful and proven Premier League goalscorer, something Gunner’s fans are crying out for as opposed to taking a gamble on an unknown foreign entity.

It is reported that Arsenal are entering talks with the Belgian, but they are not the only ones and there has been a hefty price tag of around £50m slapped on the 23-year-old, the sort of money which may give Wenger trouble sleeping

NOLITO

Another option up top for Arsene to consider is Celta Vigo’s Nolito.

The 29-year-old is currently away with Spain in France for EURO 2016 and has done nothing to suggest that he would be a bad signing for Arsenal, scoring in his country’s 3-0 win over Turkey.

Nolito scored 12 goals last season and can be deployed out wide as well as up top, but it looks like Arsenal may just be beaten to this one by Pep and Man City, unless they table a last minute show-stopper of an offer.

STEVAN JOVETIC

Should City beat Arsenal to their Spanish target, which is looking likely, Wenger could turn to one of the Citizen’s own, in Stevan Jovetic, to bolster their attacking ranks.

Jovetic is currently on loan at Inter Milan but is set to head back to Manchester early after being found surplus to requirements at the San Siro, and Arsenal are looking to take advantage of that.

DOUGLAS SANTOS

Away from the role of centre-forward, Arsenal still need a couple of positions securing after less than dominant performances last season, and left-back is one of those.

Santos, who has one cap for Brazil to his name, has drawn plenty of interest from Europe with Barcelona looking at the 22-year-old as competition for Jordi Alba.

Santos is reportedly available for around £7.7m which, according to reports of the war chest that Wenger is now repeatedly offered by the owners, could prove to be an excellent investment for Arsenal.

WILLIAM CARVALHO

Sporting Lisbon’s highly rated midfielder was linked with the Gunners in the January window, and would still be an excellent addition to Wenger’s side now.

The Portuguese international would add stability to Wenger’s midfield options and take the pressure away from Francis Coquelin, who is often lumbered with the responsibility of being the main man in terms of holding everything together, especially when the injuries hit.

RUBEN NEVES

As with William Carvalho, Neves would add real stability to the Arsenal midfield and allow whoever Wenger decides to add to his attacking options the freedom to go forward without having to worry as much about the players they are leaving behind.

The 19-year-old, who was heavily linked with Arsenal in January, has become a mainstay in the Porto midfield this season and that means the Italian size have put a big price on his head, reportedly around £30m, but one worth paying for a commanding figure in the midfield for years to come.

VINCENT KOZIELLO

The man dubbed the ‘new Xavi’ has had a sensational season breaking through to the first team setup at Nice and has begun to turn heads across Europe, with AC Milan also taking an interest in the 20-year-old.

Koziello has been watched by a number of Arsenal scouts and the Frenchman really fits the bill for a Wenger signing. The youngster, who can play in the middle or out wide on the right, is someone who, given the right amount of time, could be turned into a real star at the Emirates.

MARQUINHOS CIPRIANO

Another typically ‘Wenger’ signing this Brazilian youngster has been causing a storm in the youth leagues in South America, having netted 14 times in just 12 games for his U17s side.

According to The Metro, Arsenal’s representatives have made contact with the Sau Paulo youngster but Wenger is not the only one watching with Juventus keeping an eye on Cipriano.

Celtic have won the Scottish Premier League title for the last five seasons in a row.

Aberdeen have started to close in on the Glasgow club, but without their perennial arch rivals Rangers, the competition to match Celtic and to make a league of it just hasn’t been there.

Last season, runners-up Aberdeen were still fifteen points and 48 goals behind Celtic on the last day, so as the years go on it becomes a mere one horse race.

However, now that Rangers have hauled themselves back up through the lower divisions and returned to the elite of Scottish football, The Gers and Aberdeen may be able to slow down the Celtic success.

Rangers versus Celtic is the highly prized asset of the Scottish Football Association and their first encounter for years happened in last season’s Scottish F A Cup semi-final. Rangers ran out winners, albeit on penalties, but a strong blue message was there for the green half of Glasgow to take notice of.

Rangers’ four year absence is now over and it is almost a sign of life getting back to normal in Scotland. Though they are back in the big time, the club are still not as financially sound as they would like, but they will start to enjoy the bigger revenue streams and if they can get back into Europe, then they are heading in the right direction.

Chairmen and chief executives will already be counting the extra cash generated both directly and indirectly. A large travelling support will be a welcome financial addition to a league where clubs like Hamilton bring almost nothing to the table, while the prospect of TV companies paying more for rights, simply to get coverage of those Old Firm blockbusters, will please many.

Many Celtic fans, whatever they might say in public, are also happy to have their old sparring partners back. But supporters of Aberdeen and have rather enjoyed life sans Rangers. They fear a return to the old days of a big-spending ‘big two’ engaged in a transfer market arms race, finishing 30 points clear of the pack.

Enter Aberdeen, who are really only the other clear candidate to impinge on Celtic’s champions aspirations. At one point last season the gap was close, but The Dons fell away and the same old, same old re-occurred.

But Derek McInnes has revitalised the Dons and they are a team not to be ignored.

The Aberdeen manager is in the perfect zone. In that old-fashioned way, he is in total control of his club, in a way that Sir Alex Ferguson, his most illustrious predecessor at Pittodrie, would admire.

On a number of occasions, Pittodrie has seen sell-out games with 20,000 fans filling the old stadium and yet when it comes to budgets, McInnes has roughly a fifth of what Celtic have to spend and there the disparity is open for all to see.

McInnes is a very good football manager and tactically as proficient as many further south, but when it’s all going wrong for the Hoops half way through the season, Celtic can splash the cash and bring in reinforcements, whereas fans of Aberdeen can only watch another league title heading to Glasgow.

So this coming season, Celtic will not have it all their own way. Rangers and Aberdeen will fight for that top spot, while the likes of Motherwell, Kilmarnock and Hamilton will see each game with Celtic as a cup final and raise their game.

After all of the success Celtic have enjoyed, Brendan Rodgers dare not fail in his first season in Glasgow.

Can you imagine the headlines?

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