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Former Chelsea star Frank Lampard has selected the clubs who he believes will be vying for the Premier League title this season.

The Blues strode to victory in the 2016-17 campaign, but a handful could be in the running this occasion due to the recent summer spending.

Manchester City have spent over £200m, while Manchester United have brought in one of last season’s most prolific strikers in Romelu Lukaku, who netted 25 goals for Everton.

Every club who finished in the top seven in the most recent campaign have spent money on new signings apart from Tottenham Hotspur.

However, Lampard believes that Mauricio Pochettino’s men, who finished second last season, will be in the hunt for the main prize.

The retired midfielder also thinks that his former clubs Chelsea and Man City will be fighting for the crown, along with United.

The 39-year-old told talkSPORT:

“It’s a hard year to call but I think Manchester City have to be there. They were disappointing last year but they have backed Pep Guardiola again. You’re starting to see signs in pre-season of how they can play. On paper, they’re the most exciting team going forward, so I think they will be there.

“Manchester United, again, with the way Jose Mourinho is building you’re starting to see a team in his image and how he wants them to be. I think they will be there again.

“And also Tottenham, on paper they’re a fantastic team but can they handle Wembley as their home? That will be the challenge for them. I feel like it will be those four who are fighting [for the title].”

The former midfielder has left out Liverpool, who finished fourth, as well as Arsenal, who missed out on the top four the last time around.

Lampard, who recently joined BT Sport’s punditry panel for the season, won three league titles during his time at Chelsea, as well as the Champions League trophy.

Manchester United have decided not to continue their pursuit of Tottenham Hotspur left-back Danny Rose, according to The Express.

What’s the word?

The England international is believed to have been on United’s radar, and the possibility of a move increased following his explosive interview with the Sun.

In it, the 27-year-old questioned Tottenham’s ambition due to their lack of signings this summer.

He also hinted that he would be open to moving back up to the North of England one day, and criticised Spurs for not paying him as much as he deserves.

United were sniffing around the left-back, but according to The Express, Jose Mourinho has ended his interest and the club are considering other targets.

It is believed that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy informed the Red Devils that Rose will not be sold this summer.

Has Rose shot himself in the foot?

At the moment, the England international is understandably not the most popular man in North London, despite publicly apologising for the timing of his interview.

To question the club’s wage structure and ambition could easily result in the hierarchy choosing to offload said player.

However, in this case, Rose is a crucial member of Mauricio Pochettino’s team and it would not do the club’s image any favours if they were to sell the left-back in the same window that they sold Kyle Walker to Manchester City.

It also does not help matters that Spurs have not brought in a single new player with just two weeks left to go until the window slams shut.

While Rose’s comments are still raw now, there is no reason why he cannot reintegrate himself back into the team.

The player’s injury may be a blessing in disguise as he will be away from the spotlight, and time is the biggest healer.

A week has not gone by when Alexis Sanchez’s Arsenal future is not discussed or speculated over.

Ever since the Chile international failed to agree terms on a new contract last season, rumours have been rife about a possible exit.

Sanchez is still tied down to Arsenal, but his deal expires at the end of the current campaign, meaning that he could leave for nothing next summer.

Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have been among the clubs linked to his signature.

Sanchez played for the first time this season on Sunday when he started against Liverpool at Anfield.

It was a dismal display from Arsene Wenger’s men, with no player able to produce a single shot on target.

In the end, the North London outfit lost 4-0 and Sanchez, who is known for his desire and appetite to play every game, was substituted in the 62nd minute.

After the match, the 28-year-old took to social media to upload an image of himself looking disheartened on the pitch.

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The image, which had no caption, is likely to have been used by Sanchez as a way of expressing his disappointment in the result.

However, reading between the lines, it could also suggest that his unhappiness extends beyond the game at Anfield.

Leeds United’s season seems to be going to plan following a big summer of change.

Garry Monk left the manager’s role vacant, and was later replaced with Thomas Christiansen, while Andrea Radrizzani took full control of the Championship club.

Numerous new faces were bought in the summer transfer window and the club sold last season’s top scorer Chris Wood to Burnley.

On the pitch, the Whites have won five and drawn two of their eight league matches and have just one blot on their record in the form of a 1-0 defeat to Millwall.

As it stands, Christiansen’s side sit at the top of the Championship table, but Wolverhampton Wanderers and Cardiff City share the same amount of points (17).

In the Carabao Cup, Leeds have picked off Port Vale, Newport County and ousted Premier League side Burnley on penalties.

Now, they face another top-flight club in the form of Leicester City, who were drawn against Leeds after overcoming Liverpool 2-0 in their third-round tie.

After the draw was made, fans of the Championship outfit took to Twitter to give their thoughts on the match-up, which will take place at the King Power Stadium next month.

Manchester United’s Romulu Lukaku has been voted the PFA Bristol Street Motors Player of the Month for August and September.

In a vote run by fan engagement experts, Snack Media, the giant Belgium striker won 53.7% of the vote, convincingly knocking Spurs and England goal machine Harry Kane (15.8%) into second place.

In the first of four divisional votes carried out over four days on Snack’s digital and social network, it was clear that Lukaku’s superb goal scoring start to his Old Trafford career has resonated not just with The Red Devils, but with fans of all teams.

The former Everton striker opened his Red Devils career with seven goals and one assist in his opening seven Premier League appearances.

The voting period covered both August and September and there is no doubt that it’s was only Kane’s zero return in August that prevented him from pushing his Premier League rival a little further.

The other contenders from the final short list polled as follows:

Alvaro Morata – 15.6%

Kevin De Bruyne – 7.6%

Sergio Aguero – 5.1%

David Silva – 2.2%

The Championship vote opens at 10 am on Wednesday October 4th, to vote go to: https://www.footballfancast.com/pfa-awards

Fan of the Championship? Place your vote in the PFA Championship Player of the Month Awards below…

Jordan Henderson is a funny footballer. He captains one of the biggest clubs in the world, and is in line to captain England at the 2018 World Cup.

The 27-year-old must be doing something right, but there are many that feel the former Sunderland midfielder is currently in a privileged position.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane is ultimately expected to get the nod to skipper England next summer, but there is every chance that Henderson could be vice-captain, while he should be one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s teamsheet.

Even Liverpool supporters are not convinced, however, with many taking to social media in the early weeks of the 2017-18 campaign to criticise their midfielder.

Indeed, that was again the case on Sunday night when Liverpool drew attention to the fact that Henderson was once again turning out for England.

It is difficult to see what Henderson is really good at, and even his own team’s supporters had a little dig at him on Twitter.

Tim Cahill will go down as a fan favourite at Everton following his eight-year spell at the Merseyside club.

Between 2004 and 2012, the 37-year-old was among the Toffees’ attacking contingent.

Cahill ended up scoring 68 goals in 277 appearances and became known for his goal celebration, which would involve him throwing some punches at the corner flag.

Five years ago, the forward left Merseyside to join MLS club New York Red Bulls and from then had spells in the Far East with Shanghai Shenhua and Hangzhou Greentown.

Despite being on the wrong side of 30, Cahill is still competing – currently at Melbourne City – and he scored twice for Australia against Syria to book his nation’s place in the playoffs of the World Cup.

Phil Neville, who played alongside Cahill for seven years, made an interesting claim on Twitter when asked where he would place his former teammate in terms of quality.

It is worth noting that the ex-England international played with some Manchester United greats during his career, so his tweet is quite the accolade for Cahill.

Aston Villa have released a statement on their official website claiming that the early prognosis of Jonathan Kodjia’s ankle injury is “encouraging”.

What’s the latest?

The striker suffered the blow during Sunday’s Second City derby against Birmingham City at St Andrew’s.

There has not been much news about the severity of Kodjia’s injury, but the Villans have suggested that it is not as serious as first feared.

The statement read:

“Jonathan Kodjia continues to be assessed by the club’s medical department following his ankle injury at the weekend. The striker limped off in the Second City derby draw at Birmingham City. The club are in close communication with the consultant and will review accordingly. However, the early prognosis is encouraging.”

When will he be back?

That bit of information remains to be seen, but fans will be hoping that the layoff is not similar to the forward’s previous ankle injury.

In April, Kodjia broke that same ankle in a game against Blackburn Rovers and was on the sidelines for more than four months.

The 28-year-old has scored one goal and produced two assists in eight appearances in the Championship this season.

The forward has started seven of those games, but he is yet to complete a full 90 minutes.

Last season, the Ivory Coast international scored 19 goals in 36 league appearances for the Villans.

At the moment, Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane can do no wrong in most people’s eyes, but Newcastle United defender Florian Lejeune has not forgiven the striker for one thing.

On the opening day of the Premier League season, the two clubs went head to head at St James’ Park, and Spurs came out on top in a 2-0 victory.

During the game, Lejeune suffered an injury blow as a result of Kane’s tackle on the defender inside the first 30 minutes.

The scissor challenge forced the Newcastle man to spend the next six games on the sidelines before making his return in a 2-2 draw with Southampton.

Kane was only punished with a yellow card by the referee on the day, but Lejeune thinks that the England forward was let off easily.

In an interview with Newcastle’s official website, the defender said:

“[The Premier League] is physical for sure, but sometimes players do silly things too. And I think it was a silly tackle by the player. I didn’t understand it. I never received any apology for the tackle. Regardless of the team or player, it is important to punish such tackles. Then you see a similar tackle a week later and it is punished by red. But that is football. Do you need to wait until a player breaks a leg to do something about it?”

Lejeune, who joined the club from Eibar on a five-year deal in the summer, has started five Premier League games this season.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has named an unchanged team from the team that beat Newcastle United 4-1 at Old Trafford last Saturday for the visit of Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday, and Red Devils fans have had their say on the selection.

With Phil Jones and Eric Bailly still missing through injury, Victor Lindelof and Chris Smalling will once again play at the heart of the defence against the Seagulls as United look to bounce back from the 1-0 defeat against Basel in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, Henrikh Mkhitaryan returned to the substitutes’ bench having been left out of the squad against the Magpies and the Swiss outfit.

Man United supporters were quick to give their thoughts on the confirmed starting XI, and while one described the selection as “beautiful”, another said that the choice to play Lindelof and Smalling means that “if we lose it’s Jose’s fault”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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