Stewart Downing has struggled to impress in his career after leaving Aston Villa where he dazzled and impressed everyone with his mesmerizing displays on the wing. He was touted as the future of English football – a new hero had been born.

Watching Downing during his Middlesbrough and Villa days was a joy, his trickery on the wing was similar to that of Ryan Giggs, and his ball passing ability was similar to that of David Beckham.

However, for Downing it all went downhill after he signed for Liverpool. He failed to make any sort of real impact at the Merseyside club and was branded a flop by the scouser supporters. His England career also took a bit of a dive in recent years with his appearances few and far between.

Many thought that when West Ham came to the rescue in 2013 that he would yet again find himself on the right stage to showcase his real talent and flair for the game. After all, he was going to get a lot more first team football playing for the Hammers than he would at Liverpool, and West Ham represented a unique opportunity – West Ham had Andy Carroll. The side that been lacking with for some time now had the man to supply it and a striker who thrived off it.

His debut for West Ham as a substitute in their 2-0 win against Cardiff at home was actually a good display and it offered a lot of promise. He had some good touches on the ball, cut in on a couple of occasions, and put some nice balls into the area.

After that game however, Downing looked like the Downing of Liverpool, and his performances on the wing were not that impressive.

Often failing to take on the defender and choosing to cross the ball way too early, he seemed to cop out of showing any real talent or skill. His crossing left a lot to be desired and it was looking increasingly like his early days as a wonderkid were just a flash in the pan – that is until the start of this season.

Sam Allardyce has had to employ a new attacking style of football in order to save his job at West Ham, and part of this change of style has involved employing a diamond formation, in which Downing moved to the tip with freedom to roam.

Rather than being pinned to the wing, Stewart Downing has found himself at the heart of the action. The once Liverpool flop has been able to feed some through balls to his strikers, create a lot of chances as one of the team’s main playmakers, and more importantly so for him, be where it counts for the second ball. This has allowed the player to get into some great positions, and as a result, has scored a couple of goals for his team already this season.

He is all over the pitch, making runs, being involved in all the important attacking phases of play. Downing looks like a brand new player and is one of the most effective midfielders in the Premier League right now. His work rate, his passing rate, his eye for goal – they all seem to have come out of nowhere and have stemmed from this new central role that his manager has given to him.

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The Hammer’s last game against Stoke was a great example of how effective the player is, with an assist for the first goal and his own name on the score sheet for the second. He is finding himself in all the right places at all the right times and is loving it there.

Downing looks the most improved player in the Premier League this season and appears to have his best chance in years of earning himself that elusive England recall.

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Another game, another goal-less performance, It’s fair to say that almost everyone is on Mario Balotelli’s back right about now. The £16m Italian has struggled since his move to Liverpool from AC Milan, with many suggesting today’s game at home Hull was his last chance after his Real Madrid antics.

Although things aren’t quite clicking, the Reds need to stand by their man, and here are THREE reasons why…

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CLICK ON THE MAN HIMSELF TO REVEAL THE THREE

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He looked good in a front two

Midway through the second half Brendan Rodgers finally relented to the calls for a front two and chucked on Rickie Lambert. The powerful Merseyside man may not be the ideal foil for Balotelli, but he did appear a little sharper with a partner…

He’s under pressure

There’s no doubt that the pressure is getting to Mario. Usually such a cool customer, the Italian looks like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Could they be getting to him? Probably.

No better options

With Sturridge out injured, Rodgers can only call on Lambert or Borini. The ex-Southampton man appears to lack any mobility, while last season’s Sunderland loanee is not quite right to lead the line alone. Any better options than Balo? Probably not… for now.

There is some confusion on the faces of Manchester United fans here in the Football Transfer Tavern as it seems that Victor Valdes is BACK in training with the club – well according to Metro at least.

As one of our punters notes over a couple of pints, we did think that Louis van Gaal and the Spanish goalkeeper had decided to part company before a contract had even been signed.

United were reportedly unsure of the fitness levels Valdes currently possesses and also the fact that the former Barcelona goalkeeper was keen on being a number one at his future club and not an understudy – which would be the case at Old Trafford.

David De Gea is showing no signs of wanting to leave despite the rumours linking him with Real Madrid.

However, over pouring the perfect pint, our landlord notes that boasting a reliable back-up keeper is key – especially with those games coming thick and fast over the Christmas period.

Manchester United fans. Are you happy Valdes looks like he’ll be joining the club? Is this a signal that De Gea will be leaving? Let us know your thoughts below.

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It could be argued that the gap between the Championship and the Premier League is becoming smaller every season. Players such as Rickie Lambert and Charlie Austin made the transition to the top flight seamlessly, with the latter even earning himself an England call-up.

The Championship is full of talented players and natural goalscorers that can be Premier League stars in the future. Here are FOUR Championship strikers that the FFC Towers are tipping to be ready for a move in the summer:

Callum Wilson

Bournemouth’s 22-year-old striker has been an excellent acquisition since singing from Coventry for £3 million last summer. The England under-21 international has scored 17 times for the Cherries – 14 coming in the league – and has looked every bit of a potentially top striker in the years to come. Last season was his breakthrough campaign, netting 21 times in 37 league matches for Coventry, and earning himself a place in the PFA League One team of the year.

Wilson has plenty of attributes that make him an exciting prospect; bundles of pace to beat defenders, a tremendous work rate and – most importantly – a superb finishing ability. Although it’s been a fast rise for Wilson, he has shown that he more than belongs at this level and could well be a Premier League player with Bournemouth, or another side, come August.

Britt Assombalonga

The 22-year-old was snapped up by Nottingham Forest and has made the move up from League One superbly well. His performances last season for Peterborough were enough to win him a place in the team of the year as he scored 23 times. This season he has 14 goals to him name in a Forest team that have been struggling as of late.

As with Wilson, Assombalonga has made the step up the leagues extremely quickly and although the Premier League is represents a different kind of challenge, natural goalscorers like himself are few and far between nowadays. He seems as though he has all the tools to succeed, being a big and strong centre-forward with tremendous pace. A player that loves to score goals and can do so at will, he is another one on this list that has the potential to make it to the ‘promised land’.

Troy Deeney

The 26-year-old Deeney has been a fantastic player for Watford since joining in 2010 from Walsall. In 2012/13 his 20 goals helped Watford reach the play-off final, including the infamous goal against Leicester in the semi-final. Last season he struck 24 Championship goals which caught the attention of numerous Premier League teams. He is well on his way to another prolific season with his 11th goal coming just past the mid-way stage in the season.

A big, strong and powerful striker; Deeney is always a threat to opposing defenders. A player who never seems to stop running, Deeny has the ability to score from long range or net a typical poacher’s finish. Deeney is already highly-rated among a number of Premier League clubs and he has proven all he can at this level.

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Jordan Rhodes

The 25-year-old Scottish international has been a natural goalscorer throughout his whole career. He signed for Huddersfield from Ipswich in 2009, and at just 19, was already banging in the goals. In his first season for Huddersfield, he scored an impressive 19 times as a youngster in League One. His real breakthrough season came in the 2011/12 season where his 38 goals helped Huddersfield secure promotion to the Championship.

At the end of the season, he moved to Blackburn for £8 million and has had two prolific seasons since. In his first campaign at Blackburn he scored 27 times and last season added 25 goals to his tally. This time round he hasn’t been as prolific for the Scot, but as far as goalscorers go, they don’t come more natural than Rhodes.

The Daily Mail have linked the Blackburn striker with a move to West Ham in the past, but The Telegraph have more recently tipped Swansea City as the club most likely to secure Rhodes’ services. Either way, it would appear the interest in the Scot is high, and with 145 leagues goals to his name in 274 appearences, it’s not hard to see why.

Rickie Lambert has warned his Liverpool team-mates that Southampton are genuine top four candidates and could ruin the club’s dreams of a return to the Champions League.

The veteran striker swapped St Mary’s for Anfield over the summer alongside Adam Lallana and Dejan Lovren, which led to claims that the Saints may struggle this term – manager Mauricio Pochettino and young full-backs Calum Chambers and Luke Shaw also departed.

However, new boss Ronald Koeman worked well in the transfer market to land Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic, and Southampton currently occupy fourth spot with 13 games remaining.

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Liverpool have turned around their poor form since the start of 2015 and are now back on course for a top four finish, making Sunday’s game with the South Coast outfit a ‘six pointer’.

And Lambert thinks that his former side are genuine candidates who could take one of the sought after positions away from them:

“I can’t say I saw the season they’ve had coming,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“But when I look back now, not only myself but I think a lot of people under-estimated the characters in the dressing room who stayed there. That’s full credit to them for proving everyone wrong.

“They’ve done it year in, year out there and now they’ve taken it to another level. Ronald Koeman looks like a good manager and the new signings have come in and hit the ground running. The journey that club has been on has been amazing.

“The fact they’re still up there at this stage means without a doubt they are genuine top four contenders. Nothing seems to be fazing them.

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“Even when they aren’t playing so well they grind out results. Defensively, they are very solid. Their new attacking players have come in and done really well. It’s going to be a hard game for us.”

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Tonight’s Bank Holiday action in the Premier League sees Hull City play hosts to Arsenal at the KC Stadium.

Following on from their scoreless draw with Chelsea two Sundays ago, there’s only two notable changes to Arsenal’s squad – substitute Danny Welbeck has been dropped from the bench in place of veteran midfielder Tomas Rosicky whilst Gabriel Paulista has come in for Mathieu Debuchy.

The 16 remaining players consist of; David Ospina, Hector Bellerin, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny, Nacho Monreal, Francis Coquelin, Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Alexis Sanchez and Olivier Giroud, alongside substitutes Theo Walcott, Mathieu Flamini, Wojciech Szczesny, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere.

It’s been an interesting first season for Welbeck since swapping Manchester United for Arsenal in a £15million deal last summer. Although his work-rate and enthusiasm has never been in doubt, the winger-forward has notched up just four goals and three assists in the Premier League, so the response to his absence on Twitter, due to a slight knee problem, has been rather varied.

They range from those clearly unaware of his fitness issue:

To some venting their disappointment:

A few venting their joy:

And others fearing for Arsenal’s future:

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It came as no surprise to see Eden Hazard named PFA Player of the Year on Sunday night just hours after he helped Chelsea move within two wins of the Premier League title thanks to a goalless draw at Arsenal.

The Belgian was hotly tipped to take the crown after a brilliant season with the Blues and was a deserved winner after receiving the most votes from his fellow professionals.

But although the 24-year-old has proven a worthy winner, two other contenders for the award in the shape of Alexis Sanchez and Harry Kane in particular can count themselves unlucky not to win the prize, with the pair also enjoying terrific seasons with their respective clubs and running Hazard extremely close for the trophy.

Chelsea hold a lead of 10 points at the top of the Premier League with just five games remaining and it’s just a matter of time before they secure their first title since 2010 and their first since Jose Mourinho returned to the club.

And despite strength throughout the whole team; particularly in defence, Hazard has been their stand-out man during a successful campaign where he continues to get better and better each week.

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Having added consistency to his world class performances, the 24-year-old has scored 13 goals and collected eight assists in 33 league appearances so far this season, and really has been the difference over recent weeks when the team’s performance levels have dipped slightly.

He proved the difference in Chelsea’s narrow one-nil win over Manchester United 10 days ago, and has also scored crucial goals in three of the five previous games; all of which were won by the odd goal, highlighting just how important he has been to the team.

But it could be argued that Arsenal’s Chilean star Alexis Sanchez and Tottenham’s new star Harry Kane, have had equal if not more impact on their side’s this season and were unfortunate to miss out on the award.

Sanchez has been a revelation since arriving at the Gunners and has taken no time to adapt to the English game after a superb first season at the Emirates. During a stuttering start to the campaign for Arsene Wenger’s side, the former Barcelona man was at times dragging his team to victory almost single-handedly.

Although having tailed off somewhat slightly towards the end of the season, he’s a big reason as to why Arsenal are now favourites to finish second in the table and lift a second successive FA Cup in May.

Fourteen goals and eight assists put him just ahead of Hazard, and so he can certainly feel hard-done by to finish fourth in the overall voting.

As well as Manchester United’s David de Gea, Harry Kane was the other man to finish ahead of Sanchez, and was also unfortunate to narrowly miss out on the top award.

The England star shot to fame this season by becoming the first Spurs player since Gary Linekar to score 30 or more goals, and despite only starting to feature regularly in the Premier League from November; he is still in contention to win the golden boot with 20 league goals to his name.

The 21-year-old has been crucial to Spurs this season, and although they look set to miss out on the top four once more, you’d have to wonder where they would be without Kane given the lack of goals from his fellow strike partners.

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Thankfully for the Tottenham man, he wasn’t left empty handed as he scooped the Young Player of the Year award, just reward for a superb debut season as part of the first team.

Some, including Match of the Day pundit Robbie Savage, feel he warranted the award more than Eden Hazard, but that’s an opinion open to debate. While there were a number of outstanding candidates, Hazard’s success can’t really be argued, particularly when you take into account the achievements of the Chelsea team.

They look sure to add the Premier League to their earlier League Cup success, and for the Belgian it will cap a memorable campaign that will end with a hat-trick of titles.

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Luis Nani’s loan deal is coming to an end at Sporting Lisbon. This raises the question of what is next for the Portuguese international. Does his fate lie in the Premier League?

For Manchester United, seemingly, no. Louis Van Gaal sees no use for the winger, who had massively dropped in form under David Moyes. His number is gone, as is his position. If Nani were to come back to Manchester United, his role would be a glorified bench warmer, in reality. He has somewhat kept his dream alive of playing for the Red Devils throughout the season, yet Louis Van Gaal is yet to comment.

Some rumours have suggested Everton could be interested in Nani – the latest Manchester United player they have their eye on. This deal could go through, as United are not selling, or loaning, to a direct rival. His price tag is another story: Manchester United will want to get their money, or some of it, back, but if they are going to buy as many players as they are being linked to (at least some of them, anyway), they will need to get funds together.

Sporting Lisbon have issues with Nani’s wages, which is why they are not willing to sign him permanently. Long story short, they cannot afford to match them. This could to be the case at Everton as well, as they already have players on significant salaries. Nani may have to take a pay cut if he wants to get regular first team football.

Everton are the first club to be reported as showing any interest in Nani. Manchester United probably won’t have him back; and he will need to accept the fact he would have to join a team lower in the league table if he were to return to England. Regardless of what happens, sacrifices will have to be made on the player’s part. By the sounds of things, his Premier League days are certainly numbered, if not over completely.

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With the arrivals of Diego Fabrini from Watford and Christian Stuani from Espanyol, there seems to be no end to Middlesbrough’s summer spending.

Aitor Karanka has seemingly taken the approach of spending big to get promotion back to the Premier League after losing the play-off final last season against Norwich.

That defeat had hit Boro hard but it looks as if Boro chairman Steve Gibson believes in Karanka, and with some investment Mourinho’s protege could get the North East club to the top division.

Stuani and Fabrini follow some top players that already have been brought in so far. The signing of Stewart Downing from West Ham would have raised a few eyebrows as the England man has taken the unusual step down to the Championship from the Premier League, and the £5.5m fee for the England international shows Boro’s intent as they seek promotion back to the top-flight.

Thomas Kalas has been signed on loan as well, along with Alex Baptitse. And with a possible move for Jordan Rhodes in the pipeline, it is fair to say the North East club are going to spend big for the prospect of Premier League football.

However, it isn’t really the norm in the Championship. There isn’t usually a lot of  big spending, as clubs tend to cut down in wages and go for lower risk, lower fee signings as the money is far less than that in the Premier League.

There have been some exceptions, of course, such as last season when Fulham spent £11m on Ross McCormack but little elsewhere, which left the Londoners horribly short and their over reliance on youth meant Fulham struggled and never got close to challenging for promotion.

Another example of some big spending to get promotion was in 2011/12 season, when West Ham spent little over £4million on Kevin Nolan, who took the step down from the Premier League to join the Hammers. That summer window saw the East Londoners spend over £10m on new players as they attempted to bounce straight back up to the Premier League.

And it was successful for Big Sam’s men as they gained promotion to the Premier League via the play-offs, but failure to do so could’ve cost the Hammers dear. Those are the risks you take when spending big and, Boro will be all too aware of those risks.

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Furthermore, these two examples perhaps highlight how spending big doesn’t always guarantee promotion. Nevertheless, with the right investment, Boro could certainly get back to the Premier League and maybe it could be the push the North East club needs to finally get over that line after a five year exile.

Only time will tell, but with the big investment the Boro board will certainly expect Karanka to deliver promotion. But the question is; can Boro’s manager deliver the goods?

As reported by Portuguese outlet A Bola, Rangers defender Fabio Cardoso is a target for Estoril in the January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Cardoso has featured little for the Light Blues since October when he broke his nose during the League Cup semi-final defeat to Motherwell. Despite having long recovered from that injury, he’s played just 45 minutes of football since, with the likes of David Bates, Danny Wilson and Ross McCrorie all getting game time in the Rangers defence ahead of him.

Now he could be offered a lifeline back to his homeland by Estoril.

That’s according to A Bola, who say the Portuguese side are interested in adding him to their squad, high up on the list of defensive targets drawn up by manager Ivo Vieira.

Is it time for Rangers to call short his Ibrox career?

Caixinha strugglers

Cardoso isn’t the only summer signing struggling to get game time at Rangers right now with the likes of Dalcio and Eduardo Herrera also failing to make the grade at Ibrox so far.

While some of Pedro Caixinha’s signings have undoubtedly been a success so far, chiefly Alfredo Morelos and Daniel Candeias, there’s no point in having some of the deadwood brought to Glasgow hanging around beyond January. Their value is only going to decrease with less playing time and interim manager Graeme Murty appears to have a settled core to his team selections.

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Rangers need to maximise their resources and sorting out moves away for some should be seen as a big priority before they invest in any more players.