According to The Shields Gazette, Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has told Jack Colback that the midfielder will be left out of the club’s 25-man Premier League squad this season.

Colback was not involved in Newcastle’s final pre-season friendly against Hellas Verona at the weekend, and it appears that the former Sunderland midfielder is surplus to requirements at St James’ Park.

That said, the 27-year-old still has two years left to run on his Newcastle contract, whilst it is thought that his wages could prove a stumbling block to a number of interested Championship clubs.

Former England Under-2o international Colback made 21 Championship appearances for Newcastle last season after joining from bitter rivals Sunderland, although it seems that he struggled to impress the club’s supporters.

Indeed, news that Colback, who has plenty of Premier League experience, could be left out of Benitez’s 25-man squad has been welcomed by the Magpies fans, with the majority doubting his ability to contribute in the new campaign.

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has an unwritten agreement to join Real Madrid, according to Diario Gol.

What’s the word?

The Spanish international has been linked with a move to Madrid ever since his attempt to join the club collapsed in 2015.

The 26-year-old was set to return to his homeland, but some of the paperwork was not filed before the deadline, causing the deal to crumble.

De Gea then made a dramatic U-turn by signing a new contract at Old Trafford and he has seemingly not looked back since.

However, according to Diario Gol, the shot-stopper still has his heart set on a move to the European giants, but it will not be this summer.

Manager Zinedine Zidane is keen to stick by Keylor Navas this season, but De Gea is expected to replace the Costa Rican next year.

Can United keep him?

The Red Devils certainly have the financial clout and ambition to keep hold of arguably one of the best keepers in the world.

However, De Gea has strong connections to Madrid as it is his birthplace, and for any Spanish footballer, playing for Real or Barcelona is the pinnacle.

After his failed attempt to move to the Bernabeu two years ago, the shot-stopper has remained loyal to United.

During his six-year spell at the club, he has won four trophies, including the Premier League title and the Europa League.

De Gea may harbour ambitions of winning the Champions League with United, but if Madrid come calling next summer, it would be hard to say no.

West Ham United picked up their first points and win of the Premier League season at the fourth attempt as they beat newly-promoted Huddersfield Town 2-0 at the London Stadium on Monday night, but Irons fans are still divided on one of their defenders.

Jose Fonte has struggled to make a real impact following his January transfer window move from Southampton, but he was recalled to the starting line-up from the team that was beaten 3-0 at Newcastle United before the international break as Slaven Bilic reverted to a 4-3-3 formation.

The Portugal international probably put in one of his best performances in a Hammers shirt and he was certainly committed and showed great energy throughout as the east London outfit picked up a much-needed victory.

West Ham supporters were quick to have their say on the performance of the 33-year-old via social, and they were divided with their opinions as some believed that he was “outstanding”, while others said he was just “running around like a headless chicken”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Ahead of a Premier League clash with Crystal Palace this weekend, Manchester United face somewhat of an injury crisis in central midfield. Paul Pogba appears to be a long-term absentee, while Marouane Fellaini is out until after the international break and Michael Carrick has been sidelined too.

But this current Red Devils side boasts rather incredible strength in depth, something that was particularly evident last night as a vastly changed side produced a convincing 4-1 win over CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.

And no player better epitomised the number of proven and experienced options Jose Mourinho has at his disposal this season than Ander Herrera, last season’s Player of the Year who has been forced to settle for a bit-part role since Nemanja Matic’s arrival during the summer.

With the aforementioned trio all sidelined, it was the Spain international who stepped up to partner Matic in midfield in the Russian capital, providing a reminder that he’s more than capable of filling Pogba’s void.

Indeed, the two-cap midfielder had the most touches of the ball of any player on the pitch, a whopping 118, while completing 93% of his passes – including a delicious through ball that lead to Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s goal in the second half.

Herrera also weighed in with two tackles, three interceptions, two dribbles and one created chance, highlighting his exceptional all-round game.

Although that bodes well for United’s clash with Palace this weekend, the performance also proved exactly why Jose Mourinho’s side can go far in this season’s Champions League while balancing out their domestic commitments – the incredible depth and competition for places within the squad.

Sheffield United continued their storming start to the English Championship season with a thumping 4-2 win over city rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Sunday.

The Blades were in sparkling form to rush to a 2-0 lead early in the first half thanks to John Fleck and Leon Clarke before Gary Hooper and Lucas Joao pegged the visitors back.

However, Chris Wilder’s team were not to be denied, scoring two goals through Mark Duffy and Clarke again to pick up their first win in the fixture since way back in 2009.

It was a devastating result for the home supporters, who were hoping that Carlos Carvalhal could inspire their team to victory.

Patience is now wearing thin with supporters who are questioning whether the Portuguese is the man to take them forward as they dream of promotion to the English Premier League. Some are even calling for him to go.

Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the Owls manager…

With Steve Bruce at the helm and after keeping all of their key players at the club during the summer transfer window and adding the likes of John Terry, Glenn Whelan and Robert Snodgrass (later in August) to their squad, it was no surprise that Aston Villa were installed as one of the pre-season automatic promotion favourites this term.

Villa would have hoped to make an instant return to the Premier League last season but they never recovered from the poor start that saw Roberto Di Matteo sacked and replaced by Bruce in October, eventually finishing in 13th position in the Championship standings.

Ending the campaign 18 points from the play-off positions, the former Hull City boss knew that he had a lot of work to do during the off-season to ensure that his team got off to a positive start.

However the Midlands outfit won just one of their opening seven league fixtures of the current season, which was a disappointing return for everyone connected with the club and would have seen some of the supporters start to question their manager.

It meant that they were in 18th position going into their match against Barnsley at Oakwell on September 16 and with the pressure beginning to build on Bruce, he opted to select a more traditional 4-4-2 formation.

The decision paid off as Villa ran out comfortable 3-0 winners, and the return of Jonathan Kodjia from injury and Albert Adomah to the starting line-up have coincided with the side going on to win their next three Championship fixtures too, against Burton Albion, Nottingham Forest and Bolton Wanderers last time out.

While the Midlands outfit have moved up to seventh in the table as a result, the fact that three of those four successive victories have come against teams currently in the bottom seven suggest that no one can afford to get carried away just yet.

When you look at Villa’s upcoming fixtures – and in particular the next five – you get the feeling that we are really about to see whether they are genuine automatic promotion contenders or not.

First up is a trip to Molineux to face in-form Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, and it is a huge test considering they have lost just once in their last seven Championship matches in a run that has included four wins.

Like Villa also did last month, Wolves ran out 4-0 winners against Burton Albion at the Pirelli Stadium last time out and with only Hull City, Bristol City and Ipswich Town scoring more than the 19 goals they have plundered in 11 league games this term, they also look to be a huge threat to Steve Bruce’s side’s defence.

The fact that the visitors will be missing a key member of their backline in left-back Neil Taylor through suspension is undoubtedly a huge blow, especially with the Villa backline set to come up against the likes of Diogo Jota, Helder Costa, Ruben Neves and Leo Bonatini for the hosts.

It is the sort of fixture that Bruce would probably be happy with a point from on paper, but it is also an opportunity to send out a message to the rest of the Championship that Villa mean business this season after such a disappointing campaign last term.

Following the trip to Molineux the Midlands outfit play host to 10th-placed Fulham, who are yet to hit the heights that saw them reach the play-offs last season despite winning four of their last seven league games.

While that match will be tough, the following week Villa face arch-rivals Birmingham City at St Andrew’s in what is sure to be a feisty and difficult encounter.

Villa may not see the 22nd-placed Blues as promotion rivals right now, but you never know what is going to happen in a derby match and it is certainly another test of Bruce’s side’s credentials with Steve Cotterill only recently taking the reins at their local neighbours.

A trip to Preston North End, who currently have the strongest defence in the division and are situated in the top six, comes three days later, before they host Sheffield Wednesday – who like Fulham were beaten in the play-off semi-finals last season – at Villa Park on November 4.

This next run of five fixtures may not be season-defining, but it will certainly let us see if Villa truly are the real deal.

To be automatic promotion contenders you need to be picking up positive results against the likes of Wolves, Fulham and Preston rather than just Burton and Bolton, with all due respect, when you have squad like Villa do.

Anthony Martial was Manchester United’s hero at the weekend as the Frenchman came off the bench to score the winner against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

The former AS Monaco attacker would have been disappointed not to have started the clash at Old Trafford, but he came up with a massive goal in the 81st minute as United returned to winning ways in the Premier League.

Martial has now scored four Premier League goals off the bench this season, and has drawn praise for his change in attitude in the early weeks of the 2017-18 campaign.

It would not be a surprise to see the 21-year-old back on the bench for United’s Champions League clash with Benfica on Tuesday night, but he is making it difficult for Jose Mourinho to leave him out of the XI.

On Monday morning, United’s official Twitter account posted a GIF of Martial, who is valued at £31.5m by transfermarkt.co.uk, celebrating after the clash with Tottenham at the weekend.

As expected, the club’s supporters were out in force to hail the Frenchman, who certainly has the talent to go right to the very top.

Manchester United will look to potentially close the gap on Premier League leaders Manchester City when they travel to Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.

United currently sit five points off City in the table, although that gap would become eight if the Citizens beat Arsenal in the 2:15 kickoff at the Etihad Stadium.

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United have not exactly enjoyed their recent meetings to Stamford Bridge, and suffered a 4-0 defeat when they visited the Blues in the Premier League last season.

The Red Devils will enter the match off the back of wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Benfica, however, after recovering from their first Premier League defeat of the season away to Huddersfield Town last month.

On Sunday, United’s official Twitter account asked for the club’s supporters to reveal their score predictions for the clash in the capital.

It would be fair to say that the United fans are extremely confident of upsetting this Chelsea team, with many backing their side to collect what would be a big three points.

A selection of the best responses can be found below:

Everton are pondering a January move for Augsburg right-back Daniel Opare, according to The Sun.

What’s the story?

Even though the Toffees do not have a permanent manager at Goodison Park, the club are still planning for the January transfer window.

The Sun claims that Augsburg are prepared to sell Opare before the end of the season due to the defender’s contract expiring next summer.

The 27-year-old has made it clear to the club that he does not intend to pen a fresh deal, so the German outfit would rather cut ties early in order to get a fee than allow the player to leave for nothing.

The report claims that Opare could cost just £2.5m, but numerous clubs including Watford, Stoke City and Sevilla have reportedly shown an interest.

Should Everton go for it?

It is no secret that the Merseyside outfit have had a horror show in defence this season.

In the Premier League, the team have conceded 28 goals and kept just one clean sheet.

Summer signing Michael Keane has failed to impress, while Ashley Williams has also come under criticism.

Right-back Seamus Coleman remains on the sidelines as he recovers from a broken leg, so with that in mind, Opare could be a good option.

The full-back can play on either side and if he is able to be bought for a cheap price, then it is worth Everton making a move.

According to reports in The Mirror, the odds have been slashed on former Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal being handed the vacant Everton job.

What’s the word, then?

Well, while The Mirror says that Watford boss Marco Silva is still the favourite to finally succeed Ronald Koeman following the Dutchman’s sacking last month, the odds on van Gaal joining the Merseyside outfit have dropped significantly in recent days.

The Mirror says that Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri is eager to appoint someone who has experience with a big club and van Gaal certainly comes under that category having taken charge of United, Barcelona and Bayern Munich during his managerial career.

According to online bookmakers SkyBet, the 66-year-old is as low as 7/2 to get the job and he has jumped ahead of the likes of Sean Dyche and Sam Allardyce in the running.

Why would Everton want van Gaal?

While he perhaps wasn’t the most successful manager the Red Devils have ever had considering his win percentage was 52.43% from 103 matches in charge, the Dutchman is hugely experienced in managing top level clubs teams as well as the Netherlands national side.

There is no doubt that he would command respect from the currently underperforming Toffees players, and he would be able to get them more organised defensively.

Would van Gaal want the Everton job?

He may well want it, yes.

The 66-year-old is likely to feel that he has unfinished business in the Premier League and the fact that the Merseyside outfit look to have a big budget and lots of money behind them could tempt the Dutchman that it would be an exciting project.

Would he be a good appointment?

He certainly has the personality to be popular among the Goodison Park faithful considering some of his antics during his time at the helm of Manchester United, but the main thing would be that he improves performances on the pitch.

Van Gaal could certainly help them to attract the big-name players that they start to want to bring to Merseyside, and he could be a better option than someone like Marco Silva in that respect.