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Last month, Arsenal were among a host of Premier League clubs rumoured to be weighing up a bid for Brighton defender Lewis Dunk.

Following numerous injuries to the clubs defenders, the 19 year old defender has become an integral part of a Brighton side that has thus far excelled itself in the Champonship this season. An uncompromising centre back that looks set to have a big future in the game.

Now, after 13 impressive appearances this season, both Spurs and Man City are said to have joined the race for the youngster, with at least £5 million expected to be necessary to persuade Brighton to part with the talented youngster.

Money talks, and if a big club or big clubs were to come in for Dunk in January Brighton would almost certainly be powerless to keep the player, as manager Gus Poyet has already accepted, ‘He is going to play in the Premier League that is something I cannot control.’

It should asked however, what is in the best interests of Dunk? Many a footballer has been touted as the next big thing, got that ‘dream’ move to a top club, only to then see their career stall as first team opportunities are limited.

The importance of choosing the right club is paramount to whether a player will make it. Take two of Dunk’s supposed suitors, Arsenal and Manchester City. If Dunk were to move to North London, one thing that could be guaranteed is that he would be given a chance by Arsene Wenger, at a club so deeply grounded in youth development. Indeed, if he were to move from Brighton, his career may not stall.

Yet, let’s say Dunk gets his move in January not to Arsenal but instead to Manchester City, surely the chance of him getting his chance would be exceptionally slim? The sad fact is, the highest bidder for a youngster is where they would likely end up, whether that is the best place for him or not.

For many, the best possible scenario for the youngster will be at least another season at Brighton, first team football at any level is vital and the Championship is an exceptionally competitive and talented league. If Dunk is allowed to finish his footballing education at Brighton, he will be far better placed to fashion a long and successful career and avoid being another talented youngster thrown on the scrapheap.

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Comment below and follow me on Twitter @CamHumphries for cutting edge debate regarding all things sport. 

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Doubles from Miroslav Klose and Thomas Mueller helped Germany to a 4-0 Euro2012 qualifying victory against Kazakhstan on Saturday.The result in Kaiserslautern means Germany’s perfect record remains intact with five wins from five matches, establishing an eight-point buffer on second-placed Austria.

Klose’s brace saw his incredible national team record move to 61 goals from 107 appearances, meaning he just needs eight more goals to top Gerd Mueller’s national-team record.

While he has struggled at club level for Bayern Munich, Klose opened his account on Saturday after just three minutes when he met Bastian Schweinsteiger’s free-kick at the far post.

Another set-piece proved Kazakhstan’s undoing 22 minutes later.

Midfielder Mesut Oezil whipped the cross in and this time it was Mueller – winner of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Golden Boot – who found the back of the net.

Mueller was at it again just before half-time as Kazakhstan’s suspect defence was breached once more, with the Bayern Munich striker controlling a long ball from Oezil on his chest before slotting home Germany’s third goal.

The match petered out in the second and Germany lost some of their shape, with Kazakhstan coming close to scoring a consolation goal when Zhambyl Kukeyev’s effort was denied by the woodwork after 71 minutes.

But just before full-time, Klose added polish to the scoreline with his second to seal a 4-0 win in a match in which Joachim Loew’s side were never really tested.

Real Madrid defender Ricardo Carvalho has been ruled out of Portugal’s Euro 2012 qualifier with Norway on Saturday.Carvalho, 33, picked up a back injury during training earlier this week which leaves coach Paulo Bento without his best centre back for the game at the Estadio da Luz, but he said the team would be able to cover the loss.

“One option less but it does not alter anything regarding our way of playing and the game plan we have,” Bento said.

“We will not be making any types of alterations because of the fact that Ricardo cannot play.”

Even without Carvahlo, there is still plenty of class in the Portugal team, with Manchester United winger Nani and Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad.

Portugal drew their Group H opener with Cyprus and lost away against Norway but they can move top of the group with a win over the unbeaten Norwegians at home on Saturday.

“They have a team which have good defence and consistency, who still have not lost at this stage in the group, and for this reason occupy first place,” Bento said.

“But tomorrow we have an opportunity to win at home, to reach first place and make them lose for the first time at this stage of the qualifiers.”

Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit has stated that Arsene Wenger will turn the club’s fortunes around, and that if he was to be sacked it would be a big mistake.

The Gunners have had an inconsistent 2011-12, and are at risk of missing out on the top four due to the competitive nature of the Premier League this season.

Despite questions being raised over Wenger’s continued stewardship in the media, Petit has urged the club to trust in their current manager.

“I think that will be probably the biggest mistake at Arsenal,” the 41-year-old is reported to have said in The Daily Mail.

“If Arsene has to leave the club they need to find a big manager to settle down and that would be very difficult for the next manager.

“I think Arsene’s still the solution. They need to change a few things in the transfer market, change a few things in their politics to bring a competitive team.

“I think it’s mentally that the team is very weak. I think Arsene Wenger and Arsenal did build many successes. Arsenal won many trophies.

“They had experienced players with big characters and all of a sudden Arsene Wenger decided to change completely the team, decided to put confidence in young players and we have to admire that because I think with the new regulations I think financially Arsenal’s politics in the transfer market have been right so far in terms of not making big speculation on players.

“I was a big admirer of Arsenal’s politics for five years. They were probably the best team after Barcelona in terms of football. But unfortunately for them last season was the final cut, especially the Carling Cup final against Birmingham.

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“They need more experienced players, more big characters in the team because the quality is there and they need some players to be the mentors in the team,” the Frenchman concluded.

By Gareth McKnight

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Few shocks in the FA Cup yesterday with non-league Crawley the only club punching above their weight. Notts County will be hoping to do a job on Manchester City today, as the once highly ambitious County faces a club who actually had the resources to make that a reality. It will be tough for Paul Ince’s men, although as they say anything is possible in the FA Cup.

In the papers this morning there have been a mixed bag of stories that include Tottenham denying ground claims, player plus deal could secure Torres, while Gareth Southgate to take key role in FA coaching set-up.

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Spurs deny ground claims – Sky Sports

Player plus cash could seal Torres deal – Guardian

BBC backs Groves after sexist comments – Daily Telegraph

Kenny Dalglish: I’d have gone potty over a bad call – Daily Mail

David Silva has no regrets about choosing the Blue half of Manchester – Mirror

Southgate to take key FA coaching role in shake-up – Independent

Redknapp to make last-ditch Diarra loan raid – Mirror

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Wenger backs Wilshere for England role – Guardian

Ba – I will save Hammers – Sky Sports

Vieira eager to extend Man City career – Guardian

Some things in life are just impossible to predict- the English weather, how many minutes away from relegation Wigan will be at the end of the season, what accent will the latest star of Coronation Street be using.

Arguably the most difficult thing to predict is the form of a certain Luis Carlos Almeida Da Cunha – or “Nani”, as he likes to be known.

Without a doubt one of the most exciting yet frustrating players I’ve ever seen in my 20 odd years of following United.

One minute Nani can be going past defenders with aplomb and sending an unstoppable shot into the back of the net, the next he’s turning himself inside out rolling around on the floor or knocking the overprice meat and potato pie out of someone’s hand in the third tier.

There’s a strong case to be made that Nani is actually United’s most naturally gifted player, yet there’s also one to be argued that with everyone fully he’s not even worthy of a starting place. It’s all a bit bizarre how such a gifted individual is still not guaranteed a starting place and even has some fans unconvinced of his worth to the Red cause.

I’m in the school of thought that Nani should start every game. even with Antonio Valencia fully fit, the arrival of Ashley Young and the temperament and energy of Ji Sung Park , I firmly believe you need the Portuguese winger in the side.

I understand that Nani can be annoyingly greedy, that he often shoots over 350 times a game without troubling the keeper, that at times he seems to be putting in a bid for an Academy Award -or at least a Bafta, with his theatrics, but there’s simply no denying that despite his faults, he is a match winner.

Park may graft like no one else, Valencia may be the best crosser and Young may have a proven Premier League pedigree but none of them are capable of getting hold of the ball and making something out of nothing quite as well as Nani is.

The question is who do you drop at Nani’s expense? Has Sir Alex spent £16 million on Young just for him to keep Michael Owen warm on the bench? I doubt it. Can United really afford to leave out a player like Valencia who seems to bring out the best in Wayne Rooney and has the pace and strength of a Grand National winner? Probably not. Then there’s the big game player that is Mr Park. Dropping Park is arguably the most likely option -unless its a big game, but that still leaves no room for Nani.

With Young and Valencia on the wings Nani would seemingly be relegated to a substitute role, unless of course Ferguson moved him to a more central role.

“But wait! Nani’s always been winger!” I hear you cry, “how can we move him into the middle?”

Well thanks for asking, allow me to elucidate my hypothesis. Nani has shown time and time again, thatr despite his ability for using both feet, when it comes to his left he much prefers shooting with it than he does crossing -although I now you could argue he prefers shooting to crossing with any foot but I’m sure you get my point.

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If Nani was deployed in the centre of the park, he could still run at defenders, he could still latch onto through balls like he did last season, from a similar position- Bolton away, City at home, yet he’d also have the wide man as an option to lay the ball off to.

The other argument would be that in Wayne Rooney, United already have an attacking player that can occupy the role just behind the striker. I’m not disputing this what I’m suggesting is that United employ a formation that can accomodate both.

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By having say Chicharito up top then Rooney and Nani behind him with Darren Fletcher, Park, Anderson, or Michael Carrick, in front of the back four, then Young and Valencia on the wings United may well be able to have their cake and eat it.

I know that may seem a little gung-ho having five attacking players in the same line-up, not to mention the fact you’d also miss out on playing a certain Mr Ryan Giggs but let me ask you this, is the suggested line up all that different from what we saw at times last season? Carrick and Giggs with Rooney off Chicharito and Park and Valencia out wide was used on several occasions. Admittedly Park does a lot more grafting than Nani ever would but then again Nani’s more likely to put teams on the backfoot. giving United a ‘attack is the best form of defence’ type edge.

This is all conjecture of course, the whole experiment could be a disaster of epic proportion leading all sorts of catasrophies and the imminent disbanding of the club. Or would it? Why not give it a try against City in the charity, sorry Community Shield? If it doesnt work its not the end of the world and if it does, then maybe we can unleash it again against West Brom and really take the season by storm.

Have I gone in off the deep end or is there a small island of sense in my ocean of dribble? Feel free to comment suggest and abuse below.

Read more of Justin’s articles at Red Flag Flying High

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Daniel Levy is fast becoming the marmite-man of English football. Some fans, most notably those of London rivals Chelsea, are far from happy with the way the Tottenham chairman is standing stubbornly in the way of Luka Modric’s ‘dream move’ to Andre Villas-Boas’ side, seeing his protestations as no more than petty time-wasting. Others look at his actions as standing-up rather than standing in the way. Too many times players have held clubs to ransom over transfers, and this is surely a case of it going too far.

It is hard to look at the situation at White Hart Lane and not feel utter despair for the fans as well as the management. Harry Redknapp, love him or hate him, is without a doubt one of the most open and to-the-point managers in the game. And this openness has given the Modric issue a refreshingly different angle to outsiders than with normal transfers. While moves are often left to speculation and wild rumour, Redknapp has come out and told reporters exactly what was offered, exactly what the player has told him and exactly why they have so far rejected all advances for the Croatian.

One of the main reasons for this, apart from the Tottenham manager’s no BS approach, is the fact that his chairman is unequivocal in his stance that Modric will remain at the club. This kind of support has been lacking elsewhere this summer, most notably at Arsenal where Arsene Wenger looks to be fighting a losing battle to hold onto his players.

But one thing that separates the two North London clubs in their transfer battles is the issue of the contract. Daniel Levy’s position is strengthened by the fact that Modric has a whopping 5 years to run on his 6 year contract. Compare this to the Arsenal situation, where Samir Nasri has only a year left to run, and it is clear to see why Levy is so hardened in his resistance.

The supposed ‘gentlemen’s agreement’ that Luka Modric has spoken of in a recent interview with a Croatian newspaper is the one thing that he is able to cling to in this episode, but even that looks to have been worded well enough by Levy that there is little wiggle room for Modric. If it did in fact take place, the Croatian has been quoted as saying that Levy said he would consider an offer that suited, “both parties.” It seems the recent bids have only satisfied the Modric camp, and so the Spurs chairman is well within his rights to reject the offers, as they simply don’t suit Tottenham.

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And some of this hard-line stance looks to be rubbing off on North London rivals Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has recently come out stating that he is 100% determined to keep hold of both Nasri and Cesc Fabregas despite the vocal interest from Manchester and Barcelona.

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The very fact that forcing players to adhere to the contracts that they signed is becoming the exception to the rule shows what a worrying state the game is in. In the real world there wouldn’t be any quibbling; you agree to the contract and you see it out. For some reason football has taken on an inflated sense of self-importance that has allowed it to separate itself from reality. The game needs more people like Levy to stand-up and make it known that they will no longer put up with this arrogance.

Ready to join the revolution? Or is this all coming across just a little too self-righteous? Let me know on Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/_tomclose I’ll be sharpening my guillotine.

On the verge of breaking the elite that is the ‘Top Four’, established as one of the Premier League’s top six sides and possessing a bright young side full of potential, it is hard to believe that only twelve months ago these were the attributes of an Aston Villa side under Martin O’Neill’s management. However, after a season that only secured their Premier League survival this weekend, with a 2-1 victory over Arsenal, it is safe to say it has been a long season for the Villa faithful. Can Aston Villa expect more of the same next season or will we see the prospect of European Football return to Villa Park?

Gerard Houiller, in this writer’s humble opinion, isn’t the man to do this. The Frenchman replaced O’Neill, a man who is famous for his spiky demeanour and impulsive behaviour, but it was this personality that pushed Aston Villa closer than they had ever done to repeating the success of the 80’s. The former Liverpool manager is quite the opposite to his predecessor, reserved, ‘set in his ways’ and, lets face it, a PR nightmare (seems to display more devotion to Liverpool fans than those of Aston Villa). Aston Villa’s owner should look to replace the 63 year old with a young visionary of a manager, who could reshape the club from the bottom up.

As key as a manager is to success, the players of course must carry the burden as well. One player doesn’t make the team, but perhaps two do? In the space of a year or so, Villa lost captain Gareth Barry and inspirational winger James Milner. Despite obtaining Stephen Ireland in the Milner deal (Ireland has proved nothing but a transfer flop), the current Villa side hasn’t replaced and moved forward their young and bright team that promised so much. Such talents as Marc Albrighton, Nathan Delfouneso and Barry Bannan all show glimpses of ability but as of yet cannot be relied on, which will be a major problem for the Villains next season if Ashley Young does ‘jump ship’ to Old Trafford or Anfield.

Investment has proved to be the main factor in propelling clubs to success (Manchester City this season, for example) and as of yet it’s hard to gauge whether Randy Lerner is going to be that man to inject some cash into the club. £24 million on Darren Bent and £6 million on Jean Makoun is a good starting point, but should Stewart Downing and Ashley Young leave for rather substantial fees it is paramount that the money is bankrolled back into the team. If not, it could be argued that the couple of big money signings Lerner has done could just be him preventing his assets losing substantial value by getting relegated.

When all is said and done, one thing has to be remembered, better teams than this current crop of players have gone through the Premier League’s trapdoor.

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Robbie Keane’s hunt for a new club reminds me of an advert where an owner is looking to offload their pet somewhere: ‘Wanted – a loving home for a striker who we no longer have room for.’ It’s all been a little sad really, because he was once a much wanted man. So where has it all gone wrong for the Tottenham forward?

I think the easiest explanation is Liverpool. Keane was offered the chance to join one of the biggest clubs in the world and he just couldn’t resist. In all fairness to him, not many strikers would have turned them down. But it never really happened for him, well it never did at all. His all too brief spell at Anfield not only lowered his stock, but seemingly lowered his confidence as well.

On return to Spurs, we all expected him to pick up from where he left off. The goal-scoring hero, the captain of the side and the driving force. But times change and so did Spurs. He now finds himself down the pecking order, out of favour and unwanted.

But surely he couldn’t have just lost all that ability? We can’t forget just how good he has been for most of his former clubs. Ask any Wolves fan who they want to see the club sign this season to help them stay in the Premier League and you’ll only get one answer.

So maybe that is the problem. At 30 and not scoring, Keane is no longer an attractive option to some of the top clubs but the teams like Wolves and Stoke, who have also expressed an interest, do recognise that he is still a good striker. The problem they face, just as Birmingham found out last week, is Keane still considers himself one of the best thus prices himself out of a move to the lower tier of the Premier League’s cliental.

It’s time he woke up and realised that if he is to continue asking for excessive wages, he will carry on warming the White Hart Lane bench and potentially could go stale. It would be a shame as Keane has the ability to be a big player once more, it would just be at a smaller club.

He would be a legend if he scored the goals at Wolves that kept them in the league. What about Aston Villa? They’re on a roll, his goals could propel them further up the league and into Europa League places contention.

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Keane has options but only if he recognises that he is no longer a player worthy of the wages he asks for. Time to find a new home, Robbie.

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Last week it was mooted that there was some big news set to come out of Arsenal, and it has materialised in the form of a takeover bid from Stan Kroenke. Whilst given the history of Hicks and Gillette at Liverpool, American owners are immediately mentally repelled, this particular move can only really be a positive change at the club.

The majority of Arsenal fans only tend to care about two things; the first being the safeguarding of the future of the club, and secondly the connection between the board and the playing staff. Arsene Wenger has said repeatedly that he would resign if Alisher Usmanov took control, and consequently the positive of this move is that the Russian will have no chance of gaining the power he craves. Kroenke has a good track record in sport, and will provide the sustainability that the previous board desired, whilst keeping both the backroom and playing staff fundamentally intact. Kroenke is a by-word for stability.

The link between the playing side of things and the board is where Arsenal have been lacking over the past few years. Wenger has single-handedly been charged with building the bridge between the two, and whilst Ivan Gazidis has helped affairs somewhat, there has always been a need for greater clarity and direction from the top. In the last six years or so, has anyone really known how much money is in the bank? Does anyone really know what the ambitions of the manager are in comparison to the board? These are the crucial questions, and they should be resolved by Kroenke’s arrival.

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No-one is asking for Arsenal to change the habit of a life-time and air their every thought in the public arena. The problem has been, however, that Arsenal fans, a majority anyway, feel a little peeved and rightly so. There is absolutely no information about transfer budgets or anything else related to the team emanating from the board when they pay some of the highest rates for season tickets in the country. There is an issue of respect – if the board want people to buy season tickets, it is only right that they inform them of the direction into which the club is headed. Kroenke shall be under pressure to do that, and if he follows his previous habits, he will.

This will place the pressure on Wenger firmly back onto the pitch and outside of the boardroom. No longer will the manager feel obliged to utilise his economical training, and he will be given clear information about what he has to spend, whilst players shall not be forced upon him in the manner of Roman Abramovich at Chelsea. The pressure to win trophies will be higher than ever, but this move should facilitate that happening with more regularity in the future. Kroenke should be welcomed with open arms for he intends not to pile Arsenal with debt, but to merely attempt to bring back success whilst keeping to a sustainable business model, something which should be lauded.

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Read more of Tony’s articles at Gunnersphere.com

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Listen to the first episode of our brand new podcast – The Football FanCast. Featuring Razor Ruddock, Gary O’Reilly and Toploader’s Dan Hipgrave makes a special appearance!