He may only be four games into his Liverpool career, but German goalkeeper Loris Karius has struggled, yet there is still no need to panic. Calls for the usually unpopular Simon Mignolet to replace him for the Manchester United game were not heeded, but the simple fact that they were there shows the current lack of confidence in the stands.

His opposite number on Monday, arguably the best goalkeeper in the world, David de Gea, had a similarly difficult time at the start of his career in England, but was given the chance to improve. Karius must have the same opportunity.

It is not unusual for foreign players, particularly goalkeepers, to find a culture shock when entering the Premier League. Claudio Bravo has discovered that this year, whilst there have been numerous examples before. The sheer physicality can be difficult to adjust to and sometimes take a number of months.

Karius only arrived from Mainz in the summer for a modest fee of less than £5m. The price-tag is not the issue, but moving to a new country and a much bigger team has been. He was injured for a period and immediately came into the team when fit, showing Jurgen Klopp’s confidence in him. He clearly sees something more in him than he does Mignolet.

Of course, there is no guarantee that Karius will get to the same level as De Gea – in fact, it is unlikely that he will, given how high that level is – but the point is that there is ample time to improve. Mignolet has bulked up considerably over his Liverpool career and had started to come for crosses much more. A similar improvement in Karius is necessary, but it cannot be done overnight.

Being patient is not always easy in football, yet there are numerous examples, chiefly De Gea, but also the likes of Hugo Lloris, that have come good over time. An adjustment period is needed for the young German… he needs more time than he has been given.

Getting on his back will only add to the issue. Confidence can only be gained over time.

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Last night was a testing one for England fans, watching a side assembled of highly-paid Premier League stars being outfought and, for large periods, outplayed by a Slovenia team 55 places below them in the FIFA rankings.

During a scoreless draw at Stadion Stozice, England claimed 67% possession but could do little with it, managing just four shots on target throughout the 90 minutes, none of which truly tested the extremities of the ability of goalkeeper Jan Oblak – a Champions League quality shot-stopper who plies his domestic trade as Atletico Madrid’s No.1.

It was a steep learning curve for interim manager Gareth Southgate, who attempted to explain the underwhelming performance and result by declaring he’d inherited a “mess” – alluding to the Three Lions’ debasing exit from EURO 2016 and Sam Allardyce’s abrupt departure following The Telegraph’s investigation into corruption in football.

Nonetheless, the England national team are obliged to learn from their errors and so are we at FootballFanCast. With that in mind, here are FIVE lessons we took from last night’s dissonant draw.

Southgate isn’t ready yet

Southgate’s looked the part on the training ground and in press conferences, answering difficult questions – not least including about the diminishing role of captain Wayne Rooney – in the calm and measured manner many have come to expect of the former Middlesbrough boss.

But England’s performances on the pitch haven’t matched Southgate’s in front of the camera. If a 2-0 win over Malta could be justified by three more points in World Cup Qualifying Group F, a draw with Slovenia didn’t produce any real silver lining. Throughout both sets of 90 minutes, the Three Lions lacked creativity, decisiveness and drive. The Malta match felt like a training exercise and for large periods, the Slovenia draw descended into disorganised chaos.

Southgate may come across in the right manner, but his selections and tactical approaches haven’t paid off.

England are still hurting from that Iceland defeat

There was a 10-minute spell after Slovenia hit the post when the England side that crashed out of the European Championship at the hands of Iceland suddenly re-emerged. A wayward Eric Dier backpass, finding its way to Slovenia’s danger man, Josip Ilicic, triggered nerves and the Three Lions quickly became the Bambi-legged rabble who couldn’t control a ball – let alone pass it to each other – as they suffered the most humiliating defeat in our national team’s history.

Whilst some will use this as ammunition in the never-ending debate over how footballers are produced in this country, and whether they’re trained to the right skill set, it’s abundantly clear this group of players are thwart by the entrenched fear of history repeating itself. Too young and talented to cast aside, England may have to accept frosty skirmishes with European minnows until this current generation reaches its natural expiration.

Wayne Rooney isn’t the problem

There was always a populist element to Southgate’s decision to drop Rooney, even if he claimed it was purely a tactical call to sure up England’s engine room away from home. His long-range passing may bemuse some but the Three Lions lacked that direction to their attack against Slovenia; Jordan Henderson and Eric Dier just couldn’t control the game in the same way and in fact contributed heavily to England suffocating their own momentum with basic errors.

The Three Lions skipper failed to change the game after coming on from the bench for Dele Alli. But last night’s draw surely eradicated the myth that an out-of-form Rooney is the ultimate cause of England’s inability to inspire going forward.

Alli’s still inconsistent at this level

With Rooney cast aside, Alli was given the chance to prove he could be England’s star man last night – or at the very least, an integral figure as their resident No.10. The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder appears destined to undertake that duty for the best part of the next decade, perhaps even longer, but his failure to provide a decisive pass against Slovenia – or put the ball into the net himself – suggested a young player who is still yet to find his consistency at international level.

It’s not only last night’s match where this has been evident. Alli showed sparks of brilliance at Euro 2016 but finished the tournament without a goal or an assist. Contrast that with a goal and arguably the performance of the match against Malta on Saturday.

Joe Hart should still be England’s No.1

Sent packing to Torino by Pep Guardiola after committing two incredibly costly errors at EURO 2016, Joe Hart is undoubtedly amid the most turbulent spell of his career, with his long-term future at Manchester City completely up in the air and a number of rivals – such as Fraser Forster and Jack Butland – for his England jersey emerging.

But Hart proved how invaluable an asset he is last night with a world-class save – one of three he made throughout the 90 minutes – to prevent Slovenia taking the lead. It wasn’t just his shot-stopping that stood out; the 29-year-old continuously orchestrated an aimless backline and was one of the first to rush over as Jesse Lingard looked certain to earn himself a red card for off-the-ball handbags.

Last night’s performance not only underlined Hart’s quality – something we’re all aware of already – but also his leadership role within the squad.

Twenty years ago today, Southampton were tricked into signing Ali Dia after he claimed to be the cousin of African superstar George Weah. Incredibly, he actually made a Premier League appearance.

Handed a one-month deal and coming off the bench to play against Leeds, Ali Dia lasted just 53 woeful minutes on the pitch before being hauled off and the con was later revealed, with the situation not being as it seemed.

Graeme Souness’ punt on an unknown prodigy looked to be a poor signing immediately, as Matt Le Tissier explained to The Daily Mail.

‘This guy turned up on the recommendation of George Weah. George Weah’s cousin and George had said this guy is pretty good, give him a try. Graeme Souness was manager at the time. He (Dia) came down on the Friday morning, trained with us and played in the five-a-side and to be honest, didn’t look very good.’

‘We thought that’s fair enough, trialists come and go and I just thought this was going to be the same thing. This guy, we’ll never see him again, he’s not particularly good. But he turned up for the game the next day. We were playing against Leeds.’

Picking up an injury after 33 minutes, Le Tissier was subbed off and one came Dia- and this is where the story starts to get really, really odd, as the striker soon vanished into the wind a few days later.

‘He ran around the pitch like Bambi on ice. It was very, very embarrassing to watch. Souness actually had to take him off again because he was actually that bad.’

‘I have no idea if he was George Weah’s cousin or not. I don’t think he was. He was just chuffed to get out on the pitch and play. I think it was a great wind up from someone who came up with this idea.’

‘He turned up the next morning for treatment on an injury, the physio was telling me. So Sunday morning he turns up, has a bit of treatment, he leaves and then we never see him again. He never came back. He just left. Nobody knows where he went. Never to be seen again.’

‘It was very odd. Not quite sure how a man of Graeme’s experience fell for that.’

Just two weeks after signing ‘George Weah’s cousin’, Dia was released from his deal and the full details of the situation then emerged; he’d never played for Senegal, he’d never been on the books of Paris Saint-Germain and he certainly wasn’t the cousin of the 1995 World Player of the Year.

Incredibly, Dia had tricked the same trick on a number of Football League sides with no success before Souness’ Southampton, desperate to fight to avoid relegation from the Premier League, fell for the greatest con football has ever seen.

Tottenham Hotspur have endured a difficult 2016 and, having seen their push for the Premier League title fall apart at the back-end of last season, the Lilywhites have struggled to establish themselves as contenders for the top-four once again and suffered an early exit from the Champions League.

Despite winning four of their last five in all competitions, Mauricio Pochettino’s side have endured a decline in form over the recent months and it’s led to frustrations for players, supporters and pundits.

Dele Alli has been one of those being drawn into criticism and the England ace will probably not be too content with his own performances but former Spurs midfielder Jermaine Jenas has suggested the issue is Tottenham and not the midfielder.

Quoted by The Evening Standard, Jenas suggested the burden of being crowned PFA Young Player of the Year last season may have increased the pressure upon Alli’s shoulders.

“I did struggle a little bit. My issue was more within myself. I needed to do more in terms of fitness and work rate because you’ve got so many players looking at you saying ‘I want to be you, I want to take your place’. It makes life very difficult.”

“But I think he’s [Alli] being harsh on himself. I think it’s more of a Spurs issue – I don’t think the team is playing as well. I think he’s doing alright and if he puts away half of the chances that he misses, which he’s been very self critical about, we could be talking about Dele Alli on eight or nine goals already.”

Sat three points above Manchester United but now just one point off Arsenal, Pochettino’s side will hope to secure a spot within the top-four heading into the New Year and will have to overcome Southampton to do so.

The first six weeks of 2017 will also be testing for the North London outfit, as they face Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool during that period.

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Newcastle United will look to get back to winning ways and boost their chances of returning to the top of the Championship table when they host Nottingham Forest at St James’ Park tonight.

Since losing 2-1 to Forest in the reverse league fixture at the City Ground at the start of December, Rafa Benitez’s men had bounced back with three straight wins to remain in pole position for an instant return to the Premier League.

However, they suffered a disappointing 1-0 home loss to Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day and consequentially relinquished their slot at the summit, with Brighton moving above them on Tuesday night following a comfortable 3-0 success against QPR.

Benitez has rotated his squad in recent matches over what has been a busy festive period and he could do the same against the Reds – especially after a defeat in their previous encounter.

Here is FootballFanCast’s Newcastle XI that will take all three points vs. Forest…

GK: Karl Darlow

The former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper has been Benitez’s first choice stopper for the majority of the season, and following his fine performance in the reverse fixture earlier this month – when he saved two first-half penalties – he will once again be between the sticks at St James’ Park.

Darlow was in brilliant form in the below-par defeat against Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, and made a number of impressive saves in the 1-0 loss.

RB: DeAndre Yedlin

The American full-back and the more experienced Vurnon Anita have largely rotated in the right-back spot this season, and with the games coming thick and fast over the festive period, it could be Yedlin who gets the nod here.

Anita started the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, and Benitez could look to shake up his back four for the visit of Forest, with Yedlin especially able to offer a real threat going forward with his pace on the overlap.

CB: Jamaal Lascelles

Like Darlow, Lascelles is a former Nottingham Forest player and he will be up for the home match against his old side – especially as he looks to make amends after what happened in the reverse fixture at the City Ground earlier this month.

Newcastle were reduced to nine men in the first half but despite Forest’s dominance, Benitez’s men looked like they would take a point back to St James’ Park before Magpies skipper Lascelles scored an unfortunate own goal in the last minute.

CB: Ciaran Clark

After conceding just one goal in their three matches following the reverse fixture against Forest earlier this month, Clark and his defence would have been confident of keeping another clean sheet against Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day.

However, Glenn Loovens netted when Newcastle failed to clear a corner and it would have been a goal that Benitez would have believed was preventable – Clark will want to help keep more things solid at the back against the Reds tonight.

LB: Paul Dummett

With few other options available to Benitez at left-back – aside from playing someone out of position – Dummett has been Newcastle’s first choice defender on the left side of the defence this season, and he has generally been impressive and proven that he is one of the best in the Championship.

The Wales international would have been frustrated at conceding the soft goal against Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day, and he will want to give his side the best possible chance of bouncing back with a win against Forest by helping the Magpies keep a clean sheet.

RM: Matt Ritchie

As many would have predicted following some fine performances for Bournemouth in the Premier League last season, Ritchie has quickly showed that he is one of the best and most effective attacking players in the Championship this term.

Like some of his Newcastle team-mates, the right-sided player struggled to fire going forward as the Magpies drew a blank against Sheffield Wednesday, and he will be keen to provide more of a contribution when Forest come to town – the Scot scored his side’s goal in the reverse fixture at the start of December.

CM: Isaac Hayden

Jonjo Shelvey has been Newcastle’s main man in central midfield this season but after he was ruled out for five matches, Hayden has had to step up in midfield alongside Jack Colback.

With Shelvey often dictating the play it is a hard act to follow for the former Arsenal man and he will want to be better in possession than he was in the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, in order to prove to Benitez that he deserves to be a regular starter for the Magpies.

CM: Jack Colback

Following the five-game ban that was given to Shelvey, it was Colback who replaced him in the central midfield in the defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, and Toon fans would have certainly been questioning whether they can be effective going forward in the absence of the impressive midfielder.

The former Sunderland man and Isaac Hayden will want to show that they are up to the task for the visit of Forest, and the duo must find those passes forward that can make the difference.

LM: Yoan Gouffran

The Frenchman has been one of Newcastle’s standout players so far this season and he is the club’s second top goalscorer in the Championship behind Dwight Gayle with four league goals to his name.

While he struggled to make an impact going forward against Sheffield Wednesday and was substituted off for Christian Atsu after 62 minutes, he deserves to be given the chance to make an impact when Nottingham Forest come to St James’ Park.

AM: Mohamed Diame

For much of the campaign, Diame had struggled to find himself named in Benitez’s starting XI in Newcastle’s Championship fixtures, but that certainly hasn’t been the case in recent weeks when he has been preferred to Ayoze Perez.

The Senegalese midfielder has scored two goals in his last three league appearances and his strength and power will continue to be a key attribute in this division. He will look to provide that support to Dwight Gayle once again on Friday.

ST: Dwight Gayle

Like Diame behind him, Gayle has been in fine goalscoring form in recent weeks – the striker has scored four goals in his last four Championship appearances and he was only denied adding to that because of the woodwork against Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day.

With 17 league strikes to his name, not only is the former Crystal Palace man the club’s top goalscorer, but he is also the top marksman in the division and someone in that kind of form and with finishing ability has to be in the starting XI every week.

Arsene Wenger has been busy once again and has secured the future of veteran midfield Santi Cazorla, The Daily Mirror reports.

What’s the word?

After recently signing Francis Coquelin, Olivier Giroud and Laurent Koscielny to new deals, before activating an extension clause in the contract of Per Mertesacker, Arsene Wenger has been busy with internal deals once again to secure a similar clause in Santi Cazorla’s deal.

The Spaniard, who remains sidelined through injury, is an influential member of the North London side and the Gunners have struggled to find a replacement in the side during his absence, with the likes of Granit Xhaka and Aaron Ramsey both lacking the necessary attributes.

Cazorla, 32, saw his contract due to expire at the end of the season- but an FA slip-up has revealed Arsenal have extended his deal.

Is this the right move?

Arsene Wenger has been accused of being too sentimental to his players, a criticism that reared it’s head again this week following the decision to hand Mertesacker another year at the club despite the German not playing since last April, but Cazorla is an understandable move.

Despite his age, Cazorla is a first-choice option for the Gunners when fit and Arsenal’s troubles without his services prove his importance to the side. However, his injury means he may not feature again before the end of the season.

Arsenal need to find a long-term replacement for the Spaniard but that is easier said than done, so securing Cazorla to a short-term deal whilst they find a longer solution is the right move.

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A car belonging to wantaway West Ham United star Dimitri Payet was recently vandalised outside his home, according to the Daily Mail.

The Frenchman sent shockwaves through the club and its fanbase when he informed manager Slaven Bilic that he no longer wants to play for the club.

The 29-year-old is believed to be trying to instigate a return to Marseille, who have had two bids – one thought to be around £20m – rejected by the Hammers, according to BBC Sport.

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Payet has been shunned from the first team and forced to train with the Under-23s, while the Daily Mail claims that the playmaker is not welcome at team meetings and dinners.

The latest development in the saga is an unsavoury one, as the British publication reports that a brick was thrown through a window and aimed at Payet’s car.

Such is the Frenchman’s desire to return to his homeland, the midfielder has turned down salary offers of around £500,000-a-week from Chinese Super League clubs, reports Sky Sports.

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Safe to say, Manchester City have given West Ham an absolute pasting this season.

From their two matches so far this term, a Premier League fixture in August and an EFL Cup clash earlier this month, Pep Guardiola’s side boast two wins with an aggregate scoreline of 8-1.

But in terms of recent form, it’s actually the Hammers who come out better; despite Payet-gate lingering over the club, Slaven Bilic’s boys have claimed four wins from their last seven Premier League outings, whereas City have failed to find victory in three of their last four.

That includes hefty defeats to Everton and Liverpool on Merseyside, forcing Guardiola to admit the Citizens’ planned title push could be over already, and a disappointing draw with Spurs despite going 2-0 up at the Etihad Stadium.

In short, the two-time Premier League champions are there for the taking when West Ham host them under the London Stadium floodlights tonight. We take a look at three ways the Irons can claim revenge for their humbling defeats at the hands of the Citizens.

Aerial bombardment

Such a strategy may contain traces of Sam Allardyce but West Ham need to play to their strengths against high-quality opposition and aerial dominance certainly falls into that category. On average, the Hammers win 2.4 more aerial duels per match than the visitors, whilst they also rank second throughout the Premier League for headed goals this season – as shown above.

To call City weak in the air would be a little unfair, but it’s clearly not a priority for Guardiola and in stark contrast to the east Londoners, Liverpool are the only club in the top six to have conceded more headers than his side so far this term – as shown below.

Of course, taking the aerial approach requires the kind of long-ball-game Hammers fans came to detest under Allardyce, but there is another advantage of going direct against City; bypassing that immensely talented midfield, whilst putting pressure on a back four, Claudio Bravo included, desperately struggling for confidence at the minute.

Further highlighting aerial bombardment as a potential breaking point, Bravo ranks a lowly 20th throughout the Premier League for catches this season – although he does have a 100% success rate.

Set Pieces

Inherently linked with their aforementioned proficiency in the air, West Ham simply must take advantage of City at set pieces. Once again, it’s not exactly a Citizens weakness but the table above shows just how more effective the Hammers are in this regard, ranking second throughout the Premier League for goals from dead ball situations this season – equating to 31% of their top-flight tally of 36.

No doubt, the Irons boast some fantastic targets in the air. 13 of Michail Antonio’s 16 Premier League goals for West Ham have come via his head, including the most of any player in the division, six, this season, whilst centre-backs Winston Reid, James Collins, Jose Fonte and Angelo Ogbonna are all real beasts in the air.

And then there’s the not-s0-small matter of Andy Carroll, who has returned to fitness with a bang and now boasts three goals in his last two Premier League outings. Although just two goals have come with his head this term, the occasional England man has averaged a whopping 9.9 successful aerial duels per match – the most of any Premier League player – as shown below.

Press high and pin City back

Whether West Ham have the right kind of player to press high up the pitch remains open to debate. Andy Carroll, although large and somewhat mobile, isn’t exactly renowned for winning the ball back in the final third and overall, it’s not something you’d particularly associate with the Hammers under Slaven Bilic – they more tend to sit back before hitting on the counter.

Nonetheless, the likes of Spurs, Liverpool, Leicester City and Everton have provided the perfect template for West Ham to follow, if their forward players can dig a little deeper and find a bit more energy for a rather unique ninety minutes.

City will shuffle the ball around the back until they’re blue in the face, even if they’re being hounded from all sides, and in the high-octane world of the Premier League, that inevitably leads to mistakes in possession and consequently, conceding sloppy goals.

As we’ve already mentioned, City’s confidence in defence is at an all-time low right now, so if West Ham take a risk by pressing high, it seems inevitable they’ll eventually win the ball in dangerous areas.

The Champions League has returned this week and for Arsenal it represents one of the toughest tests of the season. They have the unenviable task of travelling Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich on Wednesday night hoping to pick up a result to take back to the Emirates Stadium.

It’s a tough ask and not really the reward the Gunners were looking for after winning their group so superbly last year.

It’s not all doom and gloom for Wenger’s men, though, this Bayern side aren’t as imperious as they’ve been in recent years with Carlo Ancelotti not exactly winning over supporters after the exit of Pep Guardiola last summer.

There are ways Arsenal can get at the Germans and if they can pick up a draw or even an incredible win then they’ll be in great shape for the second leg.

Here are the THREE Bayern weaknesses that the Gunners should exploit…

Smash the left flank

Philipp Lahm announcing his retirement at the end of the season has sent shockwaves around Germany over the last week. It was a controversial move with the Bayern hierarchy somewhat unhappy with his decision to announce it in such a fashion.

As quoted by The Sun, chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said:

“Bayern Munich are surprised by the actions of Philipp Lahm and his advisor.”

Hardly the ideal situation heading into the knockout stages of UEFA’s biggest club competition.

Lahm played at right-back on the weekend away to Ingolstadt but didn’t have the best game in a 2-0 Bayern win, before being substituted in the second half. If Arsenal can capitalise on this friction then it could be a way for them to expose what is a very talented backline.

That’s not to say Lahm isn’t still one of the best right-backs in the world, he is an extraordinary player. Arsenal have plenty of talent on that left-hand side though with the likes of Alex Iwobi and Alexis Sanchez able to put in match-winning performances. If they can overload on that side and give Lahm a battle, the Gunners may be able to show why he’s decided to hang up his boots at the end of the campaign.

Bayern’s pressure to win big

Bayern’s away record in Europe isn’t the best – in fact, they’ve failed to win away from home in their last eight knockout ties in the Champions League. Also losing twice away from home in this season’s competition to FC Rostov and Atletico Madrid, it’s clear that Ancelotti will be looking for a convincing win on Wednesday night to avoid any potential slip-up at the Emirates.

That puts pressure on the home side and leaves Wenger with a dilemma. Match them toe-to-toe in an open attacking game? Or have his side bide their time to pick off Bayern on the counter-attack?

Given the German side’s need to win it could be the latter that proves most effective. We know Arsenal can counter with pace with the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott likely to be in the side, while we know Arsenal can take chances with the likes of Alexis Sanchez leading the attack. Can Wenger exploit Ancelotti’s desire to win by two clear goals?

A midfield casualty

As reported by The Daily Mail, Xabi Alonso is facing a fitness battle ahead of Arsenal’s visit after hobbling out of a training session with a knee injury this week.

That’s a massive boost for Arsenal. Even if he makes the game, it gives the Gunners midfield an edge to exploit, knowing that the Spaniard likely isn’t at 100%. If he misses it? Well, Arsenal’s stars can impose themselves on the game knowing that Ancelotti has had to veer from his gameplan.

With Granit Xhaka again available, Wenger has a bit of midfield steel of his own to call upon and that could be vital with Bayern looking to exploit the space between Arsenal’s somewhat lightweight midfield and their defence. Xhaka, of course, knows all about Bayern having arrived at the Emirates from a four-year stint at Borussia Monchengladbach.

Can Arsenal exploit this pre-match turmoil in the heart of Bayern’s midfield?

As reported by The Express, Liverpool are the side most interested in signing Fulham’s teenage sensation Ryan Sessegnon this summer and are ready counter interest from some of the biggest clubs in England.

What’s the story?

Currently making a name for himself on the left flank at Fulham, 16 year old Sessegnon is tipped to make an impression at the very top of the game.

The Express report that Antonio Conte is a big fan but it’s Liverpool’s Jurgen Klopp who is hoping to sign him when the transfer window opens again.

With Arsenal and Manchester City also interested in signing him up to his first professional contract, it would be quite the coup if Liverpool manage to land him.

Worth the fuss?

Compared to Gareth Bale by Fulham teammate Kevin McDonald, it’s clear Sessegnon is thought to have a very bright future in the game. The teenager has made 18 appearances in his first season of professional football and has shown excellent dribbling and crossing ability.

At just 16, he is of course still raw and would require polishing by Klopp to truly shine for Liverpool. What he needs more than anything is regular first-team football so perhaps a move to the Anfield would not be the best for his development.

Nevertheless, the Reds investing early in that development could pay dividends down the line, especially if he truly is a player that could turn into a world class talent like Gareth Bale.

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