Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels, who is a target for both Arsenal and Manchester United, has revealed he is open to leaving the Bundesliga, Daily Star reports.

Hummels has been heavily linked with a move away from the Westfalenstadion since last summer, and may finally make a switch after a poor season with Dortmund.

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BVB have struggled near the relegation zone for much of the campaign, and the Germany international’s future at the club has been in doubt.

Two clubs keen on the centre-back are Premier League duo Arsenal and Man United, with both teams looking to add a world-class defender into their respective squads.

And now they’ve been boosted by Hummels admitting that he is considering a move aboard, which could see a summer bidding war between the two English clubs for his services.

“Some days I think I would definitely like to move abroad but then, other days, I think I don’t fancy it at all,” he said.

“Basically I think moving abroad would be good for my professional and personal well-being. Eventually, I’d like to leave the Bundesliga.

“I have had many conversations with the leaders of Dortmund, where I know I am a big part of the team, but I am yet to make a decision about my future.

“I’m being open about this because I’m not a fan of those who claim they are staying but, behind the scenes, have actually secretly agreed a transfer away from their current club.

“I will do what is best for my career and what I would like to do. Everyone knows how much I love it at Dortmund but I also want to make sure I’m part of a strong team with powerful players.

“Whether we are in the Champions League, the Europa League or have no European football at all, it will play no part in my decision-making.”

Hummels joined Dortmund from Bayern Munich on a loan deal in 2008, but made a permanent move a year later after a successful first season.

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Having defeated Crystal Palace six times in their last six attempts, tonight’s Premier League fixture was expected to be a Manchester City whitewash, springboarding them back into the division’s title race.

Premier League football has a knack of throwing up an absolute classic when you least expect it however and tonight was certainly one of those occasions – the Eagles trumping the reigning champions to claim an impressive 2-1 win.

And just in case you missed the action, we at Football Fancast have been kind enough to outline the three biggest talking points for you. Enjoy!

Who needs the ball when you’re this good without it?

We’ve seen some back-to-the-wall jobs before in the Premier League – Fulham’s win against Manchester United at Old Trafford last season particularly coming to mind – but tonight’s affair has to be right up there.

Palace finished the match with just 26% possession, taking only five chances at goal compared to Manchester City’s 22. The visitors had over 800 touches of the ball – including 53 in Palace’s penalty area.

But this side is clearly set up for double-banked defending, counter-attacks and set pieces and that’s exactly what they did against Manchester City. As you can see from the heatmaps below, the visitors claimed far superior territory throughout the ninety minutes:

But Palace took the chances that came their way; firstly, a Glenn Murray rebound; and secondly, a Jason Puncheon free-kick with a little bit of help from the top of the City wall.

The ever-under-appreciated Glenn Murray

Let’s move on to the indisputable hero of the hour – Crystal Palace’s industrious poacher Glenn Murray.

He was largely forgotten about under prior regimes at Selhurst Park, sidelined with a serious long-term injury under Ian Holloway, a seemingly poor fit for Tony Pulis’ direct style and sent out on loan to Reading by Neil Warnock.

He’s found a new lease of life under Alan Pardew, however, tonight netting his fifth goal in five Premier League appearances just hours after the Daily Mail revealed him to be the deadliest striker in the division in terms of goals-per-minute.

It wasn’t just Murray’s goal, however. His hold-up play and work-rate was absolutely superb, demonstrated best by him winning 10 aerial duels and seven fouls – the highest returns of any player on either side. Twitter were particularly impressed with his performance:

Manuel Pellegrini might not last the season at this rate

Having plummeted out of the Champions League to Barcelona after daring to play 4-4-2 against the greatest possession side in world football, few anticipate Manuel Pellegrini to be at Manchester City next season. The owners don’t like failure, and he’s set to end the campaign without a trophy.

At this rate however, the hapless Chilean might not even last until the summer. 4-4-2 once again proved a naive strategy away from home as Palace continually plagued City on the counter-attack and the exclusions of Samir Nasri and James Milner from the starting line-up were particularly bizarre.

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Needless to say, City fans on Twitter weren’t particularly impressed:

Having now lost three away fixtures in a row, if City get embarrassed in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford next weekend, Pellegrini might find himself handed a P45 sooner than expected.

With only a handful of games left of the current campaign Arsenal look certain to make top four once again and may even have shown an improvement on last season by finishing as high as second. The Gunners may have been dumped out of the Champions League quicker than they would have hoped but it has still been a very successful year.

And if they retain the FA Cup then that will be the cherry on top of their season. Of course they still must overcome Reading this weekend, however, considering that the Royals are in the Championship whilst Arsenal have been in superb form winning all of their last eight league fixtures you can see how the odds are stacked greatly in their favour.

Reading beat Bradford City 3-0 in the previous round – although they needed a replay – to reach this far in the competition but their league form has been shocking. They sit eight points above the relegation zone and notched up their last win over a month ago.

In the other semi-final areAston Villa and top four contenders Liverpool. In their two league meetings this season the Villans won at Anfield but lost 2-0 when the Reds came to their neck of the woods. Villa have greatly improved under manager Tim Sherwood but you’d still expect Liverpool to clinch it on the day. That would set up an exciting final between Arsenal and Liverpool which is surely the match most neutrals would like to see.

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A lot has been said about how as it is Steven Gerrard’s final season with Liverpool after 17-years of loyal service that to win the cup would be the perfect send-off but sentiment aside I still think Arsenal should take the prize.

When the two English giants met in late December they couldn’t be separated but only two weeks ago Arsenal thrashed the Reds 4-1 so the Gunners should be full of confidence if they do indeed both make the final.

Also where Liverpool have had an inconsistent seven or so months Arsenal have steadily won games and thoroughly deserve to be sitting high up the Premier League table. They have suffered six defeats with only Chelsea and Manchester United recording less and Arsene Wenger’s men have a prolific striker putting fear into opposition defence.

The Gunners have incorporated new signing Alexis Sanchez well into their squad proving that not all foreign players need a season to settle into our league. The Chilean has scored 20 times in all competitions, though only one of those were in the FA Cup.

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Even Olivier Giroud and Mesut Ozil who have both come under some heavy criticism have turned things around and are truly vital team members. If they all play at their best then sadly Reading have no chance of progressing and then only Liverpool will stand in their way.

Arsenal supporters will never be completely happy until they win the domestic title again but claiming their second trophy in as many years will surely buy Arsene Wenger some time. And with this high quality squad that the Frenchman has finally assembled it will only be a matter of time before the Gunners take home the main prize.

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At the start of the 2014-15 campaign, it seemed like Louis van Gaal had all the pieces necessary to complete the big picture: winning the Premier League.There was the pricey new Real Madrid sensation, the two-time UEFA Europa League champion on loan from Monaco and of course the reliable club captain, England born and bred.As the season progressed, however, it became clear that these pieces were not fitting together as planned. The expensive sensation failed to prove his worth, the loaner flopped miserably and the captain couldn’t quite pick up the slack all on his own.

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Now, van Gaal is shopping for a new attacker before next season. United goalkeeper David De Gea is headed over to Real Madrid, and van Gaal has expressed interest in Los Blancos striker Karim Benzema. While a direct trade isn’t likely, Real Madrid have made it clear they’re looking to offload the Frenchman, and van Gaal stands a chance of landing him.Could Benzema be the missing piece to Manchester United’s puzzle?

The centre forward certainly knows how to do the one thing the Red Devils couldn’t do this entire season: score. Benzema notched 22 goals and 15 assists for the Spanish side, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo. He averaged 165 minutes per goal, outperforming teammate Gareth Bale (237 minutes per goal).

Benzema is the perfect candidate to replace Radamel Falcao in United’s front line. The Frenchman has far better possession skills than Falcao, who often loses control of the ball. Benzema is also a deadly counter attack threat, as is Wayne Rooney. Paired together, the two would undoubtedly elevate United’s transition football.

Throughout the season, van Gaal rarely diverged from his trusted 4-3-3 formation, with mixed results. Many fans clamored for him to adapt a 4-2-3-1, so that Rooney, Juan Mata and Falcao could all play the more central roles they were used to. Benzema regularly played in a 4-2-3-1 under Carlo Ancelotti in Madrid, and could help Manchester United utilise the formation effectively as well.

A transfer would also reunite Benzema with former teammate Angel Di Maria, and possibly jolt the Argentinian back into the form he lacked all season. Overall, Benzema would play quite well with anyone in Manchester United’s attacking force.

It’s just a matter of finding the perfect fit.

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Manchester United are “front runners” in the race for Barcelona’s Pedro, according to European football expert Andy Brassell.

The Spaniard only signed a new contract at the Nou Camp a few months ago, but it has emerged in recent weeks that he could leave the club if an interested party offers a release clause-triggering £22m.

This has led to links with the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea, but United have entered the battle of late with Louis van Gaal eager to add proven quality to his Red Devils squad.

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And Brassell has told talkSPORT that the North West club are leading the race for the 27-year-old attacker, who has won just about every prize on offer to him at club and international level, including La Liga, the Champions League and the World Cup:

“Manchester United are the front runners to sign Pedro,

“He would move for around £22m. Pedro signed a new contract which substantially brought down his release clause. It was around €150m before.”

Brassell also believes that the deal makes a great deal of sense for the player and the club, with United not necessarily in need of an orthodox centre-forward given their current options and system:

“It makes a lot of sense for him to move to Manchester United with the sort of football Louis van Gaal wants to play.

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“You could have Pedro on the right and Memphis Depay on the left.

“United have been linked with a lot of strikers but, given that Rooney is going to start and Hernandez is on the bench, there is not a lot of point buying another striker.

“They don’t need someone to play with Rooney because that’s not how Van Gaal plays. They need people to play in a 4-3-3 formation.”

There’s nothing you can say about Arsenal that hasn’t already been said, and nothing you can prescribe that hasn’t already been prescribed.

Arsene Wenger has played to the same formula for years, and when it comes to the Gunners’ performance, where they fall short can be traced back to the same old areas as before.

This season, though a new dimension looks to have been added to the Gunners’ woes, their startlingly bad away form is really just another manifestation of an old lack of fight and robustness. It’s something we see season after season in other forms, but this year, it’s surfaced in away games and left Arsene Wenger’s side in fifth again.

All is not lost, of course. Arsenal are through to an EFL Cup semi-final as well as the knockout stages of the Europa League, and winning both competitions could serve as a springboard for future success in the same way that Manchester United’s capture of both trophies last season seemed to herald a new dawn for Jose Mourinho’s side before the Portuguese manager’s negative tactics seemed to blow that chance.

For the Gunners, though, rather than a milestone in the fight back to the top of the premium competitions, where they’ve belonged for so many years, these second tier trophies instead feel like yet another low watermark on the way down. Whereas settling for a top four place was the problem of the decade before this one, will the new year bring confirmation that Arsenal are now the fifth-placed Premier League club who will spend the next few years competing in trophies Arsene Wenger always thought were beneath him?

There is still a chance at the United style fightback, and two shiny new trophies don’t look unobtainable. When you get to the semi-final of a competition you’ve never won before in over 20 years of management in England, you’d like to think that Wenger will finally be up for the League Cup. And when you’re in the second tier competition which yields not just a medal, but an automatic place in the Champions League group stage for next season, you’d also like to think that it means something to the Gunners.

But with Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil seemingly heading closer and closer to the exit door – perhaps as soon as next month – and with little chance of replacing players of that quality in the January window at least, you get the feeling that this season is the latest in a long line of write-offs at the Emirates, where Arsenal’s season may well have a different feel, but the same old outcomes.

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That means 2018 will probably not be a year in which Arsene Wenger can sign off as Arsenal manager on the back of a grand old victory to live on through the ages. He may never be able to do that at all, in fact. But instead, he must allow his job to become one of instilling a sense of positivity at the club for the first time in years, and leave Arsenal at some point soon with some genuine hope that the future is bright. The Gunners will likely start 2018 still looking feeling like they’re in decline. They must end it by feeling back where they belong.

According to reports in The Telegraph, Manchester United face competition from Premier League rivals West Ham United in the race to sign Inter Milan midfielder Joao Mario, who The Sun reported in December they want to bring in to replace Henrikh Mkhitaryan if the 28-year-old leaves this month.

What’s the word, then?

Well, The Telegraph reports that the Irons are keen to sign the Portugal international on a loan deal until the end of the season, and having come to an agreement with the Serie A giants they must now convince the player to come to the London Stadium.

That could be easier said than done though considering The Sun reported last month that United were keen to bring him to Old Trafford in a £40m deal if Henrikh Mkhitaryan went the other way, although the Armenian now looks set for Arsenal instead.

However, The Telegraph adds that Inter don’t want to sell him on a permanent basis this month, and it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils would be willing to accept a loan deal.

How has Joao Mario done this season?

Despite costing €45m (£39.8m) when he joined Inter from Sporting Lisbon in the summer of 2016, the 24-year-old has struggled to hold down a place in the first team.

This term, he has found himself behind Marcelo Brozovic in the pecking order and has made just 15 appearances in all competitions, with more than half of his 14 Serie A outings coming from the substitutes’ bench.

According to WhoScored.com, the Portugal international’s main strengths are his dribbling and his ability to make key passes, and he has successfully completed 10 of the 14 take-ons he has attempted in the league during the current campaign, while he has made 17 key passes and has an overall passing accuracy of 89.4%.

Would he be a good signing for United?

He certainly could be.

The 24-year-old has largely played in a central attacking midfield role for Inter this season, but he can play in a deep-lying position too.

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Jose Mourinho will know his Portuguese compatriot well, and he could be tempted by a loan move for him considering the money the club looks set to spend on a deal for Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez.

United certainly won’t worry about West Ham’s interest if they do want the player, knowing that they could offer him Champions League football.

Leeds United suffered one of the weekend’s big FA Cup upsets on Sunday, falling to a 2-1 defeat against League Two outfit Newport County at Rodney Parade.

It was a fully deserved win for the home side, with Leeds failing to build upon their 9th minute opener scored by Gaetano Berardi.

A Conor Shaugnessy own goal gave the lower league side an equaliser before substitute Shawn McCoulsky sent the home fans into dreamland with a bullet header just a minute from time.

Leeds fans were left fuming at the performance and the result, reserving plenty of criticism for striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga, who looked off the pace all afternoon.

The German forward started his Leeds career well on loan from Hamburg, but missed a number of matches through illness in November and December and hasn’t scored in his last six games.

Supporters are now calling for his loan to be cancelled, believing he doesn’t have what it takes to be a success at Elland Road.

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They took to Twitter to share their thoughts on his Sunday performance…

Many football fans would have had a chuckle at Leeds United’s expense on Wednesday when the club unveiled a new design for the badge.

The Championship outfit revealed the crest on Twitter, claiming that they consulted with 10,000 fans before deciding on a fresh look.

The badge, though, was widely mocked and criticised, with many likening the image to that used by video game Pro Evolution Soccer.

The overwhelming negative response has prompted Leeds to have a re-think and allow fans to have more of a say.

Via their official website, the Whites released a statement insisting that they will “extend the consultation” with supporters in order to come up with a design that is approved by the fanbase.

As expected, the club’s following reacted much more positively when they heard that the powers that be were ready to consider a new crest.

Meanwhile on the pitch, Leeds are 10th in the table following a winless run of four games.

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Dundee FC today confirmed that they have pulled off a signing coup by bringing defender Steven Caulker to the club.

The former Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool man joins on an 18 month deal and will help the Dees in their fight to avoid relegation to the Scottish Championship.

Caulker had previously been linked with a move to Celtic after the player opened up publicly on the personal problems plaguing his career, but it appears any road to Celtic Park will travel through Dens first.

It’s certainly an intriguing deal and with over 100 Premier League appearances, his experience and quality will undoubtedly be a benefit to Dundee.

It’s also one which is capturing the imagination of Celtic fans, with some believing he’s a better signing than last month’s capture of former Dundee man Jack Hendry and others predicting that joining Dundee will only last until end of the season, simply a dress rehearsal for a move to the Hoops this summer.

They took to Twitter to share their thoughts…