All posts by h716a5.icu

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Having ended the season on a disappointing note by missing out on Champions League football, Arsenal are understandably trying to get on the front foot in the transfer market this summer.

The Gunners have been linked with a host of names in recent weeks and following the side’s struggles out wide during the last campaign, the north Londoners are actively looking to fix that with a new winger.

According to French publication Paris United, Nancy winger Bilel Hassaini has turned down the opportunity to join PSG and now Arsenal and Barcelona are the current front-runners for the 18-year-old’s signature.

The links to the teenager saw Gunners fans flock to Twitter to reveal their thoughts on the transfer target and many were reasonably excited at the prospect of the talented youngster heading to the Emirates.

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Many pointed out that at such a young age, Hassaini could really flourish at Arsenal next season under the guidance of Unai Emery and suggested that fending off competition from Barcelona in signing him could be seen as a “real coup”.

Some however were far less impressed by a potential move and questioned whether the Frenchman was the sort of marquee signing the club needed – indeed, a few urged the Gunners to give the side’s academy products like Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka a chance in the first-team instead of trying to bring young players in from abroad.

Check out some of the reaction of Arsenal fans below:

Manchester City have raced ahead in pursuit of Harry Maguire’s signature this summer, according to the Mirror.

There’s a certain allure about Manchester City that simply cannot be matched by their struggling neighbours Manchester United, who are also rumoured to be in for England star Harry Maguire.

Last season’s domestic treble means the Citizens have secured twice the number of trophies (10) in the past decade as their close rivals (5). They boast one of the most decorated managers of all time in Pep Guardiola, who Maguire is believed to want to work with, and the positive environment the club appears to offer is far more conducive to career progression than the current mess at Old Trafford, where Solskjaer and Ed Woodward are yet to address a serious lack of quality in the squad.

Guardiola wants a new central defender to replace Vincent Kompany who departed the club after 11 years to re-join Anderlecht. Should he get his wish, and Maguire join, then we predict two of the following will occur…

City get their Kompany replacement

Obvious one, really.

Harry Maguire may not have enjoyed his best season to date, according to WhoScored ratings, but his statistics hold up pretty well compared to the man he’s tipped to replace; producing 1 tackle, 1.2 interceptions, 4.9 clearances and won 3.8 aerial duels on average per game last season, while title-hero Kompany produced 0.9 tackles, 0.9 interceptions, 3.2 clearances and won 2.2 aerial duels, respectively.

Statistics considered, evidently there’s reasons why the two have drawn comparisons. Maguire is a player with four years’ worth of Premier League experience under his belt. He would provide the same sort of goliath physical presence at the back which Kompany has implemented over the course of his illustrious career, as well as the ability to play out from defence – donning an average 56.4 passes per game in an under performing Leicester City side – which would suit Guardiola’s style perfectly.

Manchester United suffer

One thing is for certain: without Maguire, United will suffer.

United conceded 54 goals last season, the second highest in the Premier League, behind West Ham (55). They kept just seven clean sheets in total, only two of which came at Old Trafford, and field what some might consider one of the weakest defensive units on paper; with Ashley Young, Chris Smalling and Phil Jones commonly criticised by fans. For any self-respecting, trophy-chasing side this simply isn’t good enough.

England international Harry Maguire could have been the answer to the club’s woes, or at least a step in the right direction. However, with City set to intercept the deal, they’ll be without; leaving them with their second or third choice target, who they’re likely to overpay for.

One for the City fans to savour.

Stones/Otamendi frozen out

One in one out.

Out of the two suitors, the most likely to leave the club this summer in the wake of a Maguire arrival would surely be Nicolas Otamendi. The Argentine enjoyed a fine 2017-18 campaign with the Blues but has since found appearances hard to come by with Aymeric Laporte, Vincent Kompany and John Stones all sitting above him in the pecking order. Earlier this year, rumours circulated that Otamendi was being eyed up to replace Atletico Madrid captain Diego Godin, who is set to join Inter Milan this summer. And while we haven’t heard anything since, the player is understood to be open to a move away (as per goal.com). That being said, there’s absolutely every chance that Maguire’s arrival could catalyse a string of events that would see Otamendi leave the club.

On the other hand, there’s John Stones. The England star struggled to make much of an impact last season with just 24 Premier League appearances to his name, which was split up into a tellingly low 239 minutes in the final 10 games. Whether or not this was due to an injury he picked up in March against Watford remains to be seen; however, it could quite easily be interpreted as a lack of faith shown in him to get the job done by Guardiola, who turned to his captain and Laporte on the title run-in.

The beginning of the end?

Manchester City fans, do you agree with our selections? Let us know in the comments below…

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Rangers manager Steven Gerrard scored a highlight goal in training and it provoked a big reaction from supporters.

The club have been in Portugal over the last ten days taking part in a pre-season training camp ahead of UEFA Europa League qualifiers, with Gerrard featuring in one of the sessions over the weekend.

The fans in the video below had some very strong words for Michel Platini who was detained over alleged corruption this week…

The social media team watching on wasted no time in showing fans that the Liverpool icon still has the magic touch, posting a video of his classy deft finish from a chipped through ball.

Clearly there’s no chance of the 39-year-old turning out in a Rangers shirt anytime soon, but the clip has left some fans dreaming of the UEFA Champions League winner playing for the Ibrox club.

Gerrard’s focus will be on matters in the dugout though, with a tricky route to the group stages of the Europa League on the immediate horizon.

These supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts on Gerrard’s cheeky training contribution…

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has broken the habit of a career by sending Leeds United academy product Jack Clarke back to Yorkshire on loan.

The winger became the club’s first signing in over a year on Tuesday after Spurs agreed a reported fee of £10m with Leeds United.

He has signed a contract until 2023 but will immediately return to the Championship club on loan for the duration of the 2019/20 campaign, as the Whites once again attempt to win promotion to the Premier League.

Yet this feels out of character for Pochettino.

Indeed, it must be noted that Marcelo Bielsa, a coach revered by Pochettino, manages Leeds; the pair have a storied connection. A fabled tale goes that before Bielsa signed Pochettino at Newell’s Old Boys when the Spurs boss was 13, he asked to see his legs while he was sleeping, to see if he was likely to be good enough to play for the club. He thought they were and signed him.

And yet, loans are not often utilised by Spurs. The likes of Oliver Skipp, Kyle Walker-Peters and Harry Winks could all have gone out on loan in recent seasons, as could Juan Foyth, with all four players having played through periods when they were deemed good enough to be around the first-team but not quite at the point of featuring regularly.

At most top clubs, that is when a loan is arranged, and the player will join either a mid-table Premier League club or a Championship side, as they look to gain minutes and experience – Derby’s decision to loan Liverpool’s Harry Wilson and Chelsea’s Mason Mount last season attests to that.

At Spurs, though, it’s more a case of loans being for those players who will eventually be discarded, when there isn’t actually a buyer to be found.

Look at the list of players who spent the 2018/19 season out on loan: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Samuel Shashoua, Marcus Edwards, Connor Ogilvie, Joshua Onomah, Georges-Kevin N’Koudou, Anthony Georgiou, Shayon Harrison, Kazaiah Sterling and Tom Glover.

Ogilvie has already been allowed to join Gillingham permanently, while Glover has been released. Carter-Vickers is 21 and has played four times for the club at centre-back; Shashoua is 20 and has never had a sniff of the first-team; Edwards is talented but his attitude has been questioned; Onomah has already been tipped to join Sheffield Wednesday permanently; N’Koudou does not have the required ability to play for the club; Georgiou, Harrison and Sterling are all 20 or over and have played a combined 18 minutes at the top level.

That Clarke is going out on loan, then, is a ceding of control from Pochettino.

He usually nurtures the young players who are coming through, slowly exposing them to first-team action before eventually being able to bed them in when they are ready.

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Perhaps he does not deem Clarke to be in the same category as the likes of Skipp or Walker-Peters yet; perhaps this deal was merely done to get a jump on the competition and ensure that a talented player is on the books at Spurs before he becomes a star in the Championship.

That, of course, is the hope for him next season, that he can thrive at Elland Road and return to Spurs ready to make a breakthrough.

Pochettino has broken his habit with this deal. He had better hope it pays off.

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Lots of Crystal Palace fans on Twitter are utterly bemused after a report linked Brighton and Hove Albion centre-back Lewis Dunk with a £45m move to Leicester City.

The Sun reported on Sunday that the Foxes wanted to sign the 27-year-old, who has 74 Premier League appearances to his name, to replace Manchester United-bound Harry Maguire, and that the one-cap England international would cost them £45m.

The central defender has spent his entire career with the south coast outfit – aside from a short loan spell with Bristol City – making 270 outings in all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing a further 11 assists.

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The story certainly piqued plenty of interest from supporters of arch-rivals Palace, who of course recently sold highly-rated 21-year-old Aaron Wan-Bissaka to the Red Devils for an initial £45m fee themselves.

In addition, it is understood that the south London outfit are demanding at least £80m if they are to be persuaded to let go of the want-away Wilfried Zaha, who is reportedly a summer target for Arsenal.

In the video below, find out which Chelsea academy prospect is reportedly being lined up to replace Aaron Wan-Bissaka at Crystal Palace…

Eagles supporters certainly appear completely bewildered by the potential Dunk deal, with many choosing to compare it to their sale of Wan-Bissaka and their asking price for the Ivory Coast international – with the overriding feeling being that they undersold the former.

While one member of the Selhurst Park faithful said “Brighton have made us look like mugs if they get £45m for Dunk”, another simply said “we should have got more for AWB”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

When Aaron Ramsey made his tearful departure from the Emirates towards the end of last season, the big question on everybody’s lips was who would be tasked with replacing the Wales international.

Reports had even suggested the Gunners could be looking at options from elsewhere to fill the Ramsey-shaped void, but after enjoying somewhat of a break-through campaign last year, Joe Willock’s pre-season performance against Bayern Munich on Thursday certainly raised a few eyebrows.

Check out the below above to see football played as you’ve never seen it before… in a maze!

The 19-year-old played six times for the first-team last season, and deployed in a more advanced role, notched three goals. Against the Bundesliga champions on Thursday however, Emery dropped Willock deeper, and had him form a midfield two alongside Granit Xhaka.

The duo, particularly in the first-half, were excellent with their work on and off the ball. Willock’s athleticism allowed him to cover the ground so easily and effortlessly, and press the opposition into turnovers and mistakes.

The Sun rated his performance 8/10, making him the joint-best performer in the match alongside established stars Mesut Ozil and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. The teenager has now shown he looks comfortable in multiple roles in central midfield; the type of versatility that Ramsey himself was known for.

Whilst the Welshman seemed to thrive playing off the striker though, under Arsene Wenger he was invariably used as a box-to-box midfielder. Willock’s engine allows him to do the same, and against Bayern he could be seen making tackles on the edge of his own area before springing to the German side’s box to offer support to the likes of Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

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Despite being up against big-money stars like Thiago Alcantara and Corentin Tolisso in the middle of the park, Willock did not look daunted and arguably helped Arsenal shade the midfield contest in the first-half. As Unai Emery’s side seem to have their hands tied with their reported limited budget, having an academy product like Willock could end the need for the club to sign an expensive replacement for Ramsey.

In the few opportunities he has been given under Emery, Willock has undoubtedly taken his chance. Now it’s his turn to show why he can be the man to fill the shoes of one of Arsenal’s great players of the late Wenger era.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Toby Alderweireld has confirmed that he is hoping to stay at Tottenham Hotspur this season as his release clause nears its expiry, per the Daily Telegraph.

What’s the word?

The report claims that the Belgium international’s current release clause, which stands at £25m, expires on Thursday.

Both Manchester United and Roma have been credited with an interest, per the article, but Alderweireld maintains that he does not intend to push for a move.

The defender’s current contract expires next summer but he maintains that his entire focus is on the 2019/20 season at Spurs, having captained the side in their 3-2 pre-season win over Juventus at the weekend.

He said, after being asked if he intended to remain at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium: “Yes. That’s my focus in football. Everything can go quick but all I’m doing is focusing on Spurs and being fit for the start of the season.

“I think the manager [Mauricio Pochettino] knows I am committed to the club and the team but you never know in football. A game like (Juve) I was captain – so that shows the manager has trust in me and I’m showing the right attitude.

“Again, it (a bid coming in for him) can happen but my focus is on Spurs and in my head I will be playing for Spurs.

“I try to deliver the job I need to do – I’m happy and that’s it. I try to come back fit. Of course, everyone has had a good holiday but like we showed, we are where we want to be at the moment.”

A model professional

Alderweireld’s future has been a key point throughout the summer transfer window but his quotes are yet another example of just how professional he has been.

The defender has never let his focus waver and enjoyed an exceptional season in 2018/19 as the club reached the Champions League final and finished in the Premier League top four.

He made a total of 50 appearances in all competitions and is clearly still trusted by Pochettino, who handed him the captain’s armband at the weekend.

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Alderweireld has never been anything short of an assiduous presence at the heart of the backline and would be remarkably hard to replace.

Whether he remains at the club or not, though, one has to feel that he will be admired, such has been his exceptional conduct throughout the campaign.

[ad_pod ]After a distinguished 19 year playing career and several stints as an assistant coach, Dean Saunders took to management like a dead duck to water. He bombed at Doncaster and Chesterfield. Say his name in Wolverhampton and they will shudder long into the night after the Welshman managed to relegate a side that had been tipped for promotion in 2013.With Wolves facing the drop and on a losing streak Saunders said this: “And another thing that has pleased me is in Ladbrokes, we’re not one of the three favourites to get relegated and they don’t normally get it wrong.”In the same press conference, he also said this: “I have got self-belief. If you said to me ‘Do you want to open the batting for England. They are playing down the road’, I’d say ‘Go on then, give me a bat’. Then I’d get to the bottom step and see the fast bowler marking his run-up and realise I can’t do that. But my first reaction is ‘I will give it a go’.â€Inspiring stuff I’m sure you’ll agree.With his coaching credentials shredded Saunders then turned to punditry and would pop up from time to time on our tellies scatter-gunning his patented brand of pure gibberish. He got his big break in the autumn of 2016 when an anecdote he told on talkSPORT went viral. In a nutshell – because it is a long, meandering tale – it concerns Brian Clough’s attempts to sign him for Nottingham Forest in 1991. Saunders turned up for a meeting to find a heavily inebriated Clough staring close-up to a wall. At various subsequent points in the story, the great man crawls on his hands and knees along the carpet, rips up a bunch of flowers from a pot, and follows the striker back home to cuddle up to his mother-in-law on the family sofa.Charitably we can say that the details had been embellished over time on the after-dinner circuit. Or we could claim the tale is a compendium of untruths. Either way, a disgusted Daniel Taylor debunked the account in the Guardian soon after and it should be noted that Brian Clough at the time of the alleged farce was a seriously ill man ravaged by alcoholism.The hits and attention his imaginative retelling gained, however, saw him promoted into the TalkSport ranks and ever since the Joey Essex of football has become synonymous with uttering tripe.

This past month alone he has claimed that sacked Birmingham boss Garry Monk could be in the running for the West Brom hot-seat and this despite the fact that the seat in question was filled by Slaven Bilic only days earlier. Then there was his recent assertion that Aston Villa are a bigger club than Chelsea and don’t even get me started on his exasperation at neutrals not being completely smitten by Liverpool. Jealousy at the Reds’ history was his only possible reasoning.

A particular favourite of mine occurred in early 2017 with Arsenal set to take on a formidable Bayern Munich side. Espousing a somewhat idealistic blend of caution and gung-ho ambition Saunders advised Arsene Wenger to set his team up with three at the back and two wing-backs who ‘don’t go over the halfway line’. Ahead of them two midfielders sit thus allowing four attackers to roam free. Maybe this explains his failure in management: a refusal by the FA to allow Saunders to pick twelve players.

It would be extremely naïve not to acknowledge that talkSPORT purposely seek out pundits who divide opinion and certainly provoke strong reactions. The bland and the sensible need not apply. But surely there is a base level to this requirement: a need for logic to be the foundation to any argument put forward.

In short, we deserve better – infinitely better – than to be subjected to the professional idiot Dean Saunders on our airwaves. Football is dumbing down season on season, but we’re nowhere close to his pit of despair yet.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Transfer Focus series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent transfer news…

Kristoffer Ajer is an option for Serie A giants AC Milan as they look to bolster their defensive options, according to Tutto Mercato Web.

What’s the story?

The report from the Italian outlet states that Celtic’s centre-back is on a two-man shortlist for the Rossoneri, alongside Liverpool’s Croatian defender Dejan Lovren.

It details how new Milan manager Marco Giampaolo hopes to strengthen his side and sign younger players he can develop, with Ajer falling right into that specification.

The report also claims that the Norwegian’s agent will meet with the San Siro side’s representatives to discuss his potential transfer from Parkhead to Italy.

Ajer still has three years left on his deal and would likely command a good fee having become a first-team regular at Celtic Park since 2017, making 83 appearances for the club.

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Now is not the time to cash in on Ajer

Accepting the Serie A side’s advances and cashing in on Ajer could be calamitous for the treble treble winners.

It’s been a summer of change at the club with Lennon embarking on his first pre-season back in charge at Parkhead. Kieran Tierney looks like he could be leaving, and Hatem Abd Elhamed, Christopher Jullien and Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo have come in to bolster the defensive ranks.

If Ajer were to go, he’d need to be replaced given he featured 45 times last season. This would present Lennon with the high possibility of playing an entirely new defence going into the season – something that could be exploited by European and domestic opponents as they begin to gel.

Apart from the obvious on-field reasons for keeping the Norwegian, with Tierney potentially off to the Premier League in what would be a record fee received in Scotland, there’s no financial reason to ship him out either.

The £25m fee, reported by BBC Sport, would likely cover the transfer dealings from this window (providing the club don’t go mad). Also, with Ajer still only 21, the fee that clubs would pay this summer could rise exponentially in the future if he continues to develop into the player many expect him to be.

While it feels inevitable that he will attract more interest in the future, it would be foolish for Celtic to cash in on their talented young centre-back now.

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Football FanCast’s News articles summarise the biggest stories in world football, based on information from other sources.

There has already been some activity over at the Hawthorns with much more expected as the transfer window closes later on Thursday evening.

Charlie Austin is reportedly speaking to the club over a possible permanent switch from Southampton whilst loan deals for Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira are expected before the close of play.

West Brom have also announced a pair of outgoings this morning with promising youngsters Sam Field and Jonathan Leko joining fellow Championship outfit Charlton Athletic on season-long loans.

The talented duo have already linked up with Lee Bowyer’s side ahead of their weekend fixture against Stoke City but are unable to feature for the Addicks when the two sides lock horns later in the season.

Sporting and technical director Luke Dowling said: “With the players we are recruiting this summer, it’s an opportunity to maintain their development.

“The worst thing for them would have been to keep them around the group here. They are past the level of under-23s football.”

Verdict

To some extent, Dowling is right. The move is the best option for both players. They are far too talented to be playing youth football anymore but their development could stall if they aren’t exposed to the first-team under Slaven Bilic this season.

If the Croatian cannot fit either into his squad regularly then it makes sense for them to continue their development temporarily away from the Hawthorns.

The Baggies have a wealth of quality in wide areas so the Leko move is absolutely the right decision – there would have been little chance of the 20-year-old nudging ahead of either Matt Phillips or Oliver Burke on the right flank.

Moving Field out however could be slightly more questionable especially if you ask members of the West Brom support as they believe he is potentially a better option than Jake Livermore whilst they only have Romaine Sawyers, Filip Krovinovic and Rekeem Harper as other options in that position.

Though if either of the pair light up the Championship down in south-east London, the club will be able to recall them in January which makes the move all that smarter.

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