Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders has talked about his reasons for departing Anfield with Jurgen Klopp at the end of the season.
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Inter Milan star Nicolo Barella has snubbed the prospect of a move to the Premier League and has instead agreed a new contract with Inter Milan.
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Many Aston Villa fans are reacting to the latest comments from Dean Smith on injured star and attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
Grealish’s return date is unconfirmed at the moment, but the Villa manager tried to shed as much light as possible as he said: “I saw him before the game and he said to me if he gets on the grass he’s playing (vs Newcastle). But I said to him, ‘I’ve got to pick you first!’ which he laughed at…”
The Villans are definitely missing an attacking threat without the talisman as they drew 0-0 against rivals Wolves on Saturday night. With the English international picking up six goals and ten assists this season (WhoScored), he could have been the difference between a draw and a win.
The only worrying thing about this latest update on the player is that he is still not back on the grass, and this may be a cause of concern for many fans of the club.
Hopefully the fact that they are mentioning the Newcastle game as a possibility means that he will be back, but for now it seems “touch-and-go”, in the words of Birmingham Live reporter Ashley Preece.
“I don’t get it. Surely if he’s pain free and the players wants to play, no-one knows better than the player? Our medical staff are OTT.”
Credit: @AvfcSims
“That sounds hopeful that he will be back for Newcastle. Thought that midfield in first half was excellent, jack in the team and Traore other side or another winger and that is a real strong team”
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“We need Jack even if he is limping!”
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“Shouldn’t be needing to rush Jack against the likes of Newcastle, on the bench would still be a boost.”
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“Don’t rush him back half fit we’re not in a relegation battle now.”
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“Judging by the second half display today, he will need to pick Jack even if he is half of his usual self”
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In other Villa news, some fans have been piling praise on one star at the club following his latest comments. Have a read who it is here!
Erling Haaland covered himself up from head to toe to beat the cold in Oslo as Norway prepare for a crucial Euro 2024 qualifier.
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Darwin Nunez continues to evolve at Liverpool, with the Uruguayan striker sporting an eye-catching new hairstyle in a meeting with Fulham.
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Arsenal were underwhelming in their 2-1 win over Premier League strugglers Huddersfield Town on Saturday. Goals from Alex Iwobi and Alexandre Lacazette proved enough to give the Gunners the victory but the performance from Unai Emery’s side left plenty to be desired.
Despite having opened the scoring, Iwobi was one of the Arsenal players who struggled to win over the travelling crowd, as he was jeered off by some of his own fans when he was substituted in the 88th minute.
The response that Iwobi’s performance received from a section of the Arsenal support was unfair. The 22-year-old had in fact produced a hard-working, persistent display in trying circumstances. Whilst there was also a touch of fortune about his goal, his movement and technique was laudable.
The 21-cap Nigeria international’s game was far from perfect. He should certainly have had a second goal as he squandered a very presentable chance. However, the function he serves in Emery’s team is a vital one, the importance of which is seemingly going overlooked by some.
Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…
Iwobi has become a favourite of Emery’s since the Spaniard’s appointment. The forward has been a regular starter this season, having made 15 starts in the Premier League from a total of 23 appearances. In that time he has registered three goals and five assists – a respectable return – as per Transfermarkt’s stats.
However, Iwobi’s main function in the side is as a ball-carrier. No one else in the Arsenal squad has the combination of power, pace, flair and dribbling ability that Iwobi possesses. He is therefore often tasked with shuttling possession out of the defensive third and into the attacking one.
It is important to note that his role is not to replace Mesut Ozil as an arch creator, nor Alexis Sanchez as a goalscoring wide man – even if this what the Arsenal fans want, or have come to expect from attacking players at the Emirates Stadium.
The young winger still needs to improve his game in many areas, but in this tremendously difficult role he is generally doing a fine job for the Gunners. He is a player who deserves credit for what he is, not criticism for what he isn’t.
Former Everton defender Michael Ball has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that Michael Keane and Yerry Mina’s lack of pace is causing his old side issues.
The Toffees have a decent defensive record in the Premier League this season and the £30m Keane and £27m Mina have been at the heart of that.
The two central defenders have both been regulars at the back under manager Carlo Ancelotti, trying to build a wall to aid Everton’s push for European football.
Ball, however, has his concerns with the central defensive partnership, believing it to be too slow. Speaking exclusively to FFC about the pairing, the retired full-back said:
“I think Everton’s failures this season is how deep we have played because of the lack of pace of Michael Keane and Yerry Mina.
They play very, very deep, which is ok to defend as a unit, but it makes it difficult for our midfield. And our lack of legs in midfield, other opposition teams can bully us in those areas and cause us a lot of problems.
“We’ve had to play so deep because of the lack of pace.”
If the above is a concern that Ancelotti also shares, then the Italian could look to address it by using the transfer market this summer.
According to the reliable Fabrizio Romano, signing a new centre-back before the start of next season is currently a priority for the Merseyside club.
Many Rangers fans have been left to buzz as Ross Wilson has shared an update on the proposal of a Gers ‘B’ team in the Lowland League.
As per a video shared by the official Twitter page of the Glasgow club, the Sporting Director has confirmed that George Fraser, who is the chairman of the SLFL, has reached out with an invitation to them to potentially consider joining the Lowland League, initially for one season.
It would mean that the Ibrox faithful could give more senior game time to their youth prospects, not just to help develop them as they would be playing men’s football, but also for the other teams around them, as they get to play against some of the rising stars of Scottish football and it would also draw more eyes to the lower tiers of the game.
Managing Director Stewart Robertson and Head of Academy Craig Mulholland are also on board with the idea in the Gers’ video, which could help develop Scottish football as a whole, as they await approval from the SFA.
These Rangers supporters buzzed upon listening to the update, with one fan saying that they were ‘delighted’ while another even went as far as to claim that it would be ‘brilliant’:
“I know myself I would try make a lot of these games. I know thousands of Rangers fans would actually could picture few thousand turning out would be brilliant”
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“Delighted to see/hear our club calling out the SFA/SPFL for their lack of leadership.”
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“Excellent video. I can’t believe @ScottishFA have dragged their heels over this. I am looking forward to hearing more about this as the discussions progress.”
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“Its a great move for a developing side. Will improve the grassroots standards in the league”
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“Spot on”
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“Rangers leading the way & firing the bullets. Class”
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In other news, find out what SPFL update has left Gers fuming here!
Many Glasgow Rangers fans are livid at comments from Charlie Nicholas, who slammed the Gers’ achievements this campaign after their Scottish Cup defeat at the weekend.
The Gers romped to the Premiership title this term – they remain unbeaten in the league (BBC) – but they were unable to match that level of success in the cup competitions. A run to the Europa League round of 16 was impressive, but defeats to St Mirren and St Johnstone in the Betfred Cup and Scottish Cup respectively will no doubt have disappointed Steven Gerrard.
However, while the Ibrox outfit managed to get their hands on their first major trophy in 10 years, Nicholas has called the 55-time Scottish champions “chokers” and suggested that Gerrard must make things right at the club (Daily Express via Daily Record).
As you can imagine, his comments did not go down well with some Gers supporters. These fans took to social media platform Twitter in their droves to criticise the former Scotland international’s quotes, wich one Ibrox supporter called “drivel”.
“Whit??!!! Kent in particulars had a great season. If we had held on and won the other night he’d be singing their praises!”
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“53 Goals and Assists between them this season, is he alright???”
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“The zoomers are out in force today”
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“Printing drivel like this is why they don’t get access to the Rangers players & manager”
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“Something else man honestly”
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“Defenders and goal our best players? I agree to an extent, but 81 goals scored in the league to say Morelos and Kent has been poor is embarrassing given they’ve both contributed to 53 goal involvements with goals and assists”
Credit: @Ross90141394
In other news, Rangers are eyeing up this in-demand winger.
Everton could force Carlo Ancelotti to make an instant U-turn over his plans for the summer market amid claims the Toffees are keen to sell Paris Saint-Germain target Moise Kean.
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Goodison Park outfit have slapped a €50m (£43.5m) asking price on Kean as they look to cash in on the Italian’s successful season on loan at Le Parc des Princes.
PSG are hopeful of retaining the 21-year-old on a long-term deal, but are currently refusing to match Everton’s demands.
Kean has scored 16 goals and offered one assist in 34 appearances for the French powerhouse, and sits sixth in the Ligue 1 scoring charts with 12 strikes in 23 games.
Les Parisiens Sporting Director Leonardo is striving to negotiate a lower fee for the transfer of Kean, who he has long sought to sign permanently after failing to secure his signature while AC Milan’s Technical Director in the winter 2018 market.
Clubs from Italy’s Serie A would be expected to present their interest in Kean’s availability only should PSG fail to reach an agreement with Everton, following rumours that Juventus will do everything they can to re-sign the forward sold in 2019.
The Toffees paid Juve an initial £25m rising to £27.5m with add-ons to sign Kean during what would be Marco Silva’s final window at the helm, while the Turin giants hold a right to be informed of any future bid after Marcel Brands refused to include a buy-back clause.
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AC Milan and AS Roma have also been linked with potential moves to sign Kean in the next off-season should his future be away from Merseyside, where he is under contract on £53,000-per-week terms until 2024.
Kean’s future is bound to be one of the hot topics of the summer transfer window, with PSG and Juventus both allegedly harbouring an interest in having the striker on their books for next season should he not return to Everton.
The Toffees rarely saw the best of what Kean had in store during his year at Goodison Park, with the eight-cap international only offering two goals in 31 Premier League games, but he has rediscovered his form in France to now be valued at almost twice what the Blues paid.
That would represent very pleasant profit for the Merseysiders, who would be expected to force Ancelotti and Brands to dip into the transfer market for a replacement with Joshua King likely to be released when his contract expires in June and Cenk Tosun put up for sale.
Doing so would also see Ancelotti make an instant U-turn on his claims from last week that he has not entertained the idea of any potential attacking reinforcements this summer.
“Honestly, we didn’t have a look at the market for next season because we are in the fight for European positions,” he said, via quotes by The Guardian. “But I can tell you that it [a striker] will not be the position we are looking for.”
To now sell Kean – who Ancelotti has previously described as a “great talent” – would force the Blues boss to backtrack on his comments with King nor Tosun seemingly up to his standards, and hire someone who can push Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to reach higher levels.
AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti faces a selection dilemma after a £16m-rated Everton star’s error-strewn weekend horrors…