During the summer window, most football fans are desperate to find out who their clubs will scoop up.
Some are also concerned with whether they will lose any of their first-team stars, and that has certainly occupied the minds of Tottenham Hotspur supporters.
The futures of Toby Alderweireld and Mousa Dembele look murky, while Danny Rose’s position at the club is also uncertain.
One man who the fans are desperate to sign a new deal is Christian Eriksen, who had an impressive season with 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions.
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The social media buzz is that the midfielder will soon put pen to paper on fresh terms, mainly because he has been spotted dining with manager Mauricio Pochettino.
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Football.london journalist Alasdair Gold tweeted a photo of the midfielder, Spurs boss and restaurant staff at an eatery in Denmark.
There are no details behind the restaurant visit, but Tottenham fans have been speculating that it is contract related.
Tottenham fans are furious with the latest transfer news, after young midfielder Keanan Bennetts joined Borussia Mönchengladbach on a permanent deal.
Tottenham have been busy since the season ended, wrapping up young stars like Cameron Carter-Vickers, Davinson Sanchez and Harry Winks to new extended deals.
It seems they’re not having it all their own way though, as Keanan Bennetts has become the third English youngster to join Borussia Mönchengladbach, following Mandela Egbo and Reece Oxford to the German club.
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Bennetts has never played for the senior Tottenham team, but has been extremely impressive for the under-23 side this season, grabbing nine goals and eight assists in 32 appearances.
Mauricio Pochettino has a sterling reputation for nurturing young talent, and it doesn’t seem like fans are too happy about letting one slip away.
One would have to assume Pochettino decided against keeping Bennetts, as the club would have surely done more to keep him, but fans are nonetheless furious about losing a potential young star.
Some of the best Twitter reactions can be found below…
According to reports in the Daily Mail, West Ham United have launched a £35m-plus bid to sign Lazio attacker Felipe Anderson, who currently earns £70,000-a-week according to the Daily Star, and Irons fans have been quick to have their say on the rumour.
The Daily Mail says that the east London club have already opened talks with the Serie A club and the Brazilian’s representatives, with the 25-year-old said to be keen to work under new Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Anderson, who would likely be a replacement for Michail Antonio seeing as he primarily plays on the right wing, enjoyed another impressive 2017/18 campaign with Lazio, scoring eight goals and providing a further 10 assists in 32 appearances in all competitions.
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West Ham supporters, who have urged their club to splash out £26m on another 25-year-old star, took to social media to give their thoughts on potentially bringing the South American to the London Stadium, and while one said “I’d cry”, another said “Anderson looks like a better player than Antonio”.
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As reported by The Telegraph, Leeds United are interested in appointing Aston Villa boss Steve Bruce this summer.
What’s the story?
With Marcelo Bielsa emerging as a manager target last week, many fans were expecting the Elland Road side to go down a non-traditional route in selecting a new boss.
However, a surprising new candidate for the job has emerged.
The Telegraph say that Leeds have made an approach for Villa boss Steve Bruce, capitalising on the uncertainty currently surrounding the Villans in a financial sense.
However, the paper reckon Bruce has yet to give an answer to Leeds, waiting to see how bad things are at Villa this summer before making a decision on his future.
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Would he be a good appointment?
Bielsa is undoubtedly a more exciting appointment than Steve Bruce for many Leeds United supporters. Having managed Chile, Argentina and a variety of top clubs in Europe, his pedigree is beyond the usual limitations set by playing in the English Championship.
However, Bruce would be a solid and pragmatic choice. There is little risk to his appointment given his in depth knowledge of the division and the players in it, coming so close to getting promoted with Aston Villa just last season.
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Having been promoted with Birmingham and Hull to the English Premier League previously, he has a proven track record of getting ambitious clubs into the top-flight.
Sunderland fans are praising the heavens about their latest transfer move, as Jason Steele is set to join Premier League Brighton.
Plenty of things have gone wrong at the Stadium of Light in the last couple of years, but the biggest factor in the Sunderland’s downfall has to be their quite simply awful transfer business.
Even when the Black Cats were scraping their way to safety in the top tier, the club has been making poor decisions in the transfer market for quite some time.
One of the biggest issues with the squad last season was the lack of a solid goalkeeper, as the likes of Steele and Lee Camp just could not fill the boots of Jordan Pickford.
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Fans were annoyed when they found out there is no sell-on clause in Pickford’s move to Everton this week, but this latest goalkeeper news has certainly cheered them up.
Steele joined the club in 2017, and did not impress in his 15 Championship starts last season.
Fans are almost in disbelief that he’s earned a move to the Premier League, but they are thankful nonetheless to get rid of an underwhelming player.
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You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
According to The Mirror, Marco Silva is eyeing English midfield duo Jack Wilshere and Ruben Loftus-Cheek as potential additions to his new-look Everton team. The Portuguese was given the nod to take over from Sam Allardyce earlier this summer and signing the offensive-minded pair would certainly bring the Toffees a lot closer to producing the kind of entertaining football that supporters craved during the former England gaffer’s underwhelming stint in charge.
But could there be unforeseen negatives to Everton snapping up Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek on a free transfer and most likely a loan respectively? How will their arrivals affect the makeup of the squad and the balance of the team? Football FanCast take a look at three potential consequences – some good, some bad – of Everton pulling off a double swoop for the English midfielders this summer.
Tom Davies is frozen out
Davies’ development has been one of the biggest success stories at Goodison over the last few seasons but a midfield overhaul would appear to push the 19-year-old into the shadows of the engine room pecking order, especially as Loftus-Cheek is of similar age and Jack Wilshere – theoretically, at least – is entering his prime years.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Davies won’t be a part of the first team squad next season, but it certainly suggests Silva doesn’t have an overwhelmingly positive opinion of the youngster at this moment in time. For both Toffees fans and the England setup, Davies featuring in the side that won the Toulon Tournament earlier this year, that would be a real disappointment.
Gylfi Sigurdsson is sold
Sigurdsson arrived at Everton last summer and although he only managed to show it in glimpses during his first season, there’s no doubting the Iceland international’s immense technical talent. But Silva’s interest in Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek suggests the attacking midfielder probably isn’t an integral part of his plans going forward.
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A midfield trio of Wilshere, Loftus-Cheek and Sigurdsson would be far too offensive, leaving what’s already a rather shaky backline glaringly exposed, and if the latter’s difficult debut season proved anything it’s that he needs to be playing centrally with the rest of the team built around him. Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek don’t seem like the players to do that – in fact, they’re incredibly similar to Sigurdsson as offensive-minded No.8s – so perhaps Silva is already considering axing Everton’s club-record signing.
Silva adopts the Klopp approach
Silva’s used plenty of different setups during his time in the Premier League but started last season fielding Watford in a 4-3-3 with two roaming No.8s, in a similar style to what we saw from Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool and Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City throughout their potent 2017/18 campaigns. It feels like the vogue formation at this moment in time, producing exciting football by taking advantage of a new breed of technically gifted, dynamic and mobile central midfielders.
Through their dribbling ability and creativity, Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek are ideal candidates for those crucial midfield roles, at their best when pushing forward from the engine room to make things happen in attack. It seems like the most logical setup to maximise the qualities they bring to the team, and it certainly fits into the Premier League’s current tactical trends.
So, Everton fans, should your club sign Wilshere and Loftus-Cheek this summer? Let us know by voting below…
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Newcastle United and manager Rafa Benitez secured a brilliant 10th-place finish in their first season back in the Premier League following a one-year absence, and while they had their ups and downs throughout the campaign, in the end they avoided being embroiled in a relegation battle and were safe in April following a fine run of form.
The Spaniard will certainly be keen to significantly strengthen his squad this summer – hopefully with the backing of owner Mike Ashley – if the Tyneside outfit are to push on and progress in the 2018/19 season, and he will surely focus his attentions on bringing in new attacking players given his team only scored 39 goals in their 38 top flight fixtures last term.
The Toon, whose fans are unhappy with a transfer link to a Championship midfielder, ideally need more goals from out wide if they are to begin to push for Europa League qualification, and the former Real Madrid and Liverpool boss will also potentially want two new strikers, too.
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With Joselu failing to fire, Dwight Gayle not a consistent goalscorer at this level and Aleksandar Mitrovic looking likely to go having shone during a loan spell with Fulham in the second-half of the previous campaign, at least one centre-forward is a priority.
Benitez will be confident of getting one of those in if he is given the right budget, and he may well hope that reinforcements in the final third can help them improve as he will want them to.
The 58-year-old is in something of a minority in the Premier League right now seeing as he prefers to play with a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 system, and while it clearly worked last term it could be more difficult for Newcastle in general now the other top flight sides generally know how they are going to play and how to exploit their weaknesses.
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The tactically-astute Benitez perhaps needs to look for a new formation before the new season in order to bring some unpredictability to his side’s playing style, and he perhaps should be learning a lot from England manager Gareth Southgate.
As shown by the Three Lions’ win in their opening 2018 World Cup fixture against Tunisia on Monday – especially in the first 25 minutes or so – the players have adapted quickly and are well suited to the flexible 3-5-2 formation that the 47-year-old has introduced.
With a couple of additions, Newcastle certainly have the players to work in that system too, with four decent central midfield options in Mo Diame, Jonjo Shelvey, Mikel Merino and Isaac Hayden, and Ayoze Perez or Dwight Gayle able to play alongside a new centre-forward up top.
Soccer Football – World Cup – Group G – Tunisia vs England – Volgograd Arena, Volgograd, Russia – June 18, 2018 England manager Gareth Southgate celebrates after the match REUTERS/Sergio Perez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
DeAndre Yedlin would be a great right wing-back and if they could find someone similar on the opposite flank – perhaps Kenedy if they can sort out a deal to bring the Chelsea man to St James’ Park on a permanent basis following a successful loan spell – they will be well set.
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The 3-5-2 formation allows a lot of movement in those central areas of the pitch with Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard often pushing forward against Tunisia to leave Jordan Henderson as the deep-lying player when England were attacking, and the same technique could certainly work for Benitez when his team were in need of a goal.
With the energy this Magpies team already has and with the right signings this summer, the Tyneside outfit would be in a great place to follow Southgate’s blueprint and bring even more success for the club in the upcoming season.
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Wolves are looking forward to returning to Premier League action next season after romping to Championship glory this term, and manager Nuno Santo will be looking forward to spending some big money on new players this summer.
The Midlanders, backed by their super rich owners and influenced by agent Jorge Mendes, will no doubt be linked with a whole host of fresh talent, but here in the Tavern, our landlord thinks the club could well look closer to home to find its next star.
Wolves are bound to be linked with a whole host of names in the coming weeks, and with good reason. However, there are plenty of players already in the English game who could well do a superb job at Molineux if given the chance.
One player our landlord dropped into the conversation this week was Man City star and Celtic loanee Patrick Roberts, who has been excellent for the Bhoys over the course of the last two seasons, but looks to have a job on his hands breaking into the City team this term.
The impressive young attacking midfielder was a key member of the Celtic squad once again last term, and despite only getting on the scoresheet just the once, his performances in general were of excellent quality.
However, with City having such a depth of talent, Wolves could well look to make a move for the 21-year-old, where he will no doubt be given more first team chances and the opportunity to impress crowds in the Premier League.
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Wolves fans, what do you think? Would you take Roberts? Good signing? Let us know!
Cricinfo staff14-Dec-2009Mashonaland Eagles completed a nine-wicket win over Matabeleland Tuskers
in Harare. Matabeleland were left to rue two unsatisfactory batting innings; in the first they were dismissed for 217, Greg Lamb taking four wickets, and in the second they were all out for 153 with Trevor Garwe claiming five.Matabeleland showed little fight as they went down on the final day. Barring a stubborn stand Sean Williams and Keith Dabengwa, there was little to speak of. Matabeleland entered the final day on 70 for 4, still 20 runs behind after Mashonaland had taken a lead of 90, and lost both overnight batsmen without an addition to that score. That brought in Dabengwa to join Williams, and the pair put on the one substantial partnership of the innings. Williams was let off in the slips off Elton Chigumbura when on 1, while at the other end Dabengwa lobbed two balls in the air and nearly ran himself out.Somehow the pair added 63, almost doubling the side’s total, before Ray Price came on and snapped the stand by trapping Williams lbw for 33. With that went any resistance. Garwe finished with 5 for 43 and there were two wickets each for Chigumbura and Kyle Jarvis.Chasing 64 to win, the Mashonaland openers Sam Mwakayeni and Tafadzwa Mufambisi bolted out of the blocks. John Nyumbu’s first two overs went for 19 and the team’s fifty was up in 30 minutes before Mufambisi went for 18. Mwakayeni wasn’t about to slow down and slammed 34 from 22 balls to hasten victory.At the Kwekwe Sports Club, a rain-marred draw played out between Mid West Rhinos and Southern Rocks. There was no play possible on days two and four, after Rhinos opted to bat and scored 179 for 9 on the opening day. It was a disappointing effort from them, with only the opener Bothwell Chapungu (75) crossing 22. Rhinos were dismissed for 185 on day three and then the Southern Rocks opener batted two deliveries before the weather played spoilsport.
Virender Sehwag was all praise for the surface in Rajkot where he notched up his career-best effort in ODIs
Cricinfo staff15-Dec-2009Virender Sehwag is arguably the only player in the world who will score a 102-ball 142 and then put his money on the opposition for superstitious reasons. Yet even there he was a winner – at the end of a day on which 825 runs were scored, his knock propelled India to an ultimately unreachable score and he later said it was his best ODI innings.”It is my best knock, better than the 130 I made earlier [against New Zealand in 2003],” said Sehwag, who had scant sympathy for the bowlers, most of whom had their averages ruined. “One-day cricket is a batsman’s game. It was a very good one-day wicket. Yet Ashish Nehra bowled 28 to 30 yorkers in his last five overs and Zaheer also bowled a lot of yorkers. That helped us win in the end.”Batting first on a belter can be fraught with the danger of under-achieving and Sehwag acknowledged that the goal-posts kept shifting during India’s innings. “When Tendulkar and I were batting we thought we could reach 350 as the wicket was that good,” he said. “But then when I and MS Dhoni got together to raise the 300 in the 32nd over, we felt we could get 400.”The batting Powerplays proved to be crucial as both India and Sri Lanka lost wickets that robbed their respective innings of momentum. Sehwag singled out the dismissals of the rampant Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan during the restrictions as the key moment in the match. “When they were batting so well it looked like we might lose the match,” he said. “Their dismissals turned the match in our favour.”India’s win was almost undone by some sloppy fielding – they dropped easy catches and gave away several runs in the outfield – but Sehwag chose to dwell on the manner in which the standards improved towards the end of the match. “We have dropped a lot of catches in the T20 and also dropped a few here,” he said. “But later we realised that we need to focus on fielding well. We effected run-outs and fielded very well which contributed a lot to the victory.”