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According to South London Press, Charlton will resume talks with Anfernee Dijksteel regarding a new contract after the play-offs have concluded, with promotion to the Championship clearly a priority for the hierarchy at The Valley.

The Dutchman still has a year left on his current deal so the matter isn’t as urgent as, say Lee Bowyer’s situation – the Addicks boss’ contract with the club expires this summer.

Regardless, the former Newcastle midfielder’s comments regarding Dijksteel’s future are a positive sign that Roland Duchatelet will get the ball rolling soon enough. But are the play-offs going to become another excuse for the eccentric Belgian to drag things out?

What’s the word?

Well, Bowyer told South London Press:

“He hasn’t signed yet. I thought it would be done by now if I’m honest.

“But that’s something we will pick up after the end of the season.

“He’s still got a year left. We just thought he had done well, so we’ll reward him with a new deal.”

Don’t worry about Dijksteel

The 22-year-old has impressed on the right of defence in the absence of first-choice Chris Solly and was particularly stoic in the difficult 0-0 stalemate with Bristol Rovers in March. Primarily, or formerly, a defensive midfielder, the number 2 has excelled in a new role this season and earned praise for his exploits on Charlton Live’s award dinner podcast at the weekend (quotes from between 00:57:30 and 00:57:58):

Check out what happened when two of Charlton’s best players faced-off in a game of ‘Splat’ in the video below…

“When he (covered for Solly at right-back last season) I was impressed but I thought that there was a mistake in him and that there was a little vulnerability when he came forward, but this season, I’ve just felt that he’s so much (more) comfortable, bearing in mind that central-defensive midfield is his main position. I just feel like he’s been a lot more asserted at that right-back position now and he’s sort of made it his own. He’s someone I’ve been really impressed with this season.”

Dijksteel has shown that he could succeed 28-year-old Solly in the coming years and so tying him down would be a smart bit of business from the SE7 outfit but Charlton fans will likely be more concerned with the fact that Joe Aribo, Patrick Bauer and the aforementioned Bowyer, who is a huge hit with the fans, could leave free of charge this summer.

The play-offs are, of course, a huge opportunity for the Addicks but they may become an excuse for Duchatelet to stall on contract negotiations with various key players and staff. Will the extended season prove detrimental to Charlton’s chances of keeping their best players?

Manchester United might find themselves having to look for a David De Gea (linked with PSG by the Express) replacement this summer, but they may have already found him in Ajax’s Andre Onana.

The 23-year-old was sold by Barcelona in 2015 for £135,000 (as per Transfermarkt), but this season he’s shone at Ajax. There’s no way his team would have been so impressive without him and it seems like United know that too, according to the Daily Record.

Indeed, such a low transfer fee speaks to what a gem he is and, while he’s obviously worth far more than that now, it’s hard to imagine the stopper attracting the sort of fee the likes of Matias De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong will command.

The aforementioned report believes United have made attempts to sign the Cameroon international, but Ajax have rejected their offer so far. That’d be a harsh blow for the club, but they could up their bid to secure the man who could be the next hero at Old Trafford.

De Gea has achieved almost god-like status during these tough times since Sir Alex Ferguson retired. In the future, Onana could reach the same heights but by bringing United back to the forefront of English football, a platform they are struggling to get back to. In fact, at this point, anyone who helps the Red Devils recover would be a hero for years.

He’s looked very promising in the Champions League this season, proving he can cope with the pressure of playing on the big stage. He was particularly impressive against Spurs in the semi-final, making some outstanding saves, despite the dramatic loss.

Trained at two of Europe’s most historic clubs, the African certainly has the kind of footballing pedigree to fit in at the Theatre of Dreams.

United need a clean sheet in more ways than one. A fresh start is needed for players right across the pitch, whether that be through transfers or a change in attitude. Bringing in Onana as a De Gea replacement would give United a new hero to get behind.

United fans, who do you want your club to sign if David De Gea leaves? Join the discussion by commenting below.

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Arsenal supporters on Twitter have excitedly welcomed the news that Takuma Asano will return to the Emirates this summer after Hannover rejected their option to buy the forward.

Asano was signed by Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2016 but has yet to appear for the Gunners, instead spending three years on loan in the Bundesliga, two with Stuttgart and one with Hannover.

The Japanese international’s spell at Hannover never got off the ground as he made just 13 Bundesliga appearances without scoring a single goal.

Wenger described Asano as “a talented young striker and very much one for the future,” but he was never given an opportunity in England after his work permit was denied.

While it seems unlikely that the 24-year old will get a real chance under Unai Emery, the Gunners are in search of a replacement for Danny Welbeck and Arsenal fans on Twitter have claimed that Asano deserves a chance to establish himself in north London.

Check out the best of the reaction below!

There are just two games left of the season, and it is still all to play for at the top and bottom of the table as we enter an enthralling finale to the campaign.

Liverpool are still relying on a slip up from the reigning champions Manchester City as they hope to win their first ever Premier League title, whilst the race for the top four is still in the balance with Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all battling for a place in Europe’s finest club competition.

Down the bottom, Cardiff still have faint hopes of survival, but will realistically need to beat Crystal Palace and Manchester United and hope Brighton lose both of their games.

Let’s take a look at the Premier League nominees for the PFA Bristol Street Motors Fans’ Player of the Month award for April…

Mohamed Salah

After a eight-game goal drought, Mohamed Salah found his goalscoring boots once again in April.

Four goals in four games from the Egyptian, including wonder strikes against Southampton and Chelsea, saw him leap to the top of the league’s scoring ranks on 21 goals, whilst he also grabbed an assist in the 5-0 rout of Huddersfield to round off an excellent month.

Bernardo Silva

The diminutive Portuguese international came up trumps for Manchester City in April.

The former Monaco midfielder netted a crucial opening goal in the Manchester derby, whilst also being named as the Man of the Match in that fixture.

Bernardo Silva was also named in the PFA Team of the Year.

Jamie Vardy

The former England international is on fire for Leicester under Brendan Rodger’s guidance.

Jamie Vardy found the back of the net five times in just four games throughout April, including a match-winning double against Arsenal.

Sergio Rico

The Fulham goalkeeper hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons, but he did have a fantastic April personally.

Sergio Rico kept three cleans sheets in four appearances as the Cottagers won three of their four games under the guidance of Scott Parker.

Ayoze Perez

The Spaniard enjoyed an eye-catching April as Newcastle managed to secure their Premier League survival.

Ayoze Perez scored five goals in five games, including a hat-trick in the 3-1 win over Southampton.

Lucas Digne

The Everton left-back kept three clean sheets out of a possible four throughout April.

The French international also managed to find the back of the net in the 4-0 rout over Manchester United with a long-range strike to cap off an excellent month for himself personally.

Whilst the Hammers have struggled with inconsistency all season, getting one over their London rivals Tottenham puts all their problems to one side. How nice is it to be the first ever team to win at their overrated new home? Wonderful, wonderful stuff. 

Still, it hasn’t been the greatest season for Manuel Pellegrini and his players but it is one that has shown real glimpses of potential. Indeed, despite the huge spending over the summer, West Ham will be hoping to make a number of changes this window too, in a bid to get themselves where they want to be.

The need for changes is a great one, with the right additions sure to hoist the Hammers further up the Premier League and improving their chances of reaching a seventh place in the future. Who knows? Maybe they could go higher.

One player they have been linked with is AC Milan’s Hakan Calhanoglu (via Fanatik late last month) and he is certainly the calibre of player that would allow West Ham to get far better as a team. Calhanoglu, (who is valued at £19.8 million on Transfermarkt) would undoubtedly be a huge lure for West Ham and one who would add significant quality to their midfield.

The 25-year-old has been strutting his stuff for the Italian side, being their reliable, creative source from the heart of midfield. Perhaps he could be everything Jack Wilshere was supposed to be.

With a stunning 13 assists across the season, Calhanoglu is understandably a player West Ham would be keen to acquire, given his natural talent on the pitch. His reputation, especially from dead-ball situations, is second-to-none and the Hammers haven’t had a capable player from those chances since Dimitri Payet left in 2017.

With Hakan Calhanoglu able to play both central-midfield and on the wing, West Ham may finally have their missing link and the player to help assist their growth to the next level.

Do you agree Hakan Calhanoglu would be a brilliant signing for the Hammers? If not, why not? Join the discussion by commenting below… 

Obviously, as a boyhood Liverpool fan, Alexander-Arnold is gutted to have missed out on the title.

However, the club have the final of the Champions League to look forward to and the 20-year-old’s performance will be crucial if Liverpool are to win their first European trophy since 2005.

Ian Wright is a huge fan of the England international and he expressed his admiration for the youngster by commenting on his Instagram post.

Alexander-Arnold had a ridiculous week recording four assists, including two in the win over Newcastle United at St James’s Park and a brilliant corner against Barcelona for the crucial goal in Liverpool’s stunning comeback.

The Liverpool academy product has had a truly excellent season and both him and Andy Robertson are essential to the way The Reds play.

It would be hard to argue that Alexander-Arnold is not the best crosser of a ball in the Premier League. Most of his deliveries are whipped in with great pace but perhaps more importantly pin-point accuracy, and it is this combination which has proved such a struggle for defenders to deal with throughout the campaign.

Attention now turns to the Champions League and, if Liverpool are to win, Alexander-Arnold will need to be on top form.

As Wright says, there is plenty more to come from one of the biggest English talents to emerge in recent years.

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Marcus Rashford remains one of few current Premier League footballers to have broken through the academy traps, earning himself a place as a Manchester United regular and building on the fast start to his career that his potential suggested he could achieve.

But if he remains at Old Trafford for another 18 months, at which point he’ll turn 23, the England striker will belong to an exceptionally rare breed. 

Indeed, while Rashford remains an inspiration for all, it’s becoming harder and harder for young footballers to break through and have a career as a footballer, especially at Premier League clubs.

The nature of society is so that possessing the talent isn’t enough. Social media, agents, contracts, sponsors and a greater public-watch than ever before are all factors that negatively impact the opportunities available to young footballers to grow their career.

Even those who deal with all these factors immaculately, such as Harry Kane, may have to deal with life on loan and the prospect of foreign talent arriving to take your place. Having a career as footballer is one of the hardest journeys you could possibly pursue.

You need a manager who’s brave enough to trust youngsters like Rashford and give them the opportunity to shine, rather than field an out-of-position option just because they have more first-team experience. A good example of this now is Chelsea starting Eden Hazard up front when Tammy Abraham is on loan at Aston Villa and scoring goal after goal.

To highlight this issue and quite the severity of it, two Sheffield Hallam University researchers found that only around 5% of players signed to Premier League sides at the age of 18 were still with their club by 23.

Dr Chris Platts and Melissa Jacobi, of the university’s Academy of Sport and Physical Activity department, followed the progression 142 18-year-olds in 21 different academies and centres of excellence in the four top divisions. 55 of these players were signed to Premier League clubs. By the end of the study, only three of them remained in the top flight, with ten of them in the Championship.

Who would win out of Man Utd’s treble winners and Man City today? Fans discuss in the video below…

The statistics from this research is damning on football clubs, especially those in the Premier League. At the age of 18, a footballer is beginning to truly blossom and all the talent and attributes that one needs to scout a player should be fairly easy to evaluate. The idea that players arrive at the age of 18, and by 23 have slumped down the pyramid is a great problem for scouts of these mega-rich clubs who should be able to determine more crucially and ruthlessly whether a player is cut-out for the top level or not.

Whether young footballers always make the right societal decisions come the age of 19 and 20 is a debate in itself. Dr Platts said: “Contemporary debate about professional footballers’ working lives is dominated by supposed high wages, excessive endorsements and the celebrity lifestyle.

“One consequence of this romanticised view of professional football is that the everyday realities of working in such a precarious career remain largely ignored. The research paints a picture of the complex, precarious, unequal and relatively short careers of the majority of footballers, particularly those signed to Premier League clubs.”

The responsibility is on football clubs to encourage the promotion of young footballing talent and to ensure their scouting teams are far more efficient with signing young players. Along with that, managers must be hired who are willing to trust young players and blend them into a squad of experienced professionals who can pave the way for the youth to break through.

This is all easier said than done, as the financial reward for football clubs’ success these days is so vast that short-term results will always take precedence over long-term gain. Ultimately, the road for youngsters is getting harder, and we’ll see fewer and fewer Marcus Rashfords in England despite the undoubted potential for so many more. 

انتهت قبل قليل مباراة منتخبي إسواتيني والكونغو، التي أقيمت في إطار منافسات الجولة الرابعة من التصفيات المؤهلة لنهائيات أمم إفريقيا بالكاميرون.

المواجهة أقيمت على ملعب إسواتيني باستاد ترايد فيير والتي حسمها التعادل السلبي.

الكونغو يفوز على إسواتيني بثنائية نظيفة في تصفيات أمم إفريقيا

بتلك النتيجة يرتفع رصيد إسواتيني إلى نقطة واحدة متذيلًا ترتيب المجموعة، فيما يرتفع رصيد الكونغو إلى 7 نقاط محتلًا المركز الثاني.

يذكر أن الجموعة التاسعة يتصدرها منتخب السنغال برصيد 12 نقطة، فيما يحتل منتخب غينيا بيساو المركز الثالث برصيد 3 نقاط.

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It would be fair to say that Liverpool fans are not interested in their club making a summer swoop for Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale.

The Reds have not actually been linked with the Wales international, who did not feature in Real Madrid’s final three games of the 2018-19 campaign.

However, if they were, it seems that the majority of Liverpool supporters would not want their club to make a bid to land the 29-year-old.

Bale only scored eight La Liga goals for Los Blancos during the 2018-19 campaign.

The attacker still has three years left to run on his contract at the Bernabeu, though, and will surely not walk away from such a lucrative deal.

It would not be a surprise if the Welshman did ultimately end up back in the Premier League, but the Liverpool fans are simply not interested in a swoop.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Arsenal’s season is heading towards being a fairly successful one if they can pick up two wins in their final two games and cement a Champions League place. 

The Gunners, under the management of Unai Emery, have adapted well to life without Arsene Wenger and will be pleased overall with their performances throughout the season.

The Europa League also remains on the cards for the club in terms of winning a trophy, something which would add that something extra to Emery’s first year in charge.

The season has not been without it’s problems though, and there have been some harsh comments and opinions directed at various members of the Gunners squad, in particular, Mesut Ozil, who has often flattered to deceive with his performances in a Gunners shirt this year.

However, Ozil has turned round this week and made it clear he wants to stay with the club rather than move on in the summer, but we here in the Tavern feel he needs to be doing more if he does indeed stay put.

Ozil has enough ability to be the sort of player who is really impacting games, and really should be one of the first names on the team sheet for Emery when he is on form.

Something needs to change though for the German in all honesty, and he needs to quickly get back to his best if he is to aid Arsenal’s cause.

You don’t play for Real Madrid and have the career Ozil has had without being a quality operator, and if Arsenal are to be successful, they need him back to his creative and brilliant best.