All posts by h79snht.top

According to reports in The Sun, Newcastle United are battling Premier League rivals Southampton and West Bromwich Albion in the race to sign Napoli midfielder Allan this summer.

Despite the fact that he has been a key player for the Serie A giants over the course of the last two seasons following a move from Udinese, The Sun says the Italian side are ready to cash in on him before the transfer window slams shut if they receive an acceptable offer.

Magpies manager Rafa Benitez has already strengthened his squad ahead of their Premier League return after bringing Christian Atsu, Florian Lejeune, Jacob Murphy and Javier Manquillo to St James’ Park, but he won’t be finished there as he looks to lead his side to safety in the upcoming top flight campaign.

While the Spaniard may face competition from Saints and the Baggies for the Brazilian, he will be hopeful that the midfielder, who is rated at £13.6m by transfermarkt.com, is the next arrival through the door.

Here are three reasons Newcastle must win the race to sign Allan…

Tenacity

The Brazilian has proved during his time in Serie A that he is a tenacious midfielder that loves a tackle and to beat an opponent.

If Rafa Benitez is looking to add some more energy and aggression in the centre of the park then Allan could be the man for the job, and he successfully won 51 tackles and completed 39 take-ons in 29 Italian top flight appearances for Napoli last term.

That record is nothing compared to the one he had in the 2014/15 campaign with Udinese though, when he won 128 tackles in 35 Serie A appearances – the most in Europe’s top five leagues – and successfully completed 77 take-ons.

That shows the ability he has and they are attributes that could be important in a Newcastle side that may need to spend a lot of their time trying to win the ball back in the Premier League in the upcoming season.

Creative ability

Allan has shown that he isn’t just effective from a defensive point of view though, and that he can also be effective in attack too.

The 26-year-old created 29 chances and provided six assists in 29 Serie A appearances last term from the middle of the park, proving that he has the ability to find a final pass in the final third too.

With an overall passing accuracy of 86% the Brazilian has also shown that he isn’t wasteful in possession, and that will be important for Newcastle in what could prove to be a difficult return to the Premier League.

Price tag

The Sun says that Allan could be available for £10m and considering some of the ridiculous transfer fees that have been thrown around already during this summer transfer window, signing the Brazilian for that price could turn out to be a bargain.

The 26-year-old has shown just how effective and influential he can be from the middle of the park, and the fact that he should be approaching the peak years of his career makes a deal that is too good to turn down.

Certainly fitting into their price range, Newcastle manager Benitez will hope that his previous time managing Napoli can give him the advantage over his Premier League rivals in getting a deal over the line.

Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.

As reported by The Mirror, Julian Draxler has become one of the most wanted men in European football with Man United, Liverpool and Arsenal all on alert to secure his signature this summer.

What’s the story?

With Neymar making his high profile switch to Paris Saint-Germain this season and the Ligue 1 giants reported to be keen on adding Kylian Mbappe to their squad too, it means that some of the talented players already at the club could be forced to find a new home this summer.

One of those players is Julian Draxler, according to The Mirror, who only joined PSG in January. The paper say that he has been put up for sale by the French club and could be available for as little as £32m, a bargain price in today’s market.

That’s alerted Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool, who are all looking for fresh attacking talent on the left wing, according to The Mirror.

What does he offer?

Draxler is an elite attacking midfielder who would improve the squad of almost every team in the English Premier League this summer, especially teams who are looking for more on the left flank.

While last season was one of transition for the German international, making his move from Wolfsburg to Paris Saint-Germain in January, he still managed to be a massive presence for the French side with 10 goals in all competitions.

If he could replicate that across an entire season at one of England’s big clubs he could be a fantastic signing, especially at the reported cut price of £32m.

Is he the final piece in the puzzle for Jose Mourinho’s United? Can he turn Liverpool into title contenders? Can he make Arsenal fans forget about their Alexis Sanchez problem?

According to reports on Chronicle Live, Aston Villa are targeting a move for out-of-favour Newcastle United midfielder Jack Colback.

The Chronicle Live says that Magpies manager Rafa Benitez is willing to listen to offers for the unsettled former Sunderland man, with the Daily Mail reporting last week that the two had had a training ground row.

The Daily Mail says that the 27-year-old was training away from the main group but was called to join them after someone picked up a knock, but he refused and Benitez has since told him to train alone.

The report adds that Colback is likely to be left out of the Toon Army’s 25-man Premier League squad and he looks to be a target for Villa manager Steve Bruce, whose team have endured a disappointing start to their Championship campaign as they look to secure a return to the top flight at the second time of asking.

Here are three reasons Villa should avoid bringing Colback to Villa Park…

Midfield options

One of Aston Villa’s main problems is still a lack of creativity and goals, and bringing Colback to Villa Park certainly wouldn’t eradicate that problem.

The 27-year-old is more of a defensively-minded midfielder who is tidy in possession and with Villa already having the likes of Mile Jedinak, Glenn Whelan, Conor Hourihane, Josh Onomah and Henri Lansbury in the middle of the park, the Newcastle man doesn’t really seem like the signing that the team needs right now as they look to ignite their Championship season.

Wages

According to the Daily Mail, Colback is currently on a £40,000-a-week deal at St James’ Park and that could prove to be a problem for any interested clubs like Aston Villa.

Villa have already had to have a relatively quiet summer when it comes to paying transfer fees for new players as they look to stay within the FFP regulations following their significant spending last season.

Trying to meet the demands of the 27-year-old, who potentially looks to have a bad attitude following the training ground incident, would certainly be a risk and add even more pressure to their need to win promotion back to the Premier League this term.

The future

With automatic promotion the ultimate aim this season, Steve Bruce will need to start thinking of players that he would want in his squad should Villa find themselves in the Premier League this time next year.

The fact that Newcastle boss Benitez looks to have discarded Colback following the Magpies’ return to the top flight is certainly not a good sign, and would suggest that the Spaniard doesn’t feel that the 27-year-old is good enough to be a regular at that level.

That should be a worry for Bruce, and he would be better off looking for another player that can an impact in the Premier League if he feels it is a position that really needs strengthening.

Do you agree, Villa fans? Let us know below.

Liverpool vs Arsenal is the headline act in the Premier League this weekend and the final top flight fixture before the first international break of the new season.

It should provide quite the send off; these two sides have both failed to score in this fixture just once since the turn of the millennium and rather fittingly, both have started the season looking strong offensively but porous at the back.

So, are we in for another multi-goal thriller or will Sunday’s 4pm kickoff buck the trend? Our all-in-one preview pack should shed some light on the likely outcome…

What history tells us

In terms of goals scored, games failed to score in, wins and red cards, Liverpool and Arsenal have been on a relatively even kilt throughout the 25 years of the Premier League, the Reds enjoying just three more victories than the Gunners.

What really stands out from their 50 meetings thus far, however, is the sheer number of goals scored. The two sides have produced an average of 2.7 per match, while the last three encounters alone have seen a whopping 17 goals. Rather tellingly too, they’ve partaken in just five scoreless draws in the top flight during the last quarter-century.

However, Arsenal’s win rate at Anfield is 24%, while 32% of the clashes on Merseyside have ended in draws – so the statistics say the Gunners have a pretty good chance of coming away at least a point.

The Referee – Martin Atkinson

Martin Atkinson may not be everybody’s cup of tea but his rankings in the Premier League last season allude to a free-flowing game at Anfield that won’t be disrupted by the constant awarding of unnecessary fouls.

Atkinson awarded only the 13th-most fouls per match and fouls per tackle of the 19 referees to officiate in the top flight last season, so Liverpool and Arsenal should find plenty of opportunities to play rather than having the game suffocated by set pieces.

The 46-year-old is a little more proactive when it comes to awarding cards, however – the ninth-most per match of any referee last season, alongside a controversial red card for Hal Robson-Kanu last weekend. All in all, however, it hints at the kind of game that will suit Arsenal and Liverpool’s shared style of open, attacking football.

Injuries and likely starting XIs

After romping Hoffenheim 4-2 in midweek it seems unlikely Jurgen Klopp will be making drastic changes to his starting XI. The only likely exception is at right-back after Trent Alexander-Arnold hobbled off against the German outfit on Wednesday.

With Nathaniel Clyne also sidelined, Joe Gomez could get the nod to fill in at No.2 – a switch that would also add some much-needed height to the side for those ever-troublesome defensive scenarios at set piece.

Aside from that, vice-captain James Milner may be brought back into the fold, at the expense of either Georginio Wijnaldum and Emre Can.

The good news for Arsenal, by their usual standards, is that they boast a relatively clean bill of health going into Sunday’s game. Alexis Sanchez should be available – although whether he actually starts remains another matter – and Laurent Koscielny is also back in the fray, a vital boost considering how poorly the Gunners have defended so far this season.

The real question is whether Arsene Wenger fields his players in their natural positions; the start to Arsenal’s season has been littered with square pegs in round holes, especially in defence.

Everton fans had to endure a difficult Saturday at Goodison Park. They must have wished the international break had gone on for another week after watching the visiting Tottenham Hotspur dismantle their team 3-0.

Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen were the goalscorers on the day as Mauricio Pochettino’s men showed the kind of form that made them such a force in the English Premier League last season.

After a summer of big signings and new arrivals, Everton fans had been hoping that the Toffees may finally start to close the gap between themselves and the top four qualification places for the UEFA Champions League. However, massive improvement is needed.

One summer arrival they haven’t taken to is Cuco Martina, who joined on a free transfer after the expiration of his contract at Southampton. His performance at right-back against Spurs left a lot to be desired with many errors allowing the visitors to exploit their defensive line.

Fans were enraged by the showing and took to Twitter to share their thoughts…

In terms of value for money, Manchester United’s £30m purchase of Eric Bailly in the summer of 2016 looks to have been extremely smart business.

The 23-year-old pitched up at Old Trafford after one season at Villarreal, and it would be fair to say that the centre-back made a very positive impression during the 2016-17 campaign.

It did not take long for the United supporters to warm to Bailly’s all-action style, and he has also started the new season in impressive fashion.

Bailly, who is valued at £27m by transfermarkt.co.uk, recently gave an interview to United Review where he set out the team’s ambitions for the new season, in addition to discussing some of his teammates.

The interview was posted on United’s official Twitter page, and it will not come as a surprise to learn that the club’s fans were out in force to hail the Ivory Coast international.

Bailly has formed an impressive centre-back partnership with a certain Phil Jones this season, and the adoring United supporters have been quick to praise the former Espanyol defender.

Liverpool play host to arch-rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday in what is undoubtedly the standout fixture in the Premier League this weekend, but Reds fans are worried about the potential of midfielder Gini Wijnaldum starting the huge clash.

Even though the Netherlands international has already made 11 appearances in all competitions for the Merseyside outfit this season, and has started six of their seven top flight fixtures, the Anfield faithful are concerned at how he has often gone missing in some of their games.

The 26-year-old is yet to pick up a goal or an assist so far this term, and Jurgen Klopp will be hoping that he can step up and put in a decent performance against Jose Mourinho’s men as he did when his side Arsenal 4-0 back in August.

Liverpool supporters were quick to voice their concerns about Wijnaldum via social media, and while some said they are looking forward to his “weekly disappearing act”, others would ‘start anyone except him’.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

[ad_pod id=’leo-vegas’]

With a crucial Premier League clash against Liverpool looming, the last thing that Manchester United needed was for another player to join the treatment table.

After Romelu Lukaku picked up an ankle injury last week while on international duty with Belgium, there were doubts over whether the striker would be fit for this weekend’s action.

Well, it seems that the 24-year-old answered those questions by coming on for 30 minutes of Belgium’s World Cup qualifier against Cyprus.

Not only did the striker end the match unscathed, he scored his nation’s final goal in a 4-0 rout.

Chelsea star Eden Hazard scored two, which the playmaker’s brother Thorgan also go on the scoresheet.

Following Lukaku’s performance, United fans tweeted their praise of the former Everton man, while others expect him to play against arch rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday.

Lukaku, who joined the Red Devils from the Toffees in the summer, has scored 10 goals in nine appearances in all competitions this season.

After sealing a Champions League spot last season, many Liverpool fans hoped that the club would push on, but the same problems continue to hamper the team’s progress.

Manager Jurgen Klopp failed to address the defensive issues in the summer transfer window.

The frailties have been clear to see, with the team conceding 16 Premier League goals in nine matches so far.

Last season, the Reds had an unbeaten record over the top six clubs, but already Klopp’s men have been beaten 5-0 by Manchester City and 4-1 by Tottenham Hotspur.

The club have also been unlucky with injuries to key players, including Adam Lallana and Sadio Mane.

It appears that another name can be added to that list following news that Philippe Coutinho is a doubt for Saturday’s match against Huddersfield Town, who defeated Manchester United last weekend.

Klopp confirmed to reporters in his media conference on Friday that the Brazilian is struggling with an adductor problem that he suffered in training.

As expected, the fans were left disgruntled by the news.

[ad_pod ]

Football sometimes saves its darkest moments for just before the dawn.

An England team who had underperformed at Euro 2000 under Kevin Keegan, going out in the group stages saw arguably their darkest moment occur before their brightest false dawn.

Keegan stayed on as manager after the European Championships, but lasted only one game into the next qualifying campaign. Drawn against Germany, Finland, Albania and Greece, England were handed their a toughest qualifying group in recent memory. Not even the debacle of Euro 2008 qualifying presented England with a group where they might have legitimately feared having to go through a play-off to make a major tournament. But coming up against Germany, who were themselves on a low ebb after a poor Euros, too, was still a tough test.

It is one of those rare qualifying campaigns with three separate iconic football games; two of which have their own Wikipedia entries. It heralded an era where the English football team captured the imagination in a way it singularly fails to do today. But it all started with a low point.

Keegan’s final game as England manager was also the final game at the old Wembley stadium. It’s still hard to believe that the rebuilding of the national stadium took almost a decade, as delays and spiralling costs kept pushing the opening date back: rather than opening in 2003, as it was meant to, the 2007 FA Cup final was the official opening of the stadium.

It’s not a forgotten fact that England lost their final game at the iconic old ground, but it’s since been superseded by myth and legend.

Dietmar Hamann, one of five Liverpool players included in the two squads, was the scorer of the only goal of the game as a German side featuring some fairly unremarkable players ratcheted up the pressure on England and their manager, Kevin Keegan – himself a Liverpool legend.

A long-range free kick skidded along the Wembley turf and the ball evaded David Seaman’s grasp, and the goalkeeper took some of the blame in the press after the game.

The pressure became too great. After the match, former FA Chief Executive David Davies entered the England dressing room to find David Beckham in tears and Tony Adams pleading with the administrator to ‘talk him out of it’. What had transpired was that Keegan had decided to quit his role, and not even the will of the desperate players, or indeed Davies’ chat with the manager in a Wembley toilet could change his mind.

The pressure of the job was always great, but something had happened in English football since 1996. The Premier League had changed the game, and England’s performance in Euro 96 on home soil had a profound effect, too.

Most importantly, though, although the qualifying campaign for World Cup 2002 was a catalyst for change in both Germany and England, it was also remarkable for how far both countries were able to grow after just a year. From October 2000 to September 2001, the difference was marked, especially for England. Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Ashley Cole and Steven Gerrard had come into the team under new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, and they helped England to a famous 5-1 victory in Munich in the return game. It was a frightening turnaround, and one which helped the new-look England team to grow in the hearts and minds of the nation, and to earn the ‘golden generation’ tag which would haunt them later in the decade.

It was a game which also made possible one of English football’s best moments of the decade, too: in the very last minute of the very last group game, England were losing 2-1 to Greece at Old Trafford. But a better goal difference than Germany meant that one goal would be enough to see England avoid a play-off and go straight into the draw for the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. David Beckham’s free-kick, hurtling past the goalkeeper and hitting the net flush in the top corner is one of the great moments of English football, partly because of the interest in the national team gained from traveling around the country to play home games during the Wembley redevelopment, and partly because England aren’t usually afforded tense, last-minute drama given that qualification for major tournaments is usually so comfortable.

But if that was a false dawn for England, Germany’s dark moment sparked a famous ‘reboot’: even though they went on to reach the final of the 2002 World Cup the next year it was far from a vintage squad. But since their defeat to England in Munich, they’ve only once failed to reach the semi-final of a major tournament; at Euro 2004.

Both countries were beaten at the World Cup by eventual winners Brazil in 2002, and although it took Germany longer to generate a ‘Golden Generation’ than it took England, it’s fair to say that it wasn’t the false start that England suffered. Eriksson’s men never made it past a quarter final of a major tournament, nor have they managed to go any further since the Swede’s departure.

But as England have, once again, qualified for a major tournament with deceptive ease, they should learn from the ups and downs of the 2002 World Cup qualifying campaign and not herald fresh starts with too much vigour. In the end, Germany’s second place finish sparked them on to create one of the world’s best sides within a decade. For England, it’s been far too long without that kind of success.