What does the future hold for Newcastle United? No-one is sure at the moment following Rafael Benitez’s exit from the North-East club.
Thursday’s Newcastle transfer roundup includes an update on the latest candidates for the role, comments from the club’s record signing and interest from a Premier League side in a 21-year-old midfielder.
Vieira, Gerrard and Arteta on shortlist
The Telegraph is reporting that Patrick Vieira, Steven Gerrard and Mikel Arteta are all being considered for the manager’s position. Vieira is at Nice, Gerrard is with Rangers, whilst Arteta is Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager at Manchester City. No contact has yet been made with the trio as they eye up Benitez’s successor.
Almiron responds to Real rumours
Miguel Almiron has commented on reports linking him to Real Madrid. The Paraguayan, who is currently at the Copa America, said, “It’s an honour that a team like Real Madrid looks at me, but I’m not aware of anything and now I’m focused on the Copa America and then Newcastle.”
United after Longstaff
Manchester United are very interested in signing Newcastle’s Sean Longstaff this summer according to the BBC. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is reportedly keen on the Englishman and would like to add him to the signing of Dan James, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka potentially on the way too.
Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara is a transfer target for English Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion, as reported by website TEAMtalk.
What’s the story?
Kamara only joined the Gers from Dundee in the January transfer window, signing for a bargain fee of just £100,000 according to The Scottish Sun.
Since then he’s shown remarkable progress in Steven Gerrard’s first-team and has become very popular with supporters.
Watch the video below to find out which derbies the Pl>ymaker squad have picked as the most entertaining, fierce and passionate in the world…
TEAMtalk say that new Brighton boss Graham Potter is a fan of the player and had previously tried to sign him before he made the switch to Ibrox, when manager of Swansea.
The outlet reckon that the Seagulls are now ready to make an offer and test the Gers’ desire to hold on to him.
Gerrard’s best signing
Gerrard has made loads of signings already since arriving at Ibrox last year, but considering the fee and the impact that the Finnish international has had on the Rangers midfield, there’s a strong case to be made that the 23-year-old is in fact the manager’s best transfer to date.
He has composure, poise, vision and a determination to get stuck into the ugly side of the game too. If you combine all that with excellent potential then it builds a picture of Rangers being onto a real winner.
His surging run and assist for Scott Arfield in the most recent derby against Celtic was a perfect example of why the club would be mad to sell him right now.
The midfielder will improve even more with a longer run in the Gers team and with the club looking to chase the Hoops down next season, Gerrard will need to retain his best players.
Kamara is already in that category and so the club must resist any offers for him over the next few months.
Nobody emerged from Fulham with much credit in what proved to be a disastrous 2018/19. With their backs to the wall throughout the Cottagers scraped together just seven wins from 38 and were relegated three weeks prior to Easter. It was to put it mildly a poor show all round.
It seems unfair then to reference this calamitous campaign and highlight a nagging concern regarding one player. It seems unfair to single anyone out. That discounts though the fact that this particular player was recently considered a phenomenon; a bona fide superstar-in-the-making no less. In that context his fall has been sharper than most.
At the tail-end of the season before last with Fulham in the ascendancy and promotion-bound, a 17 year old Ryan Sessegnon collected every EFL award going. He won the Championship Player of the Year, the Young Player of the Season, and even the Apprentice of the Year for good measure. He became the first teenager outside of the top flight to be nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year while his 14 goals – scored from left-back, left wing and as an attacking midfielder – was only two short of the collective haul bagged by every other teen in his league.
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His confidence on the ball astounded for someone so young. He lightning pace and quick feet caused havoc against defences that had mostly been there and worn the t-shirt. He brought to mind the remarkable emergence of Gareth Bale only not as a 21-year-old at Spurs after several seasons of incremental progress but straight away, as a wide-eyed kid fresh out of the box.
In the build-up to Russia 2018 there were even calls for his inclusion in Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad and this after the London-born flyer had made just 82 professional starts none of which were at the highest level.
Check out what the Pl>ymaker FC squad got up to at the Football Blogging Awards in the video below…
Nobody knew where his development ceiling was at that juncture and that truly excited. “We believe he’s going to be an important player in this country and in the future for the English national team.” That’s what his then manager Slaviska Jokanovic said about him ahead of January 2018.
Contrast all this hype to now and with a year remaining on his contract and with his club heading back to the Championship the big guns are circling for Sessegnon’s signature. Tottenham are reported to be leading the chase with a fee of around £45m said to be sufficient to secure the services of a player who so recently was viewed as our next big hope.
Soccer Football – Champions League Final – Tottenham Hotspur Training – Wanda Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain – May 31, 2019 Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino during training REUTERS/Carl Recine
Only now the hype has dimmed. The estimation of Sessegnon has settled. Even a ceiling has possibly been spied. Last term the versatile star was unable to break up a Joe Bryan/Andre Schurrle duopoly down Fulham’s left and made just 26 Premier League starts. Few were of note.
This is not to suggest of course that Ryan Sessegnon has turned into a bad player over-night. It is perfectly normal for any youngster’s progress to momentarily stall before picking up again. This is especially true when playing for a relegation-haunted side.
Yet it is equally true to say that this summer Sessegnon heads to Italy for England’s participation in the Euro Under 21 finals with a certain pressure to perform. Do so and last season is dismissed as a blip. Fail to make any mark and doubts will set in.
Is Sessegnon a generational talent or a flash in the pan? Most likely his talents lie somewhere in between and very shortly we’ll find out where.
Crystal Palace have announced that Connor Wickham has signed an extension to his current deal at Selhurst Park, meaning that he will stay at the club until 2021. The former Sunderland man putting pen to paper is Palace’s first bit of business of the window and it’s hardly inspiring.
Despite having spent much of the 2018/19 campaign on the treatment table, the crocked striker appears to be a part of Roy Hodgson’s plans next season, although his appearances will likely be limited to the cup competitions or off the bench.
Considering what happened at SE25 in January, it’s a surprise that the big hitman will remain at the club beyond the summer but it’s a total shock that the Eagles chiefs have decided to offer him an extension.
What’s the word?
Well, the 26-year-old, who has made just 42 appearances since signing in August 2015, had this to say after signing his one-year extension:
“I’m pleased to have got everything sorted, so I can now fully focus on working my way back into the team during pre-season and the upcoming campaign. I hope I’ll be able to show that when fully fit I’m capable of playing a key part.
“It meant a lot that the club backed me after such a serious injury and I hope I’ll be able to repay that faith shown in me.”
The number 21 managed just 6o minutes of Premier League football in 2018/19 but it would seem that those were enough to see his future at the club secured for another two years, remarkably.
January fire-sale a one-off
Having offloaded Jonny Williams, Jason Puncheon and Jordon Mutch in January, Palace looked to be finally clearing out their deadwood in order to free up their wage bill, although this ruthless attitude seems to have already been discarded – Eagles fans will wish Wickham had gone with it.
The one-goal flop rakes in an astonishing £60,000-a-week and is the club’s joint-seventh-highest earner, level with Scott Dann and Vicente Guaita. At present, the decision to extend his current deal seems foolish and will likely prove costly in the coming years unless the forward can put his injuries behind him and repay the faith, as he says, that has bizarrely been shown in him.
Wickham certainly isn’t the striker signing Palace fans are surely hoping for this summer and they will be crossing their fingers that he isn’t the only one.
Everyone knows Manchester United need to completely rebuild their squad. With that in mind, they should start with the man up top, so throwing out Romelu Lukaku and bringing in Paulo Dybala would be a dream.
Calciomercato have reported that the Red Devils are interested in the Argentinian, and who could blame them? Simply put, he’d fit into Ole Gunnar Soskjaer’s philosophy perfectly. Obviously, the Juventus ace hasn’t hit his usual standards this season but he could return to form at United.
His five goals and six assists from 27 appearances are quite underwhelming, but his movement, work-rate and technical ability is something United have been missing under the colossus that is Lukaku. A much more deft player, he could help the club actually create attacks when it comes to feeding their fast forwards.
He’s still one of the best attackers in world football and is just 25-years-old. Right now, he’s rated at £90m on Transfermarkt so he’d be another big-money buy, but this time he’d be a success. Clearly, Dybala understands the pressure of playing for a massive club, but isn’t flashy like his old team-mate Paul Pogba.
Whoever comes in this summer, they must fit the style of football Solskjaer wants to play. To that end, the Argentine would bring his individual talent but also work hard for the team when they don’t have the ball, and that’s something they’ve lacked over the last six years.
If he can get back to form at United, he’d provide a constant flow of goals and assists that could bring them back to competing for the title. They have a gap of nearly 30 points to bridge, but world-class players like Dybala would go some way to closing it.
United fans, who do you think your club needs to sign this summer? Join the discussion by commenting below…
Divock Origi scored twice as Liverpool recorded a 4-0 win over Barcelona in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final on Tuesday night.
Trailing 3-0 from the first leg at Camp Nou, Liverpool knew that they needed a special performance to turn the tie around in front of their own supporters.
Their task was made harder due to the absences of Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, but Origi came up with the goods at Anfield.
The 24-year-old scored the goal that kept Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge alive at the weekend, before netting a brace against the Spanish champions.
It was quite comfortably his finest night in a Liverpool shirt and it was not a surprise to see so many of the club’s fans lavish praise on the centre-forward.
It remains to be seen what happens with the Belgium international this summer, but it is safe to say that he has secured hero status on Merseyside.
A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
وصف فرانك لامبارد، المدير الفني لـ تشيلسي الإنجليزي، فوز فريقه اليوم أمام بيرنلي، بأنه خطوة جيدة إلى الأمام.
وأضاف لامبارد أن النجم المغربي حكيم زياش أعطى الفريق دفعة جيدة وأشاد بشخصية اللاعب بسبب الطريقة التي يريد بها الكرة.
تشيلسي فاز على بيرنلي بثلاثية نظيفة ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، وسجل زياش هدفًا وصنع آخر.
وقال لامبارد لـ “بي بي سي” البريطانية: “لقد كان أداءً متكاملاً جدًا منا، إنه مكان صعب المجيء إليه، بيرنلي يجعلون الأمر صعبًا للغاية على الفرق وكانوا غير محظوظين في المباريات، لقد سيطرنا على أجزاء كبيرة من المباراة، لذلك أنا سعيد جدًا”.
اقرأ أيضًا.. لامبارد يكشف طبيعة إصابة بوليسيتش بعد غيابه عن مواجهة بيرنلي
وأضاف: “كنت أدرك دائمًا في بداية الموسم أن الأمر لن يكون سهلاً، لكن أداء مثل هذا يظهر أننا نقوم بشيء إيجابي، نحن بحاجة لنستمر في العمل الجاد”.
وأردف لامبارد: “هناك مباريات شعرنا فيها بالإحباط وخسرنا النقاط، يحدث ذلك في كل مكان في الدوري الإنجليزي”.
وعن حكيم زياش، أشاد لامبارد: “أنا معجب به ومتحمس له حقًا، استطعت أن أرى شخصيته ومعدل عمله بعيدًا عن الكرة، هذه الجودة تمنحنا شيئا مختلفًا”.
وعن بن تشيلويل، أكد لامبارد إن الظهير الأيسر كان له تأثير إيجابي حقًا، ويضيف أن كلا الظهيرين كانا يعملان بشكل جيد عندما تقدموا للأمام وعندما دفاعا.
In January, Leicester used their right to recall Harvey Barnes from his loan spell with West Brom. The attacking midfielder’s stint on loan after arriving in the summer was therefore a short one, but the Baggies have looked a considerably worse side without him.
However, when supporters of the west Midlands outfit were asked to vote for their player of the season, they were left stunned that the 21-year-old was left off the list.
Considering every Albion player was up for voting, it was strange to see his omission.
It caused great surprise amongst the Hawthorns faithful who reacted in their dozens on Twitter. One fan claimed it was blasphemous that he wasn’t a part of the vote whilst another supporter chose to call Barnes the ‘crack-paperer,’ making reference to the struggles the club have endured since his departure.
A host of fans simply asked where the option was to vote for him.
The Leicester man was excellent whilst at the club, finding the net nine teams and claiming six assists. It’s clear their supporters still hold him in high regard, such is the reaction.
Lucas Joao’s time at Sheffield Wednesday has seen him turn into an enigma of sorts in the eyes of the club’s supporters.
Since moving to Hillsborough in 2015, the Portuguese forward has only shown glimpses of his talent and has been let down by a lack of consistency in front of goal which has resulted in him failing to reach double figures in the Championship in the previous three seasons.
However, the 2018/19 campaign could see Joao finally break through this particular barrier if he can find the back of the net in at least one of the Owls’ remaining eight fixtures. With Steven Fletcher expected to miss today’s trip to Stoke City due to a groin injury (via the Stoke Sentinel), boss Steve Bruce could opt to call on the former Nacional star, but only if he passes a fitness test of his own.
A return to the starting eleven for Joao could allow him to establish a permanent place in the starting eleven for the rest of the season if he can put together a run of performances that see his side move into the play-off positions. Despite being 10th in the Championship, the Owls are just two points behind the top six and therefore have a great opportunity of forcing themselves into the promotion equation in May.
Competitions for places up-front could see five players fighting for just two positions when Gary Hooper and Fletcher return and so for Joao, it is pivotal that he stands-out if given the chance.
A poor run in the side will force the 25-year-old to watch on from the sidelines at Hillsborough and do nothing to prevent concerns over his future at Wednesday. If the club are to achieve promotion at the end of the season, Joao may be moved on if he cannot improve his consistency as the Premier League represents an even tougher challenge.
What do you think Owls fans? Should Joao be given a chance to lead the line if fit? Is he good enough to make the step up to the top flight next year if you get promoted? Let us know below.
Darren Moore was sacked as West Bromwich Albion manager on Saturday evening following the 1-1 draw at home to Championship strugglers Ipswich Town, but it could have been so different if he had made an obvious substitution.
On the chalkboard
Well, the 44-year-old’s reign at The Hawthorns came to an end at the weekend after the Baggies took just one point from the previous nine available, leaving them nine points adrift of the automatic promotion spots ahead of the latest round of midweek fixtures.
The heavy 4-0 defeat against Leeds United would have been a huge concern for the Albion hierarchy, but you would assume that they would have stuck with their former centre-back for at least another game had he taken all three points against the Tractor Boys.
That scenario looked on the cards when Stefan Johansen gave them the lead in the fourth minute, but following Jon Nolan’s equaliser just after the interval they were unable to find a way through.
Where was Jefferson Montero?
Moore switched things up against Town with a lot more freedom handed to some players in a 4-3-3/3-5-2 system, but it actually seemed to affect them negatively as they were unclear where they should be on occasions.
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Given they were 42 minutes plus stoppage-time to find another breakthrough against a team that look destined for League One, it is baffling why the Swansea City loanee remained an unused substitute.
Instead, the 44-year-old boss brought on central midfielders Sam Field and James Morrison instead, while the relatively inexperienced Jonathan Leko also came on the pitch ahead of him.
He has goals – as he showed against QPR last month – in him as well as the ability to inject some pace and creative threat in the final third, and he could have helped West Brom get the three points needed to save Moore – for the time being at least.