Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas has slammed Real Madrid for going public about their interest in Gareth Bale. However, Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has continued to state that the club will not give up in trying to sign the Welsh Wizard.
Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp says a move to Real Madrid may be too good to refuse for Bale, noting that the opportunity to play for Los Blancos does not come along very often.
Spurs are also in the news for a positive reason. The Lilywhites completed a £26 million club record transfer for Roberto Soldado. Soldado tallied 30 goals in 46 appearances for Valencia. The 28-year-old believes the transfer was a good move for both sides.
Away from north London, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes the club must hold on to Luis Suarez in order to be successful.
“I think he’s got a huge decision to make and his teammate, I’ve got to show him respect and give him space to make whatever decision he wants to make,” Gerrard stated. “But I think everyone in this room and everyone at this club knows what I want Luis Suarez to do.”
Gerrard also said he would not want LFC to sell Suarez to Arsenal, but he would understand if he went abroad to Real Madrid or Barcelona. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger finally confirmed that the north London club has made a bid for the Uruguayan star.
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With the ongoing Gareth Bale transfer rumours, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has raised an important question to his star Cristiano Ronaldo. Ancelotti stated that he’s not looking to change his position on the field but wants to put Ronaldo where he feels the most comfortable.
Finally, in the midst of all the Wayne Rooney transfer news, Man United legend Bobby Charlton believes Rooney should be a mainstay at Old Trafford for years to come, noting that he hopes one day Rooney will score as many goals in a United shirt as he did.
It was reported yesterday that Aston Villa could yet make a move for Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who they have “long been admirers of”, having previously bid a reported £25m for the player back in the Summer of 2019.
This year, things could be different though, due to the sacking of boss Marcelo Bielsa, who wasn’t just a fan-favourite but was also a player-favourite among the likes of Phillips – who left him a heartwarming farewell message.
After the midfielder’s impressive showings at the European Championships last summer, it seemed unlikely that he would be heading anywhere but a ‘top 6’ club competing in European competition should he leave Leeds, but with the club languishing above the relegation places, a move to Villa wouldn’t be shocking in the slightest.
There is even a possibility that he could line-up alongside AC Milan star Franck Kessie, who has a “serious” offer on the table from the West Midlands club – which would surely create one of the Premier League’s best midfield trios with John McGinn or Jacob Ramsey slotting in the other position.
Villa boss Steven Gerrard must be licking his lips at the prospect of deploying any three of those four names, in his midfield system that aims to win back possession quickly and transform defence into attack often with just a few touches – something which the “perfect” midfield brute is well-known for.
The likelihood of both deals being completed at this stage isn’t high, but should journalist Ashley Preece’s claim that the club are ready for “a summer of big change” and complete a number of outgoing transfers, then funding may potentially not be a problem.
Phillips, who was rated at a whopping £60m last year, has had a season plagued with injury and fitness problems, but we all know the quality that he possesses, and his attitude, mentality and work rate makes him the ideal ‘Gerrard’ midfielder – so if the deal is there to be done, it simply must be completed.
Alternatively, Gerrard could still swoop for his former Rangers star Joe Aribo, who was heavily linked with a move in December, and would also slot into the midfield three perfectly, having played in a Gerrard system previously before.
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Completing an impressive 83.2% of his passes per game this season, as well as an eye-catching 8.60 passes under pressure per game, Aribo would also likely cost significantly less – having a valuation of just £9m.
In other news: AVFC make “serious” offer for “devastating” gem, he can take them to the next level
Among them are midfielder Oliver Skipp, who Conte allegedly considers a ‘coach’s dream’. He has taken a ‘big shine’ to the Englishman and agrees with the feeling inside Spurs he could become a major player in the next few years (Alasdair Gold).
Chelsea’s former head coach has also held praise for Dane Scarlett with Conte calling Tottenham’s 17-year-old gem a ‘really good’ talent and Spurs’ ‘best’ academy prospect (football.london).
The Latest: Conte also adores Sessegnon…
According to The Athletic, after an impressive few games, Conte ‘knows’ he has another starlet in Sessegnon who can ‘catch fire’ at Tottenham – provided he stays fit.
The left wing-back has been heavily favoured recently, starting the last four matches, including an imperious display away to Leeds United in a 4-0 demolition.
The Verdict: Crunch time for Sess…
Despite not having his best game against Middlesbrough in Tottenham’s FA Cup defeat on Tuesday night, the 21-year-old has undoubtedly displayed his quality in certain matches.
The mission now is to ensure he manages that level on a consistent enough basis with no more substitutions inside the first half an hour of Premier League matches.
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Sessegnon possesses bags of potential with pundit Noel Whelan even tipping him to become a ‘£50 million player’.
If the ex-Fulham star can keep fit and keep his place under Conte, Spurs fans may finally see that level start to slowly come.
In other news: Conte green-lights move for new top target as Spurs hierarchy pressured to seal agreement, find out more here.
Tonight brings arguably Manchester United’s most important game of the season so far as they host Atletico Madrid at Old Trafford in the second leg of their Champions League tie, and it’s all to play for after a 1-1 stalemate in Madrid.
This season has been yet another disappointment for fans with the side crashing out of both domestic competitions earlier than planned and are now in a very tight top-four race that could see the side end the season without a Champions League qualification spot in the Premier League, only heightening the desperation for progression in the European competition now.
With that being said, Ralf Rangnick must impose their best-attacking threats on their opponents to not only get an early lead in front of their home fans but to see out the game comfortably and with confidence. Therefore, the German coach must not ignore how out of form some of the players are currently and select those who have made an impact in the last few weeks.
The player who has put Manchester United in the position of power going into this decider tie is Anthony Elanga, who scored the equaliser in the final moments of the first game away at the Metropolitano Stadium, giving the team the crucial lifeline they needed ahead of their game at Old Trafford.
It’s very clear that Marcus Rashford is out of form for the Red Devils and Rangnick must realise that starting the struggling winger could be more of a hindrance than a help against the Spanish side this evening, especially since he hasn’t scored since January. Albeit more experienced in these pressured games, swapping out the 24-year-old for a young, goal-hungry Elanga would be more advantageous for the team.
The 19-year-old attacker who was hailed a “dream come true” by his manager Rangnick, has scored twice now in the last couple of weeks for Manchester United during a combined total of 38 minutes on the pitch. That is extremely impressive for the £3.6m-rated young talent and shouldn’t be overlooked by the manager when he makes his team selection today.
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Crashing out of the Champions League would be the final nail in the coffin of a disastrous season for Man United, and considering the team are playing at home in the final leg, Rangnick is under huge amounts of pressure to deliver in the decider. If he doesn’t the side could be in a sticky situation when it comes to European football next term.
In other news: Get rid: Ralf must bin £78k-p/w MUFC dud who lost the ball every 3 touches on Saturday…
Nelson Semedo, Ki-Jana Hoever and Pedro Neto are all out of Wolves’ Premier League clash with Leeds United, according to journalist Tim Spiers.
The Lowdown: Wolves face another big match
Wanderers are back in league action on Friday evening, as they host relegation-threatened Leeds on a big occasion at Molineux.
Bruno Lage’s side still have a chance of finishing in the top four this season, albeit a slim one, highlighting the importance of their clash with the Whites.
They will have to make do without three important figures for the game, though.
The Latest: Trio out of clash
Writing on Twitter on Thursday, Spiers confirmed in a six-word verdict that Semedo, Hoever and Neto would all be absent against Leeds, with the Portuguese pair back after the international break:
“Semedo, Hoever and Neto are out.”
[freshpress-quiz id=“388797″]
The Verdict: Must-win game
It is a blow to be without all three of Semedo, Hoever and Neto, with the absence of the first two leaving Wolves depleted in terms of right-back options. It seems likely that Jonny will again fill in there, having returned to action recently.
This is undoubtedly a must-win game for Wanderers, considering they are at home to a team near the bottom of the table, with anything other than three points damaging in their quest for European football.
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Victory would see Wolves go within two points of Arsenal, albeit having played three games more, and they would also jump into sixth place in the process.
In other news, Wolves have been given a boost regarding one player. Find out who it is here.
Manchester United have been stepping up their pursuit for a new manager during the international break with Ralf Rangnick due to end his interim role this summer, and an important update has now been revealed by Fabrizio Romano on the progress with Erik ten Hag.
What’s the word?
Popular transfer insider, Romano, has revealed an update on ten Hag’s future and has revealed that the Dutch manager has been approached by other clubs.
Tweeting to his 7.4m followers on Monday morning, he confirmed:
“It’s true, Erik ten Hag has been approached by two more clubs after meeting with Manchester United. No final decision yet on Man Utd side – he’s been interviewed last week, positive feeling but club board’s still considering other options.”
Glazers will be worried
The Glazers already have a very strained relationship with their fans, with a number of protests held against the owners over the years and letting the favourite choice, ten Hag, slip through the cracks due to the potential of him securing his future elsewhere, could be the final nail in the coffin for the owners at Old Trafford.
The Dutchman is the obvious choice to take over the project at Manchester United after his success with Ajax over the last few years, taking the Dutch champions to their first Champions League semi-final since 1997 in 2019 and then going on to win two Eredivisie titles and two Dutch cups.
Thus, the 52-year-old clearly possesses the winning mentality the Red Devils are desperate to reignite at their club.
During the manager’s reign at Ajax he has earned some impressive statistics, with 207 games in charge, winning 153, drawing 26 and losing just 28, leading to a win rate of 73.9% and an average of 2.34 points per match.
The Dutch side have scored a remarkable 570 goals in those 207 fixtures at a rate of 2.75 goals per outing, proving further that ten Hag’s attacking tactics are extremely effective, and again, something Man United are in dire need of to not only find an identity as a team but to become the powerhouse they once were under Sir Alex Ferguson.
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The powers at United must be more efficient and decisive in the coming weeks when it comes to finalising their plans for the future of the club moving forward. They cannot afford to go another season trophy-less and with a number of players potentially leaving on a free this summer, including Paul Pogba, attracting the right talent to replace could become a difficult task if the club can’t offer bright prospects for players.
In other news: MUFC now battling to sign £63m-rated gem this summer, he’s “better quality than Pogba”
On Wednesday, West Brom entertain promotion chasers AFC Bournemouth with both sides looking to secure all three points.
Over the last five games, the Baggies have taken eight points from a possible 15, with the recent 1-0 defeat against West Midlands rivals Birmingham City proving as a potential detriment to their outside chances of sneaking into the play-off places.
Results have been poor since the start of the year and even with the appointment of Steve Bruce, West Brom have struggled to settle on a formation. They have made some improvements, with Bruce deploying a 3-5-2-flat formation across the last five games, and it has seen the Baggies begin to pick up much-needed points at what is such an important time in the season.
There is a slight issue with the system though; it does not cater for all of their talent, with prospects like Grady Diangana, who has been described as a “special talent” by The Athletic reporter Steve Madeley, failing to get a look in over the last five games.
Since Bruce’s system change, Diangana’s game time has suffered drastically with the former England youth player making six-eight minute cameos off the bench for the Baggies in four of the last five games.
Just a year-or-so ago, West Ham skipper Mark Noble slammed the Hammers’ decision to let Diangana leave and shared his view in response to the club’s official tweet regarding Diangana’s departure. He said:
“As captain of this football club I’m gutted, angry and sad that Grady has left, great kid with a great future!!!!!!”
At the time of Diangana’s departure from West Ham, there were also links to Ajax, with Erik ten Hag said to have been interested in the now £7.2m-rated winger.
On the chalkboard
Diangana’s talent is unquestionable but his potential is not being filled.
A slight system change could allow Diangana to shine, whilst also aiding the Baggies in their pursuit of the Championship play-off places.
Bruce’s three at the back experiment has so far worked for West Brom, but the defensive constraints on the wide players translate to less freedom for Diangana, which may be why Bruce is giving him limited minutes.
If Bruce were to issue a 3-4-3-box system (3-2-2-3), as used by Xavi at former club Al Sadd, he would be able to give his wingers freedom to attack, with the two central midfielders and central defensive midfielders able to cover defensively.
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Diangana can play on either wing, but being left-footed could offer Bruce an inverted option on the right, in what would be a threatening attacking trio of Robinson, Grant and Diangana (RGD for short).
The link-up between Diangana and Grant could spell real trouble for the rest of the Championship.
In other news – Fewer touches than Johnstone: WBA lightweight who made just 3 passes let Bruce down – opinion
This means that he will be able to leave as a free agent, and given that he currently holds a market value of £6.3m, signing him could represent a real bargain for any club looking to secure his signature.
The Latest: Strakosha eyed
As per Corriere della Sera’s Roma edition (via Sport Witness), the St. James’ Park faithful ‘would like’ to sign Strakosha once his contract expires, and they are one of a few ‘admirers’ in England.
It does not look like a new deal with Lazio will be struck, as manager Maurizio Sarri wants ‘someone else’ between the posts, and so this is a move that could well happen should they manage to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
The Verdict: No-brainer
With the chance to sign Strakosha for free, it is surely a no-brainer for the North East club.
Crucially, he is just 27 years of age, and so would hold a healthy sell-on value, even if it does not quite work out on Tyneside.
Nonetheless, there is no reason why it should not work out, given how highly he is regarded in Italy, with former Lazio goalkeeper Silvio Proto once dubbing him as ‘explosive’ and a ‘phenomenon’.
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At six-foot-four, the Albania international is a colossus, and with Martin Dubravka now 33, Strakosha is a worthy and cheap replacement, allowing the new owners on Tyneside to splash their cash in other areas of the pitch.
In other news, find out which £51m-rated star who outshone Cristiano Ronaldo NUFC are now eyeing here!
Wolves have been pretty busy during the previous summer and winter transfer windows with players leaving the club and new ones coming in.
Looking ahead to the upcoming summer window, it seems as though this could once again be the case for the Old Gold in their latest attempt at strengthening their squad.
What’s the news?
According to a recent report from journalist David Ornstein in The Athletic, Wolves are eyeing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes as a potential replacement for Joao Moutinho, whose £100k-per-week contract at Molineux is set to expire in the summer.
In 125 combined appearances for Sporting’s senior and U23 sides, the midfielder has scored nine goals and provided 11 assists along the way.
Moutinho heir at Wolves
This current campaign has seen the Brazilian-born midfielder make 28 league appearances for his club and even have his first taste of Champions League football with six appearances to his name.
To highlight how much of a well-rounded midfield option he is for his side, the 23-year-old has racked up a total of 23 tackles, 26 interceptions and 23 crosses in the Portuguese league this season, putting him in the top ten for each statistic in Sporting’s squad.
His overall performances have earned the Portuguese international a season rating of 7.08 from WhoScored, making him Sporting’s sixth-highest rated player for this campaign.
This rating would make him the highest-rated Wolves player by the same metric, showing what an impressive player the £27m-rated gem is at a fairly young age.
Labelled as an “unbelievable” player by Goncalo Santos as well as being “one of the best players in the world today” according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Nunes certainly has a lot of hype around him, which could make him an exciting recruit for Bruno Lage’s side.
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With Wolves’ track record of signing players from Portuguese clubs, Nunes, who has a better technical rating than Moutinho at this stage of his career according to SofaScore, could be an ideal long-term figure for the Midlands club and follow in the footsteps of the other players that have joined the Old Gold from Portugal such as Ruben Neves, Fabio Silva and Chiquinho among others.
In other news: Wolves plot swoop for “special” £33m Mendes client, he’s better than Trincao…
When I was a young whippersnapper supporting any team who happened to be at the top of the Premier League table, I never thought I’d live to see the day a footballer was worth £100million. But before making even a quarter of a century without succumbing to fatal demise, I find myself almost regurgitating my morning Vimto over a copy of The Telegraph, claiming Manchester United intend to spend that exact figure on Real Madrid’s Gareth Bale this summer.
It seems illogical the European champions would demand a fee superior to the world-record-breaking sum they coughed up two summers ago for a player they apparently now want to get rid of. It seems improbable two separate institutions could spend £187million on the same person, for his ability to kick around a pig skin, in the space of two years.
For pretty much any other club in world football, I’d advise their money be better spent elsewhere, spread more evenly across a diverse array of transfer targets; but for a Manchester United team in desperate need of everything the 25 year-old offers, he might just be worth that ridiculous nine-figure fee.
Bale has always struck me as a Manchester United player, a winger-forward of imperious pace, power, industry and netting prowess, with enough technical quality to rightfully succeed the likes of Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo on the Red Devils’ flanks. He would have thrived under the clinical counter-attacking football of scintillating velocity that defined United under Sir Alex Ferguson, and become the biggest benefactor of Paul Scholes’ driving through balls into the final third.
But now, the Red Devils need Bale’s eclectic mix of talents more than ever. They’re a few superstars short of a title-winning side and a penetrative threat that can be depended upon for goals has been absent from their forward line for much of the season – particularly since Angel Di Maria’s early superlative form turned surprisingly sour.
Wayne Rooney’s underappreciated pace is a running cliché and Ashley Young has performed considerably better than expected when called upon. But overall, United have been static up front this year – dependent more on the aerial dominance on Marouane Fellaini to punch holes going forward – and with the exception of Di Maria’s deft lob against Leicester City, we’re yet to see them roar up the pitch in the manner of old. In fact, they’ve scored just two counter-attacking goals this season – five less than the Premier League’s best in that regard, Manchester City.
Louis van Gaal’s attempted to take the team in a new direction this season – his much-discussed philosophy of ball retention juxtaposed by long, angled passes. But physically demanding counter-attacking is an integral part of the Premier League and there are few attackers in world football who suit that basketball-paced style better than the Welshman.
Not that Bale is all about the counter-attack, although his capacity to convert wide open spaces into goals was the catalyst for his £87million move to the Bernabeu, after netting 26 times during his coming-of-age campaign at Tottenham Hotspur. Since joining Real Madrid, he’s succumbed to La Liga demands by improving his ability in tight spaces, with deft flick-ons, nutmegs, tidy one-twos and reverse passes aplenty.
And more than counter-attacking itself, it’s the manner in which the winger has refined his abilities so perfectly for Premier League football – his athleticism, his ability to produce stunning technique whilst moving at incredible speed, his overall workrate and original tutoring as a defender – that would make him such a valuable asset for a United side seemingly moving away from English ideals.
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But perhaps most importantly of all, Manchester United need a bold statement this summer – a declaration they’re a part of the European elite once again. It will take a lot to shake Chelsea’s confidence of retaining the title and Arsenal are rather chuffed with themselves amid a purple end to an otherwise ordinary 2014/15 campaign; but Bale is the kind of signing – and £100million is the type of transfer fee – that can psychologically shift the balance of power back into United’s favour.
Should a combination of the above events secure United’s first Premier League title since Ferguson’s resignation, then Real Madrid’s £100m man will be worth every penny. The longer they go without the English crown in the legendary Scot’s absence, the harder it will become.