Tottenham have moved quickly this summer to potentially remedy a long-term problem area for the club, with the recruitment of a number of new central defenders to bolster Mauricio Pochettino’s backline.
Spurs have failed to find a stable centre-half pairing over recent years, but the Argentine trainer’s options have been increased significantly by the addition of two new impressive signings.
Toby Alderweireld and Kevin Wimmer join the North London club from Atletico Madrid and FC Koln respectively, giving the Spurs boss the luxury of mixing and matching at the heart of his rearguard next term.
The Belgian joins the White Hart Lane side after a mightily impressive campaign on loan at Southampton, where he showed that he has all the physical and technical attributes to be a real asset in English football.
Alderweireld is widely expected to partner national compatriot Jan Vertonghen in the heart of the side’s defence next term, with the pair playing together for a number of silverware-laden seasons at previous club Ajax.
Although Younes Kaboul has been offloaded to Sunderland and Vlad Chiriches is widely expected to follow him out the door, Spurs have no shortage of other options.
Wimmer is a confident and physically imposing addition to Pochettino’s contingent, with a deceiving turn of pace also. Although he will take time to adjust to his new environment, the 22-year-old Austrian will look to pick up first-team game time next season and could be an impressive option.
The fact that he is left-footed suggests that he would be an alternative to Vertonghen, rather than Alderweireld.
Federico Fazio had a mixed debut campaign in English football, with his excellent aerial ability and solid stature counter-acted by his notable lack of pace. The Argentine is clearly favoured by compatriot Pochettino, but just how much football he is set to play in 2015-16 remains to be seen.
However, the Spurs star that is in most danger of missing out on regular action next season is Eric Dier. The former Sporting Lisbon man showed in his first season at Spurs that he has the raw ability to be a top central defender, even if he still has work to do to achieve this status.
Pochettino partnered Dier with Vertonghen for a run of games last season, but the England under-21 man was also used at right-back at times and also spent a prolonged period out of the team.
With the Belgian duo’s likely status as first preference for the White Hart Lane side, Dier’s development could well be blunted.
For a young and promising defender like Dier, regular first-team football is necessary to see him proposer and continue to improve.
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With Pochettino playing a back four and having five central defenders at his disposal, six if you count Chiriches, it is evident that there is going to be some disappointment next term.
Dier looks like one of the players set to miss out, which will come as a frustration given his positive showings as a centre-half when given the chance last term.
If nothing else, it has been a season of consolidation and mild yet crucial improvements for Liverpool. During his inaugural campaign, Brendan Rodgers has lead the club 7th in the Premier League, a place higher than under Kenny Dalgish from the season previous, and even if there is no silverware this year, the Northern Irishman has at least halted the Anfield club’s continual malaise.
Upon his appointment the problems at the club were rife on the Red side of Stanley Park, with a number of big money transfers such as Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll and Jordan Henderson yet to deliver performances anywhere near the expectations of their financial investments, and a squad overall imbalanced in terms of depth, quality and age. Yet Rodgers has emerged over the course of the season as a competent manager, successfully holding the club together during a difficult transition period and bringing along with him a berth of talented youngsters that could well underpin future successes at Anfield in the years to come.
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But the slow and steady pace of change appears to not be enough for the players, the club and fans, whom are all desperate for Champions League qualification next season. Considering the current situation on Merseyside however, is the aim actually achievable or more wishful thinking from an ever-optimistic manager who has announced his ultimate objective for next season is to win the title, according to the Daily Mail.
Just as at the start of Rodgers’ Liverpool tenure, he will have to weave his way past a number of summer obstacles should he continue to improve the club’s position on and off the pitch from the year previous. The Andy Carroll issue has been dealt with swiftly and with minimal fuss, without too much mention of the Reds’ ridiculous £35million investment in the lanky Geordie, however, even with the £12million in additional funds from the striker’s agreed transfer to West Ham on a permanent basis, the budget for the coming transfer window will be incredibly tight at Anfield, with the majority of newspapers reporting a summer kitty of between £20million and £30million.
It will be a transfer period of scrimping and saving for Rodgers whenever possible, considering a number of key departments in the first team need addressing. Although the Reds have an array of central midfielders, and have reportedly signed another in Manuel Iturra, the squad is seriously lacking in quality out wide, with Stewart Downing yet to prove his worth, recording seven goals and 11 assists in 91 Liverpool performances, and the likes of Raheem Sterling, Suso and Oussama Assaidi yet to find any level of consistency to their game.
Similarly, at the back, the Liverpool gaffer faces a serious challenge in finding an adequate replacement for the retiring Jamie Carragher, with the most likely candidate being Swansea’s Ashley Williams at a rather costly fee of around £10million, but furthermore there are question marks lingering over the heads of the roster’s other three senior centre-backs, with rumours that Martin Skrtel and Sebastien Coates could both be sold for scrap in the summer. Furthermore, should the speculation be true surrounding Pepe Reina moving to Barcelona, Rodgers will have to find a talented goalkeeper to fill the void between the sticks.
With the majority of Rodgers’ future purchases being out of obligation and necessity rather than any particular personal preference or attempt to tailor the Liverpool squad in his own vision, and furthermore being restricted in terms of outgoings by the need for senior players and a lack of potential suitors, the former Swansea boss will on the most part have to operate next season with what he’s already got at his disposal.
One the one hand, you’d argue that on paper at least, what Liverpool have is overall not good enough. Players like Stewart Downing, Lucas Leiva, Jose Enrique and Daniel Agger – experienced mainstays in the first team- are of decent quality and exceptional upon occasion, but would any of them feature regularly should they ply their trade with Arsenal, Chelsea, or the two Manchester clubs? Similarly, Jordan Henderson, Fabio Borini, Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Allen are all promising youngsters but yet to fully shine, with all excluding the former proving to be rather ineffectual over the course of the season, and the squad’s back up players, Brad Jones, Assaidi and Coates, are overall below the standard you’d expect at a European club.
Having said that, if there’s one area of the Liverpool roster blessed with strength, it’s in attack. Luis Suarez’s infamous bite of Branislav Ivanovic’s arm may well prove to have a silver lining, as it appears to have turned away potential suitors for the controversial Uruguayan. He’s been a talismanic force for the Reds this season, with 23 goals and five assists in 33 Premier League appearances, making him directly responsible for 35% of Liverpool’s 71 domestic goals, and will no doubt have a similar level of impact during their next campaign.
Similarly, the January purchases of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho were a masterstroke, with the former recording 10 goals and 3 assists in 14 appearances during the business end of the season, whilst the latter’s performances in attacking midfield have been equally as crucial in Liverpool’s late flurry of form, recording just one defeat in their last 12 fixtures, including a 6-0 romping of Newcastle.
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It will be Liverpool’s attack, along with the consistent form of Steven Gerrard, that will make the difference between victory and defeat and success and failure next season, but is it enough to push them into the top four? The managerial merry-go-round at the Premier League’s summit will undoubtedly be a factor, with Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United all bringing in new figures at the helm, and the consistency Rodgers provides from the current season to the next can only work in their favour.
Yet with all devoted to serious financial investment in summer purchases following a rather dismal one-horse title race and the dawning of a new era at all three clubs, in addition to Arsene Wenger’s pledge to get the Gunners out of their current malaise, it will be a difficult year for Liverpool to compete with them in the transfer market as well as on the pitch.
The Reds finished 12 points off Champions League qualification this season, and next year I expect them to close that gap, at the expense of their local rivals Everton, but in terms of quality, depth, financial backing and experience, they are still a long way off this season’s top four, in addition to Tottenham, who will also look to improve further over the course of the summer. Brendan Rodgers has put the foundations in place this season, but the club still has a long way to go before it comes close to returning to its past glories.
As well as the failure to sign Joao Moutinho from Porto, with a fee thought to be around £24 million, The Metro have revealed that Tottenham also failed to sign Sevilla forward Alvaro Negredo.
The transfer offer was a club record fee of £20 million, however both the club and the player rejected the deal on deadline day due to the forward enjoying life in La Liga.
According to the Metro, Tottenham have identified Negredo as the best forward in Europe and tried to land the 27 year old, as well as putting in an offer for Lyon forward Bafetembi Gomis.
The striker has scored 40 goals in 64 appearances for the the Spanish club but pledged his future to the club by signing a four year contract at the club last summer.
‘A club from England went to £20 million on deadline day for Negredo,’ the chairman Jose Maria del Nido stated.
‘Negredo was not interested in the offer. That was not a day to do business.’
Tottenham looked to have resolved the striking situation by signing Clint Dempsey, however the club is expected to invest in the market again when the window opens in January.
As well as concluding a deal for Joao Moutinho, the club are looking in to the possibility of signing long-term targets Loic Remy, Fernando Llorente or Leandro Damiao.
All four players have been subject to bids by the North London club but with Llorente refusing to sign a new contract, Tottenham could wait until next summer to sign the player on a free, or in January when he would be sold for a rock-bottom price.
Leandro Damiao has also stated that he got offered a sizeable offered from abroad – yet again thought to be Tottenham.
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With Spurs making £10 million profit from the transfer window, but reports suggesting that Villas-Boas was given a £50 million transfer budget as well as the money made from sales, Spurs could have a chest of £60 million to splurge in January with Moutinho, Damiao and possibly another striker being labelled as the main targets.
Finding room for all his big-name pieces in Manchester United’s attacking jigsaw has been a recurring dilemma for Jose Mourinho during his second season at Old Trafford, and for a short while Jesse Lingard emerged as the epicentre just about holding the rest of it together.The Red Devils academy product has endured his fair share of critics since becoming a first-team regular in 2015/16, but the most difficult period of United’s season – when Mourinho was still searching for a way of getting the best out of Paul Pogba and January signing Alexis Sanchez in the same starting XI – showed why the last two Manchester United managers and England boss Gareth Southgate have always retained their trust in the 25-year-old, even though his development has often seemed a few stages behind colleagues and contemporaries of similar age.With goals and assists against Arsenal, Chelsea, Italy and the Netherlands, producing the goods at key moments to get United and England over the line in important games has been a key feature of Lingard’s season, validating the faith shown by Louis van Gaal, Gareth Southgate and Mourinho, not to mention Sir Alex Ferguson’s prophecy that the Three Lions man would be something of a late bloomer.
In the last few months though, a spell which has seen United beat all their Big Six rivals, Mourinho has solved the Pogba-Sanchez conundrum by reverting to the system he’s most synonymous with, leaving Lingard as the unfortunate casualty. As 4-2-3-1 has shifted to 4-3-3, Pogba has become the most offensive element of the midfield, Sanchez has beat away competition to make the left wing berth his own and Lingard has found himself pushed out to the right-hand side.
Van Gaal once remarked that Lingard lacks the pace to be an out-and-out wide man, and that’s really shown in his performances on the right this season compared to when he’s been utilised as a central attacking midfielder. His averages for shots, key passes and dribbles per game have all been lower, while the number of unsuccessful touches has increased. Perhaps most significantly, his strike rate centrally is better than one-in-three; out wide, he’s scored just one in seven.
The key statistic for Mourinho though is the win rate, United failing to win during just one of Lingard’s seven right wing outings this season. Tellingly, Mourinho used 4-3-3 in five of those games, the only exception being the 4-2-3-1 used in the 4-1 demolition of Carabao Cup opponents Burton, and that once again highlights the delicate balancing act the Old Trafford gaffer has been forced to undertake this season – which has his former world-record signing as the painfully temperamental pivot point.
Pivot being a fitting metaphor, because Pogba has so desperately struggled in a deep midfield two this season, most memorably finding himself hauled off by Mourinho in the 2-0 defeat to Tottenham at Wembley after being out-fought and out-classed by Mousa Dembele. Pogba’s performances there have proved United can’t afford the Frenchman and a No.10 in the same midfield, and although Lingard was the considerably better performer while United were still shaping up in a 4-2-3-1, he’s become the more expendable entity.
Perhaps that’s because Pogba commands such power at United as their record signing and one of their highest earners, compared to an academy product that cost the club nothing in transfer fees and takes home a comparatively modest £100k per-week. Perhaps that’s because Mourinho has made it almost a personal mission to prove his huge investment in Pogba was indeed money well spent. Perhaps that’s because, more justifiably, Pogba is naturally the more gifted talent, with much greater experience from his spells with Juventus and France.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur vs Manchester United – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – January 31, 2018 Manchester United’s Paul Pogba receives instructions from manager Jose Mourinho Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publ
Whatever the ultimate motivation though, it’s clear Pogba and Lingard can’t coexist in the same midfield, and due to the reasons detailed above that’s a much bigger problem for the latter than the former. But it’s clear Mourinho is incredibly fond of the England man; he could be playing Juan Mata, Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford there, three players arguably more naturally equipped for the right wing berth, yet has trusted Lingard instead, even in spite of a considerable downturn in form.
That proves Lingard can still have a role to play at Old Trafford, but it also leaves him at something of a crossroads; if he wishes to be a No.10, someone who can rival Dele Alli for that role within the England squad, his future most likely lays with another team that can afford to play him there. If he wishes to stay with his boyhood club while maintaining the effectiveness he showed earlier in the season, he needs to find a way of performing in the same starting XI as Pogba and Sanchez by modifying his game.
It’s incredibly difficult to develop the defender-beating speed van Gaal once accused Lingard of lacking, especially at the age of 25. But the changing tactical trends of the Premier League throw up an interesting solution.
The most successful and entertaining teams in English football this season, Premier League winners Manchester City and Champions League finalists Liverpool, have a pair of ‘false No.8s’ – as Pep Guardiola describes them – at their beating hearts; technically gifted and dynamic players who would have been traditionally Pidgeon-holed as No.10s breaking through from the engine room to become part of the attack.
To an extent, Pogba’s fulfilling that role for United already, and Lingard has the requisites for it as well. He’s got fantastic energy and counter-attacking ability, and that lack of scintillating pace has forced him to become a more disciplined attacking midfielder than most, so moving slightly deeper into midfield wouldn’t automatically make him a defensive liability in the same way as Mata, for example.
The ultimate question, however, is how much faith Mourinho has in that Guardiola-and-Jurgen-Klopp-inspired idea. Those kinds of midfields have quickly moved to the forefront of English football, but it would represent a significant sea change from Mourinho to deploy two offensive-minded midfielders in the same engine room, even if Nemanja Matic is there to sweep up behind.
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As things stand though, it’s hard to see where else Lingard really fits into this United team while Pogba is utilised in his most effective capacity. Mourinho’s clearly given up on the idea on Pogba playing behind a No.10, and Lingard clearly isn’t the dynamic and potent right winger a club of United’s calibre desperately need to challenge City next season. Once again, perhaps through no genuine thought of his own, Mourinho finds himself blocking the path of a promising academy product for the sake of a big-money signing.
Would you move Lingard into central midfield alongside Pogba? Let us know by voting below…
To say that last season was a disappointing one for Everton is a comic understatement. After the promise of the fifth place finish the season before and after coming so close to Champions League football, to finish in the bottom half was poor.
It was a season filled with individual errors and bad luck, injuries and some plain poor performances. Watching Roberto Martinez on the sidelines you felt a surge of sympathy rising at the same rate as the Spaniard’s stress levels. Rapidly.
The Europa League didn’t help last time, of course. Not being in Europe might help this time.
Every week Everton would step onto the pitch and every time the ball came close to the Everton back line you could sense the nerves. Antolin Alcaraz in particular was so far out of his depth that above the waterline you could just about make out his sullen yet panicked eyes as he frantically flapped his legs in a vain attempt to tread water. Tiredness might have been a problem initially. But when you make mistakes every week the fear of making another one takes over and errors become habitual.
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A summer break will do these players the power of good, and a few new signings are needed too. The Toffees are linked with Augsburg defender Ragnar Klavan and Hull full back Ahmed Elmohamady, and defenders are exactly what they need. Sylvain Distin has left the club – he was too old anyway – Alcaraz hasn’t been a reliable deputy for Jagielka – who has made mistakes himself – and although John Stones and Luke Garbutt are young and promising, Everton need something a little more tried and tested, especially if they’re looking for cover.
But the paper speculation is at least looking in the right direction, Everton don’t particularly need attackers as they have a fair few of good quality. The contract talks with Kevin Mirallas have stalled however, and now might be a good time to get rid and bring in a fresh replacement.
After the excitement and optimism of this time last year, Everton were stagnant by the end of last season having nothing to play for after defeat to Dynamo Kiev. So maybe freshening up the squad will give some impetus into the start of the campaign.
Signings are important to shore up the squad and to freshen it up too. Martinez has a certain type of player in mind for his specific style of play no doubt, but Everton’s need isn’t simply better quality – though they do need more quality in their squad depth. Everton’s need is also to allow the club to dream again and push for greater things.
Everton have been the nearly team in the Premier League for so long. They’ve been so close on so many occasions under David Moyes and Roberto Martinez that it’s almost hard to think that they might progress to the level required for Champions League football. Yet they’ve been so close and have some really very good players.
So aside from simply cutting out the mistakes and signing players to help the squad, perhaps getting rid of one or two and bringing in new faces might help. They’ve been linked with Dmitri Payet who could replace Mirallas if he is to leave. The Marseille man topped the Ligue 1 assist chart with 16 last season, six ahead of nearest challenger Javier Pastore, so he’d be a signing who would fit in well.
Things are maybe starting to look up now for Everton. The despair of the middle part of last season when they looked like they could get dragged into a relegation battle has lifted somewhat with the season’s end. It’s like they’ve come out of a bad break-up and can now look to get their life back on track.
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It’s liberating and refreshing for the Merseyside club and they can look to bigger and better things, especially without the distraction of Europe.
It’s always best to look on the bright side, and that’s what Everton have to do now. Freshen up the squad and bring back optimism. That’s what’s going to cut out the mistakes, lower the manager’s stress levels and bring Everton back up to the top end of the table.
Eden Hazard is back for Chelsea after missing Sunday’s win over Manchester United at Old Trafford with a calf injury. Jon Obi Mikel (hip) and Ryan Bertrand (knee) are out.
Aaron Lennon his hoping to be fit for Tottenham after he was substituted during the win over Southampton due to a tight hamstring, while Moussa Dembele has recovered from a similar ailment.
Rafael Benitez pre-game…”My job is to do what I have to do this year,” he said. My target is to finish in the top four, top three. Now we’re in the [Europa League] final and trying to win the final. That’s it. That is the situation and we have to deal with that. We will try to keep doing a professional job with integrity until the end.” (FIFA.com)
Andre Villas-Boas pre-game…”In the end, it’s brought them success and sometimes success is what matters in football – independent of the style. I have a different opinion. I think if you don’t have a style, it makes you invisible in football. Only teams with style succeed. But, in the end, success is normally what matters in modern Europe.” (Guardian)
Match Statistic: Chelsea have won their last six home games, while Spurs have failed to score only once on their travels in the league this season.
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You get the impression that Roberto Mancini isn’t a particularly happy man up at Eastlands at the moments. After a summer in which his Premier League rivals have invested well in their squad, making some astute summer signings, Manchester City have had a relatively dormant window, bar the acquisition of Jack Rodwell.
Some have said that Mancini is less than happy about a perceived lack of activity at Manchester City last week. Indeed, it was even reported in some quarters that Mancini would be unlikely to see out the remainder of his recently signed contract, if he was likely to be kept ‘high and dry in the transfer market’, as the Daily Mail put it a few days ago.
Indeed, a source claimed to the paper:
“We will see what happens in the next few days.
“He feels there is no one at the club doing the transfer dealing for him and he has been left with just 19 players for the new season.
“He is angry, as you can imagine.”
Now while you can spend a lifetime casting some serious doubt over the validity of that source, probably to the point of ridicule, you do get the impression that Mancini is cutting a frustrated figure at the moment.
All at City have watched as United, a team that they only beat on goal difference last season, have made some seriously eye-catching moves in the transfer market this summer. The signing of Robin van Persie for £24million was a real signal of intent and snapping up the gifted Shinji Kagawa from Borussia Dortmund, already looks like a masterstroke. Throw in the highly rated Nick Powell, Alexander Buttner and Angelo Henriquez and the Old Trafford club certainly haven’t been shy in backing Fergie in his attempts to snap the title back from the noisy neighbours.
They say money can’t buy you happiness, but you would have thought Mancini might be a little less miserable after the outlays of the previous few seasons. It seems difficult to buy into this notion that the club hasn’t backed the Italian after spending near on £220million on acquiring players in the past few years. Every manager has frustrations in the transfer window and there’s no doubt that Mancini must have his. Although the fact that he only craves a couple of players to tweak the team, is testament to the backing he’s received since he’s been at the club.
However, Manchester City can’t stand still if they want to retain the Premier League title. They might not need to make any wholesale changes to the team, but Mancini isn’t wrong in his desire to bring a couple of more faces in. The likes of Daniele de Rossi, Edison Cavani and Stevan Jovetic have been on the manager’s hit list. You imagine his face was a picture when Brian Marwood purchased him Richard Wright as cover for Joe Hart, then.
But putting the tongue back in cheek, Mancini shouldn’t be lampooned for craving some fresh faces. The battle lines for next season are set to be drawn over several fronts as the club look to make inroads into European competition. Defending the league title while chasing Champions League glory is something of an art and it’s one that requires a strong and versatile squad if they’re to have a real crack at both competitions.
Although perhaps the nature and profile of some of Mancini’s targets are perhaps out of balance with the reasoning for investment in the first place. There is always room for improvement, but Manchester City’s first choice teams are a pretty frightening prospect as it is. A spruce up of the squad doesn’t perhaps necessitate investing £30million plus on the likes of Daniele de Rossi. The Italian is a really quite wonderful footballer and as league champions, why shouldn’t they go out and try and buy the best, to stay the best?
The answer to that may perhaps lie in the realities of Financial Fair Play. City have the money of course, but the club have to start acting more prudent in the transfer market. Many will point to another summer of investment at Stamford Bridge as evidence that the club need to keep spending. But Chelsea had/have far more work to do to their squad than Mancini’s. The club has to worry about their own priorities.
An inflating wage bill is perhaps just as much of a pressing issue as the astronomical transfer fees paid for the players in the first place. For example, if Mancini wants another striker, he has to part with one of his four. That in all likeliness would look to be Edin Dzeko. But you can’t have Dzeko, Tevez, Aguero and Balotelli all existing on massive wages and bring in a fifth. You can’t have your cake and eat it.
We’ve already seen with Emmanuel Adebayor’s departure, the massive sacrifices that have already been made to lower the wage bill. The fact the club is still having to play a player that has left the club as an act of damage limitation, suggests this culture of sustainability is no joke at Eastlands. How they get rid of Roque Santa Cruz, however, remains to be seen.
Mancini craves a more direct outlet of pace and a signing in the mould of Scott Sinclair represents the perfect bit of business for City. For his age and ability, he would represent a cheaper option on both wages and transfer fees than a more luxurious European counterpart. We will have to wait and see whether the ex-Chelsea youngster can cut it at a higher level, but he certainly has all the tools too. He’d be a good, sensible signing to boost the squad.
Unfortunately, City aren’t very likely to be able to pick players up on the cheap anymore. Clubs know they have the money, even if they can’t necessarily spend it and clubs like Swansea are well within their right to charge as much as they can for Sinclair. It’s unlikely, but if he becomes more expensive than Adam Johnson, then maybe the logic of such a deal decreases.
It is likely that we will see a smattering of late transfer activity from Manchester City but any claims that the manager isn’t being backed must ring hollow. The team doesn’t need a radical overhaul and the nature of signings he wishes to make demand sensibility- in both a financial sense and a footballing one. It’s not easy seeing your closest rivals indulge big money in one of the finest strikers in the land, but it’s not like Mancini has a bad set of frontmen himself.
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City need another option or two and perhaps a bit more defensive cover. That doesn’t demand, £30million worth plus, of investment. In an ideal world, Mancini would be correct. But fiscal demands play a part at every club and Manchester City aren’t any different.
Is Mancini living in a fantasy world with his transfer demands or is the Italian right to demand more financial backing from the owners? Let me know what you think on Twitter: follow @samuel_antrobus
According to reports in The Sun on April 21, Newcastle United are targeting a summer move for £20m-rated Bournemouth striker Josh King,
The Sun says that Rafa Benitez is looking for a new number nine at the end of the season after his side preserved their Premier League status for at least another year after surpassing the magic 40-point mark earlier this month, and the Norway international is said to be his top target.
With Islam Slimani only on loan from Leicester City, Aleksandar Mitrovic looking increasingly likely to leave after a hugely positive spell with Fulham and Joselu struggling for form and goals, it is clear that the Tyneside outfit need to make a change up top.
The Cherries man has been in impressive form for the south coast outfit over the course of the last two seasons – last term especially – and he may well be a target for many top flight clubs this summer.
Meanwhile, another man in demand could be West Bromwich Albion striker Jay Rodriguez, whom they signed from Southampton last year to boost their attacking options and whom has scored 33 Premier League goals in 138 Premier League appearances in total, as per Transfermarkt.
While he has impressed at times this term his club are on the verge of suffering relegation to the Championship, but the 28-year-old’s displays suggest that he is at a level where he can still make a big impact at this level, and he should also be on Benitez’s radar.
Here are three reasons Newcastle must forget King and sign the one-cap England international instead…
Rodriguez showed the quality that he has in his locker when he scored 15 goals in 33 Premier League appearances during the 2013/14 season, but the injury that he suffered against Manchester City towards the end of that campaign certainly affected him for a number of years since that moment at Southampton.
It was clear that the 28-year-old needed a new start somewhere else and his form for West Brom this term – 11 goals in 39 appearances in all competitions – show that he is still capable of finding the net on a regular basis at this level for Newcastle.
One of Rodriguez’s main issues, and one of the reasons that clubs would have been hesitant about acquiring his services last summer, was because there would have been a concern over whether he could have got back to his best.
However, the 28-year-old, whose all-round statistics this term suggest he would be one of the transfer gems of the summer, has shown by making 34 Premier League appearances for West Brom this season that his fitness is no longer an issue, and Newcastle wouldn’t have to worry about him getting injured as much as they may have done previously.
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While Bournemouth striker King could reportedly cost Newcastle £20m, the Magpies would surely fancy their chances of signing Rodriguez for a smaller fee should West Brom suffer relegation to the Championship – something that seems to be on the cards right now.
The fact that the Baggies player is quick, often seems to find himself in the right place at the right time, and can also play out wide if needed mean that Benitez should hesitate on splashing the cash on the 28-year-old.
The race for fifth place is hotting up. It’s not exactly the most glamorous race in the Premier League, and even the relegation battle is usually more exciting than watching the also-rans squabble over scraps.
In fact, so tight is this race that it almost looks like it’s a race in the opposite direction – one away from the (dreaded?) Europa League spots.
Liverpool and Spurs sit on 54 points from their 31 games up to now, and Southampton on 53. So Liverpool and Spurs are seven points off the Champions League places, and Saints a further point behind. That was the real goal for these teams.
Liverpool and Spurs started the season as genuine top four contenders, Southampton were probably just happy to stay out of a relegation battle. But their form at the start of the season saw them in a position where Champions League was a genuine ambition until very recently.
The dream has gone for each of these clubs, but they still say they are playing for fifth and sixth, and European qualification.
[ffc-gal cat=”Liverpool” no=”5″]
Yet probably only Southampton really want it. The Europa League is a graveyard of good teams. Teams who have played well the previous season to finish in a European spot or win a cup and then the Thursday-Saturday turnaround or the travel to slightly further-afield places ruins their next season. Spurs have been trying to deal with this for years, and haven’t finished in the top four since 2010, Everton have struggled with both this season, while Newcastle and Liverpool have done in previous seasons, too.
Last season, and without Europe to deal with, Liverpool went on a run from the middle of the season that almost won them the title, Manchester United have done something vaguely similar this year, and maybe no European football has helped them out too.
This time Liverpool have been targeting fourth place, and only being a point ahead of Southampton means that they may miss out on Europe altogether. That may not be such a bad thing from a Liverpool perspective, nor would it be from Spurs’ perspective.
Both of these teams may now be hoping for a stuttering end to the campaign and a fresh start in August.
Southampton, meanwhile, would probably see the Europa League as a stepping stone to bigger things, a sign of the progress being made by the club. But surely next season would be much much tougher were they to finish in a qualifying spot. It’s probably a burden Saints are happy to bear, however.
The recent form of these three teams is perhaps cause for their concern, and at the weekend they were only able to gain a single point between them. A miserly return for clubs so close to the top of the table, and probably evidence of why they’re fighting only for the Europa League places. Perhaps neither are truly interesting in competing in the Europe League next season?
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Yet if that’s the case, only one team – the one finishing seventh – would be happy come the final whistle of the final game, and if Liverpool manage to win the FA Cup, then perhaps all three will be England’s representatives in the second tier of European football next season.
Perhaps it just doesn’t matter what any of these clubs do – they could be doomed to spending Thursday nights on ITV4 no matter how bad their league form is.
Manchester United are certainly champions on the pitch, dominating the Premier League era. There have been plenty of world class names that have graced the famous Old Trafford pitch for 90 minutes on a Saturday afternoon to be rewarded with silverware at the end of the season.
Is this where the winning mentality stops? Not quite. When all of us grew up wishing to be professional footballers we wanted all the glitz and glamour that came with it. There are those who like to keep a low profile and carry on about their business away from the media limelight – but you won’t be finding any of that here.
There will be plenty in the United changing rooms past and present who will have a lot more to show for themselves then a collection of medals or engravings on a trophy when their careers come to pass. Sir Alex Ferguson once complained how the modern footballer has often been far more difficult to handle. This may gave you an insight into why when they have so much to distract them off the field of play too.
Eric Cantona may have retired early to try and find his way on the red carpet in Cannes, but this list will show plenty who have something they can parade in Leicester Square for movie premieres that doesn’t involve acting skills.
To see the illustrious list of Man United beauties click on Gemma Atkinson