Arsenal are in competition with Juventus, managed by one-time reported target Max Allegri for the signature of breakout World Cup star Aleksandr Golovin, according to Italian outlet Tutto Sport.
What’s the story, then?
The report claims that Juventus are wary of potential advances for the Russian midfielder from the Emirates Stadium and have tried to jump ahead in the queue.
They go on to say that the Italian champions are in constant contact with CSKA Moscow over Golovin but that an 18m euro bid has been rejected as they hold out for 25m.
It also says that Golovin’s future will only be decided after the World Cup, which should give Arsenal ample time to hit back with a bid of their own.
Emery could land a major blow on Allegri
It does seem as if Allegri and Juventus are ahead in the race for Golovin but as there will still be fractions of the Arsenal fanbase who long for the Italian to be at the Emirates, this chase could present a chance to land a major blow.
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If Emery, without the lure of Champions League football can convince one of the stars of the World Cup (so far) to join his Arsenal revolution over the club that Allegri chose to remain at, it would go a long way to enthusing Gunners fans about their prospects under the Spaniard.
According to the Mirror, Everton have fallen behind Liverpool and Manchester United in the battle for Stefan de Vrij.
The Dutchman is apparently keen on a move to Old Trafford, after Lazio sporting director Igli Tare confirmed the defender would leave at the end of his contract this summer.
He said: “Lazio have withdrawn the proposal we made for a new contract to De Vrij. We are withdrawing, for reasons that we will explain later on.
“He has been an exemplary professional and we thank him for that, as well as what he’ll do until the end of the season. He gave a lot to the club, just as we gave a great deal to him, but our paths will divide in June.”
De Vrij has some injury concerns, but there can be no doubts about the 26-year-old’s quality when he’s fit. He’s been an integral part of Lazio’s impressive transformation under manager Simone Inzaghi, scoring four times, racking up an impressive 92% passing accuracy and adding 55 interceptions and 114 clearances to go with it.
Everton were linked with the defender in January, but eventually signed Eliaquim Mangala instead, who has endured a pretty disastrous start at the club and is now injured. Mangala is one of three Everton signings this year to have come from a top six club.
If Everton are to kick on to the next level as a club, whether that be under Sam Allardyce or not, they must compete for players like De Vrij – who is valued at £31.5m by transfermarkt.com.
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He will be out of contract in the summer, so it will essentially be a bidding war over wages. If the Toffees want to compete with the best, they need to stop taking on their rejects and start competing with them in the market, and beating their northern neighbours to the Dutch defender would be a big statement of intent.
Everton fans, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
A return for Gerard Deulofeu to Everton for next season always looked a long shot. The reshuffling of manager at Barcelona – Luis Enrique replacing Tata Martino – will precede the overhauling of a squad in dire need of fresh faces.
And Barcelona have a lot of reason to be impressed by Everton and Roberto Martinez’s handling of Deulofeu last term. A loan move was always on the cards for the Spanish winger, but the confirmation of a switch to Everton and the Premier League was greeted with much scepticism: was the Premier League the ideal fit when another La Liga club made much more sense? In hindsight, it was a brilliant move for all concerned.
Everton will of course feel a little hard done by. Martinez took the right approach in easing Deulofeu into first-team action, allowing for full acclimatisation to an unfamiliar country. But when the youngster did finally get starts under his belt and looked every bit capable of helping Everton to a top four finish, he was cut down by injury, missing eight weeks.
But it’s that stint in the Everton team that has convinced Barcelona and Enrique to hang onto the La Masia graduate, once considered capable of matching Lionel Messi’s brilliance. Along with Deulofeu, Rafinha, the younger brother of Thiago Alcantara, will join up with the Barcelona first-team squad after impressing on loan at Celta Vigo last season.
But it’s not all down hill from here for Everton. While Deulofeu is out of the question, Barcelona teammate Cristian Tello is very much on the table and reportedly available for loan – which will suit both clubs once again.
Tello struggled to find regular match time last season under Martino, in spite of a string of impressive showings under Tito Vilanova the season before. The winger, capable on either flank, had an extraordinary conversion rate during the 2012-13 season, hitting seven goals from 12 shots on target.
It’s also odd that Martino saw little value in Tello. The Spaniard doesn’t really fit the mould of a typical Barcelona player. He’s direct, leaning on his pace, shooting and delivery more than the type of passing mastery exhibited by Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Sergio Busquets. It’s odd the Martino overlooked him because Alexis Sanchez, a similarly direct player, saw his best season at the Camp Nou under the former head coach.
Tello’s talent, however, can be told by the interest held in him by various Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Tottenham. This is a player who was introduced to the Champions League under Pep Guardiola. One of his highlights was scoring twice in a 7-1 win against Bayer Leverkusen. Unfortunately for Tello, his efforts were shadowed by Messi’s five-goal performance.
This is a fantastic alternative to Deulofeu for Everton. He may be slight, raising concerns, naturally, for his suitability for the Premier League. But the changing landscape of the English top flight, where many diminutive Spaniards are thriving, favours the 22-year-old.
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Once again, Tello will offer firepower to a squad in need of replacing the goals of Romelu Lukaku next season. Due to his familiarity with first-team football at Barcelona, as well as at international level with Spain’s U21 team, there shouldn’t be much requirement for Martinez to hold off on giving Tello his first start in the way he did with Deulofeu.
It’s difficult to see Tello as having a future at the Camp Nou; Deulofeu’s place at the club over the coming years always looked more assured. But Martinez looks on the brink of completing another highly favourable deal, which could eventually lead to the permanent signing of Tello if he impresses.
David Moyes said that he felt Luis Suarez deserved to be sent off in yesterday’s Merseyside derby.
The Everton manager felt the Uruguayan should have been red carded following his challenge on Sylvain Distin midway through the second half, which was only warranted a yellow card by referee Andre Marriner:
“He was a very lucky man to stay on the pitch for his tackle; it’s over the top, down the back of the leg.”
Brendan Rodgers was of a differing opinion and believes that Suarez was just a little late in the challenge but nothing more.
“I didn’t think it was a red card, sometimes you get that with a striker, when they are just a fraction late. They are trying to time it just as they pass it.”
It was certainly an eventful afternoon for Liverpool’s No.7 who scored a goal, assisted in the other and then had a late winner incorrectly ruled out by the linesman – a decision that clearly frustrated Rodgers:
“Obviously we are bitterly disappointed,” Rodgers added. “It is an easy decision as well.
“I am not going to go on about officials because it has been happening to us all season.
“It is actually quite straightforward – it is a free-kick from deep, the ball is in the air for a long time and the official is looking across the line, so he is clearly onside.
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“When Coates heads it back, Luis is minimum level and it is a wonderful finish. He should have had his goal – it would have been a brilliant win for us.
“We are frustrated but I am are very proud of my young team in a cauldron of an atmosphere against a very experienced team.”
On paper, the final Group Stage clash of England’s World Cup campaign might seem like something of a dead rubber. Both teams have already qualified and won’t want to exert themselves too much on Thursday night with more important battles on the horizon. But in terms of making a statement to the rest of the countries involved in the competition, the coming encounter remains a significant one.
So, how will Gareth Southgate adapt his team accordingly? Which Belgium stars provide the biggest threat? How could the referee influence the match and can history tell us anything about which result to expect? Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the 7pm kickoff…
Head-to-Head
England have actually proved something of a bogey team for Belgium down the years, suffering defeat only once in proper competition – although the Red Devils did also claim a win in the little-known King Hassan II Cup back in 1998.
That being said, history can only take you so far and Belgium are much better fancied to make the latter stages of the World Cup, currently nine places ahead of the Three Lions in the FIFA rankings. They also enjoyed a slightly more dominant qualifying campaign, winning all of their Group C clashes and conceding just four goals – albeit two in incredibly unlikely fashion to Azerbaijan. England also qualified undefeated but drew with Slovenia and Scotland.
Group G So Far
Belgium and England enter Group G on incredibly even footing. In fact, having both beaten Tunisia and Panama in surprisingly imperious fashion, the two nations head into the final game with the same number of points, same goal difference, same goals for and same goals against.
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The only differential is the disciplinary records, with the Red Devils suffering an extra yellow card. But should that balance out as Thursday night ends in a draw, the teams will have to draw lots to decide pole position. Curiously too, both countries enter their final Group G clash off the back of their biggest wins of the tournament so far, Belgium dispatching Tunisia 5-2 and England demolishing Panama in a 6-1 victory.
Belgium Danger Men
Due to the Premier League-based nature of both squads, England more than know about Belgium’s biggest threats – in fact, half of the team play with most of them at club level.
The most potent are Chelsea’s Eden Hazard and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne, but because Belgium boast so much extra quality in attack – chiefly through Dries Mertens and Romelu Lukaku – the latter tends to be employed in a far less effective role, placed in a midfield two alongside Axel Witsel. Regardless of their undoubted talent though, England will feel familiarity with the Belgium team can act as something of a leveller.
Referee Influence – Damir Skomina
Look away now England fans, because the name Skomina should sound familiar. The Slovenian was in charge for the Three Lions’ humiliating exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland – although he did at least award England a penalty during the 2-1 defeat – and also sent off Rob Green during a surprise 1-0 defeat to Ukraine back in 2009.
His only outing at the current tournament, meanwhile, was certainly eventful – sending off Colombia’s Carlos Sanchez for a handball after just three minutes and simultaneously awarding a penalty to Japan.
England’s Expected XI
This match boils down to a risk assessment for Southgate. While he’ll want to keep momentum going by making a big statement heading into the knockout rounds, victory over Belgium isn’t really worth endangering key players – in fact, there’s an incredibly strong argument for trying to finish second in the group to avoid some of the competition’s heavyweights in the subsequent stages.
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That being said, rumour has it Harry Kane will start on Thursday to continue his bid for the World Cup’s Golden Boot, but injuries and bookings could see Southgate make other changes. Perhaps the most important of those are at the back, with Harry Maguire a fitness doubt and Kyle Walker on a yellow card – another will see him suspended for the first knockout round. Chelsea captain Gary Cahill and Manchester United centre-back Phil Jones look set to come in for them respectively.
On both flanks too, Southgate will likely take advantage of the opportunity to freshen up, purely because wing-back is such a physically demanding position. Tottenham’s Danny Rose is a fantastic deputy at No.3, while Liverpool youngster Trent Alexander-Arnold clearly has a fan in the England gaffer. Dele Alli, meanwhile, could return to action to recover some sharpness after missing the Panama clash and we’re predicting United’s Marcus Rashford to partner Kane up front – replacing Manchester City’s Raheem Sterling.
In the engine room, a key role within this England setup, Eric Dier has been tipped to start ahead of Jordan Henderson.
Following a run of seven matches in all competitions without a win – including a 4-1 defeat against Cardiff City at Elland Road last Saturday – Leeds United decided to sack manager Thomas Christiansen on Sunday.
The Yorkshire outfit dropped down to 10th after that result and are now seven points adrift of the Championship play-off positions having been top of the division earlier in the season, but rather than take his time over a new appointment owner Andrea Radrizzani obviously felt that he needed to act quickly and wasted little time in bringing in the 44-year-old’s successor.
Paul Heckingbottom had only extended his contract with the Whites’ local rivals Barnsley last Friday, but just four days later he had been announced as Leeds’ new boss, and it was a decision that came as a surprise to most of their fans.
The 40-year-old arrives in west Yorkshire at a difficult time, with a team lacking in confidence and many key players missing through injury and suspension.
While Radrizzani obviously feels that Heckingbottom is the man to turn things around, the fact that Barnsley only won one of their last 14 Championship fixtures shows that he may not be the quick fix they are looking for – even if the Tykes do have one of the lowest budgets in the division.
Leeds are currently missing club captain Liam Cooper, Samu Saiz and Gaetano Berardi – who was dismissed against the Bluebirds – because of suspension, while Conor Shaughnessy and Luke Ayling are definitely ruled out through injury, and striker Caleb Ekuban may also not be ready to return just yet.
New managers will often hope for a kind fixture for their first one in charge, and while that isn’t very often the case in the Championship, a derby trip to Sheffield United is going to be a really tough one for the Whites this weekend.
Like Leeds, the Blades were flying high just a few months ago but have now not only dropped away from the automatic promotion spots, but also out of the play-off positions altogether, and they will be determined to get back into them as soon as possible.
There is no doubt that they have quality players like Leon Clarke, Ricky Holmes, James Wilson and the familiar Billy Sharp, and backed by a strong Bramall Lane crowd the atmosphere should be electric on Saturday.
The defensive issues that Heckingbottom currently has means that Vurnon Anita could come in at right-back against Chris Wilder’s men if he intends to play with a back four, and that certainly wouldn’t be a disaster considering the experienced Dutchman often played there for Newcastle United when they won the league last season.
The 40-year-old will also be praying that Pontus Jansson is fine to start having been stretchered off against Cardiff, while he needs the likes of Ronaldo Vieira, Gianni Alioski and Kemar Roofe to regain the form they have shown previously following some disappointing displays from the trio.
The goal for Leeds over the course of the rest of the season will be to reclaim their spot in the top six and look to avoid narrowly missing out on a play-off place again – as they did last term.
With just 16 matches remaining and with the current issues they have, that is already looking like a tough ask, and supporters who are expecting instant results under Heckingbottom need to rein their expectations in immediately.
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It is often taken as a given that there will be a ‘new manager bounce’ and more points will automatically be picked up, but that isn’t always the case.
Yes, we all know Leeds are a huge team at this level and the expectations are always high, but the club has appointed a boss who is still learning and is making a big step up to a side where there is far more pressure on his shoulders every week, and far more scrutiny on every decision he makes.
Where the Whites stand now and given the form Barnsley were in, the Elland Road faithful shouldn’t be expecting instant results from Heckingbottom, and they must accept that the 40-year-old could take time to get things right over the remainder of the season – even if it means their play-off hopes have to be sacrificed before the campaign is out.
News on Twitter is spreading that a number of Newcastle United fans are planning a mass walkout in the 69th minute of Saturday’s fixture against Cardiff City. After a horrendous run of form since Christmas, years of frustration with Mike Ashley and Alan Pardew appears to be boiling over in an action that has divided the Toon Army.
While some argue that a walkout will make a major statement, others believe that it is unfair on the players and that Ashley won’t be bothered with the matchday revenue already safely secured.
After all of this, Cardiff could stand to benefit the most from a potential walkout. Desperate for three points, the Bluebirds would have already fancied their chances against the struggling Magpies and disarray in the stands could further hand the visitors the initiative.
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Robin Van Persie rejected the chance to sign for Manchester City and signed for rivals Manchester United for £24 million in the summer.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that the Dutchman turned down an offer believed to be in the region of £300,000 a week.
The striker has continued his fine form this Premier League season and has scored nine goals in his first 12 appearances as he gets ready to face his old employers this week for the first time.
The Independent understands that van Persie could have been banging in the goals in blue and not in red but turned down a deal for the chance to do so with the Champions. Wenger could not reveal the reasons why the striker snubbed City.
It’s unlikely to be down to financial reasons given the amount that Roberto Mancini’s side were prepared to pay for his services and van Persie is unlikely to be earning quite as much at Old Trafford.
“It is true Manchester City were interested in him and he has chosen to go to United,” Wenger told the Independent.
“He could come out more on the reasons but I didn’t want to know more about that.
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“Does it hurt more than he left for another English club? That is not exactly what I wished!”
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is not exactly short of attacking options in his team, which means that this summer, certain fringe players could be let go.
A few seasons ago, Daniel Sturridge was a prominent member of the first team, but his position in the pecking order has fallen.
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The striker, who has earned 26 international caps for England, has been ravaged by injury problems.
On top of that, the 28-year-old does not fit naturally into the system that Klopp has implemented at Anfield.
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The forward is more of an out-and-our striker, while the German prefers to play with Roberto Firmino as a false nine.
With that in mind, it leads to questions over Sturridge’s future at the Merseyside outfit.
It seems highly unlikely that the attacker will force his way into the side, particularly after he was sent on loan to West Bromwich Albion for the second half of last season.
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However, could Sturridge still have a role to play? Perhaps in cup games when the system could be tweaked to break down teams that cement bodies at the back?
We asked you if the striker should be kept on for next season, and the majority believe that it is the end of the road.
Transfer deadline day madness is alive and well in Scotland with a bizarre transfer triangle involving Celtic, Hibernian and Dundee emerging in the finals hours of the January window.
The Scottish Sun report that the Hoops are interested in signing goalkeeper Scott Bain to solve their current crisis in the position, with his contract at Dundee set to expire at the end of the season.
However, he’s currently on loan at Hibernian and Celtic would require the Edinburgh side to be open to such a switch, say the paper.
Bain hasn’t yet made his debut for Hibs but has been on the bench for their last two matches, meaning a deal is still possible despite FIFA rules dictating you cannot make appearances for three clubs in a single season.
Celtic supporters certainly appear open to the switch, with many believing he’d be a fine addition at Celtic Park, even if just as back-up to veteran Dorus de Vries while Craig Gordon is injured.