All posts by h716a5.icu

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According to UOL, Everton are in negotiations over the signing of Ajax forward David Neres along with French champions Paris Saint-Germain.

The 22-year-old was in sensational form for the Dutch giants last season, scoring 12 goals and recording 15 assists as Ajax won the Eredivisie title, the Dutch Cup and also came within seconds of making the Champions League final.

Already a full Brazil international at such a young age, Neres is definitely amongst the most precocious of young footballers in Europe right now and it would represent a major coup for the Toffees if they can beat PSG to his signature.

Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…

The aforementioned report from UOL states that the Merseysiders are ‘advanced’ in negotiations and are finding talks easy due to their previous dealings over the signings of Bernard and Richarlison – it also helps that Neres wants to play in England.

Would the Ajax wide man be a good signing for Marco Silva’s side? Football FanCast’s writers have their say on the matter…

Harry Sherlock

“Neres is exactly the type of player Everton should be signing. He’s young, exciting and offers all the attributes required to absolutely thrive in the top-flight. It remains to be seen whether the price will be right but, really, he’d be a truly exceptional winger at Goodison Park, capable of playing both on the right and the left. This is a deal that should be done as soon as possible.”

Matt Dawson

“Neres would be an absolutely phenomenal signing for Everton. He was a star in the Champions League and would provide them with much needed quality in the final third. You imagine that with the strides Bernard has made on the left that he’d feature on the right but the fact he’s so versatile only makes this potential signing even better. The Toffees would have a sensational player on their hands if they complete a deal.”

Luke Glanville

“A player of David Neres’ ability would be a fantastic signing for any club, regardless. And whilst I think an Everton move for the Ajax right winger would be harsh on Theo Walcott because he hasn’t really done much wrong since arriving at Goodison Park, it’s one they should go for. The signs are all there for the 22-year-old Brazilian to take the Premier League by storm and Marco Silva and Marcel Brands will want to make sure it happens with their team.”

Arsenal may be forced to sell Henrikh Mkhitaryan to raise funds needed to sign the players necessary to challenge again, as per The Times.

It’s no secret that Arsenal (understood to have a transfer budget of just £45m) will struggle to match the spending power of their top six rivals. Manchester United reportedly (per Raphael Honingstein on ESPN via the Express) have £200-£250m to spend, while Manchester City and Liverpool, both of whom broken their transfer records last season, aren’t exactly sort of cash.

Unai Emery on the other hand has an estimated £45million at his disposal – which is £11million less than what it cost to sign Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang last January. That’s £45million to take his current squad – who finished fifth in the Premier League conceding 51 in the process and were knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round and the League Cup in the quarterfinals – past the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester United.

Yikes.

It is expected that in order to raise funds to sign the necessary talent, the Gunners will sacrifice a number of players they deem surplus to requirements. And one name in particular who has been highlighted is Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

The 30-year-old arrived last January from United as part of a swap deal that saw Alexis Sanchez go the other way. The Armenia international, who recently missed the Europa League final due to ongoing political tensions, reportedly (also via the Express) earns around £200,000 per week at Arsenal – the same as his former Borussia Dortmund teammate and Golden Boot winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

However, while Arsenal’s top scorer weighed in at 31 goals and eight assists last term, thus proving his worth, Mkhitaryan scored just six times and fell desperately short in the creative department too, providing just seven; an output that will surely have the club questioning how necessary he is to their future plans.

Slated by Ian Wright on Sky Sports (via HITC) towards the end of the season, who described his move to North London as a ‘nightmare’, they should take any potential money and run.

Arsenal fans, would you be disappointed to see Mkhitaryan go? Who would you sacrifice? Let us know in the comments below…

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Lots of Everton fans have been reacting to a possible summer exit, as Sandro Ramirez has been linked with another return to Spain.

According to Sky Sports, the striker is in talks over a move to Real Valladolid.

Reports in Spain (via Sport Witness) broke the news on Tuesday morning, with one journalist claiming Sandro’s switch to Valladolid is getting “closer and closer”.

The 23 year-old has played just 16 times for Everton’s first-team after joining in the summer of 2017, and he has since been loaned out to Sevilla and Real Sociedad.

He hasn’t exactly set the world alight during those two loan spells either, not registering a single goal in 44 combined appearances between the two clubs. This is clearly a striker bereft of even the smallest shred of confidence.

Watch Everton Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And while many fans are happy to see the back of him, others are worrying whether it’s a permanent or loan deal – the reports say it is not yet clear if the move is permanent.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

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Lots of Newcastle fans have been reacting to a first-team update, as stand-in manager Neil Redfearn reportedly wants Achraf Lazaar to feature heavily next season.

Now that the departures of Ayoze Perez and Salomon Rondon have left Newcastle with a gaping hole at the top end of the pitch, it may be easy to forget that full-back is still major weak point that needs addressing by whoever replaces Rafael Benitez.

Redfearn though, who has been taking first-team training while the club is without a new gaffer, believes Lazaar has what it takes to succeed at the club.

That is according to Alan Biggs, who says he spoke to Redfearn last season, and that the former Leeds United and Liverpool Women boss rates Lazaar very highly.

Watch Newcastle United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

The 27 year-old left-back has only featured ten times for the Newcastle senior side. He was impressive out on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season, but that success was cut short by injury.

Take a look at some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where it’s safe to say Redfearn’s verdict hasn’t gone down too well…

Neil Lennon has rubbished reports that he wants to sign Sergio Quintero, claiming he’s never heard of the Ecuador U20 international, according to BBC Sportsound.

What’s the story?

Lennon was speaking after the 3-1 victory in Bosnia over FK Sarajevo in the first round of Champions League qualification and the Celtic boss stated he’s not interested in the midfielder: “The name’s not cropped up at all, he’s not popped up on the radar.”

The 20-year-old did well at the recent U20 World Cup but given Lennon’s stance, it looks unlikely that we’ll see the Imbabura Sporting Club midfielder in the Hoops anytime soon.

The silver lining

While Quintero impressed in the U20 World Cup with his Ecuador side that reached the semi-finals his signing would surely result in Ewan Henderson dropping further down the pecking order in Celtic’s midfield. Quintero would come in to provide competition for Scott Brown and Callum McGregor as the two midfielders tasked with sitting in front of the back four (although Lennon lined his side up in a 3-5-1-1 against FK Sarajevo that was more to do with not having a right-back he trusts in the squad rather than a massive tactical shift from the Northern Irishman).

With Nir Bitton already capable of doing the ‘destroyer’ role that we saw from Quintero at the U20 World Cup it would mean even more competition for Henderson as he looks to get more game time in the Celtic side. Big things are expected of the 19-year-old Scot and he was starting to look like someone capable of playing more regularly towards the end of last season and a move for the Ecuadorian would surely impact on his playing time.

Missing out on Quintero would give Lennon the perfect excuse to play the prodigious Henderson more, accelerating his development as opposed to seeing it hindered by the arrival of a potentially big-money signing in the shape of the Ecuadorian.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

A stunning start to the 2018/19 campaign saw Joe Gomez emerge as a standout player for Liverpool and England.

The former Charlton man was starting week in, week out alongside Virgil van Dijk and had iconic centre-backs such as Rio Ferdinand championing him to become one of England’s best.

Ferdinand said: “This kid for me, he’s on the march to be the best defender we’ve got in England. I rate him so highly. He’s calm, he’s cool and you need that when you’re under pressure.”

“It reminds me of a bus seat!” – Watch a damning verdict on Chelsea’s new kit in the video below…

Sadly for the 22-year-old however, he suffered a lower leg fracture in a 3-1 away win against Burnley before the turn of the year and only managed to make three more appearances for the rest of the season – those showings amounted to just 12 minutes of action.

Gomez lost his place to Joel Matip, who in fairness didn’t put a foot wrong after he came in – the Liverpool supporters loved his display in the Champions League final.

However, two key moments from the 6 foot 2 defender in pre-season so far have shown that he is desperate to impress Jurgen Klopp and get back in the team alongside van Dijk.

The Charlton academy graduate was allowed to have an extended holiday after appearing in the UEFA Nations League with England, and was due to be back at Melwood later this month.

Gomez instead made an early return on Saturday, and went one better by wowing his teammates and the staff by running James Milner all the way in the annual lactate test – a running drill designed to assess the player’s fitness levels after their time off.

“Everyone knows how fit Millie is, he’s a machine, but I tried to do as much as I could in the off-season to come back as fit as possible. It’s nice to be up there competing with him, to get to that stage, but Millie speaks for himself,” said Gomez, and it’s clear to see that he has been working hard on his fitness in the off-season.

Reporting back early for pre-season training, and then running the fittest player at the club all the way in the endurance test shows that Gomez is serious about preparing for the 2019/20 campaign properly.

He certainly looks determined to get his place back from Matip and impress Klopp.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Speaking on talkSPORT, former England manager Sam Allardyce has insisted that Leicester star Harry Maguire could take his game to “another level” if he joins Manchester United this summer.

What did he say?

Reports in recent weeks have suggested that despite Leicester’s high valuation of the England international, United’s chase for Maguire’s signature is still “very much alive”.

Having seen Southampton centre-back Virgil van Dijk enjoy a formidable campaign at Liverpool following his move from the Saints back in January 2018, Allardyce drew comparisons between the Dutchman and Maguire.

Watch Manchester United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

He said: “I think he’s worth £70m – £75m. He’s similar to Van Dijk, he’s very good on the ball and he comes out from the back. Van Dijk looks a little better since he’s gone to Liverpool and I think it would take Maguire to another level going to Manchester United and bring more out of him.

“It would be a massive move for him, but Leicester, they don’t have to sell. They’ve always hung out for the fee they want and got there in the end, so if United don’t have another alternative, I’m afraid they might have to pay a bit more than they expected.”

United’s van Dijk?

Such has been the level of van Dijk’s performances for Liverpool, that the desire to sign a commanding centre-half has seemingly increased ten-fold. United’s pursuit of Maguire certainly stems in part from seeing the transformational effect the Netherlands international has had on the Reds’ back-line, and a hope that the former can do the exact same at Old Trafford.

The Leicester centre-back enjoyed a fine World Cup campaign with England last summer before continuing to impress with the Foxes in the Premier League. The Red Devils’ creaky defence meanwhile saw them concede 54 goals in the top-flight – the highest of all the sides in the proverbial ‘big six’.

The need for the 26-year-old is undeniable. Whether he could go on to “another level” like Allardyce believes remains to be seen, although his performances certainly suggest he can continue to make the step up.

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Manchester City’s Premier League 2019/20 opener sees the champions travel south to London to face West Ham, whom they will be hoping they can get the better of for the second time this summer, having bested the Hammers 4-1 during their pre-season tour of China.

Pep Guardiola and co have added real quality to a side already bursting at the seams with talent by acquiring the signature of Rodri, who is expected to succeed Fernandinho as City’s lynchpin once the 34-year-old’s contract expires next summer, while the addition of Angelino bodes well for the future.

Given the depth available to Guardiola, it’s difficult to predict how the Spaniard will approach the first game of the season on 10th August – the former Bayern Munich boss used 34 players last term.

Check out our three predicted XIs to face West Ham on opening day below…

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Permitting that all players return from the tour without injuries, the current wounded work their way back to fitness in time for the Irons game and Guardiola gets another big name signing, this is what the travelling City fans could be looking at next month.

Joao Cancelo is on City’s radar and the Portuguese would be an interesting alternative to Kyle Walker at right-back. The Juventus man is a huge threat going forward, completing 1.4 key passes and 2.4 dribbles per game last term while England international Walker managed just 0.6 and 0.6 respectively, according to WhoScored.

The remainder of the team looks familiar, although a notable absence is Leroy Sane, who made just five league starts after January last term and could lose his left-wing spot to Raheem Sterling on a permanent basis, with standout performer Bernardo Silva shifted out to his original right-wing role.

While Rodri is still learning the ropes of his new role, Fernandinho should start as the anchor of midfield – the team just doesn’t tick the same way without the intelligent enforcer – and Benjamin Mendy returns as left-back having missed 33 games through injury in 2018/19.

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Having won the title in consecutive seasons, Guardiola would surely love to make it a hat-trick in 2019/20, while he will also be keen on dethroning rivals and champions of Europe, Liverpool. Last season proved that any slips of form from either the Reds or the Cityzens are punishable – a torrid Christmas period saw City temporarily concede their lead at the top of the Premier League – and so Guardiola can hardly be blamed for fielding his absolute best sides throughout the season.

Should he take a risk and start some of the promising youngsters, though, this is how we see them being integrated – Phil Foden has already forced his way into the first team, while reported signing Correia could feature if he isn’t shipped straight out on loan. Meanwhile, opting for Oleksandr Zinchenko over Mendy or Angelino would be a huge vote of confidence in the Ukrainian utility man.

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Gabriel Jesus might have been impressing for Brazil this summer, chalking up two goals and two assists in four Copa America starts, but Sergio Aguero pips the 22-year-old to the starting centre-forward spot every time – the Argentine recorded an incredible 32 goals and 10 assists in 46 appearances in all competitions last term, according to Transfermarkt.

Ederson is an ever-present in goal for the Cityzens, with his distribution crucial to their style, while John Stones should be trusted to start alongside Aymeric Laporte with Vincent Kompany having departed to former club Anderlecht.

The midfield, meanwhile, essentially picks itself when everybody is fit, rekindling the Kevin De Bruyne/David Silva partnership that helped drive City’s 2017/18 title bid.

Perhaps the key point to take from this starting XI though is that it doesn’t actually include any new signings. That’s indicative of City’s summer so far, but also how strong their squad is already.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

The transfer window may now be on the verge of closing but Wolves’ business has only just truly begun.

They’ve brought in Jesus Vallejo from Real Madrid whilst Patrick Cutrone has also arrived from AC Milan after being lured from the Italian giants.

Also on the club’s radar has been Ruben Dias but the mercurial talent of Dani Olmo is one that arguably catches the eye the most.

A report last weekend suggested that Wolves were interested in the attacking midfielder in a deal that could cost them €25m (£22.8m).

If you don’t know the words to the Joao Moutinho chant in the video below, are you even a real Wolves fan?…

Wolves lacked a direct number 10 in their ranks besides Morgan Gibbs-White last season, so he’d add a valuable layer to their already well-balanced side.

Olmo was in superb form during the U21 European Championships this summer, scoring three times in four matches as Spain won the tournament.

He was particularly impressive for his country but he also stood out for Dinamo Zagreb, scoring 12 times in all competitions whilst starring in their 2018/19 Europa League campaign.

The dynamic 21-year-old was a huge influence going forward but it’s his dribbles per game that will likely whet the appetite the most.

He completed three per match which is streets ahead of any player currently in the Wolves side. During Premier League action last term, Adama Traore completed 2.2 on average every 90 minutes whilst Diogo Jota only managed 1.7 per match.

The Spaniard regularly finds a way past his marker but his close touch control also draws plenty of fouls from the opposition. As displayed, he drew 3.6 on average from his marker each match, a statistic that also blows the entire Wolves team out of the water.

With that in mind, it could be incredibly beneficial for Ruben Neves, a proven set-piece taker.

Per Understat, Neves took 11 direct free-kicks in 2018/19, two of which he scored from.

There were also a number of efforts saved as his expected goals per game from those types of situations was 0.83, the second-most of any scenario he had an attempt on goal from.

Therefore, if Olmo joins Wolves and is fouled as regularly as he was in the Europa League, it could help Neves to improve particularly in terms of the number of goal involvements he registers.

Judging by those at Wolves, only Jota, who was brought down 1.7 times per game, was fouled on a regular basis.

As a result, adding someone like Olmo to their armoury can have a hugely positive impact.

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Loads of Newcastle fans have been reacting to a transfer report on Sean Longstaff, as The Shields Gazette reveal the Magpies have effectively ended Manchester United’s interest in the midfielder.

According to the report, the Red Devils failed with a £35m swoop for the Geordie last week, and are now not expected to return for him on deadline day.

Longstaff made himself an instant hero with the Toon Army last season, breaking into the first-team as a local lad and putting in performances so good even Pep Guardiola was impressed.

The 21 year-old made a really good impression during his nine Premier League appearances, scoring once and assisting one more.

The Shields Gazette say he was high on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s wish list this summer, but the Magpies flat out rejected a £35m offer and said he is not for sale at any price.

Longstaff is under contract on Tyneside until 2022, and will perhaps want to stay and play alongside his brother, Matty, who has impressed in pre-season.

Fans are of course ecstatic with the news, as you can see from the Twitter reactions down below, while a couple are just bashing Man United for not coughing up more money…

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