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Back in May 2018, a solitary Tom Cairney goal saw Fulham promoted to the Premier League at the expense of Aston Villa.

What followed was the Cottagers spending £100m on players and subsequently being relegated from the division. Villa on the other hand, are right in the mix to be promoted this term.

As a result of Fulham beating the Villans in the play-off final last season, their fans have taken great delight at the London club coming straight back down, reacting on Twitter.

One fan called the club embarrassing whilst another said he enjoyed seeing them relegated.

A certain supporter chose to bring Joe Bryan into the equation, laughing at the fact he decided to join Fulham after making a U-turn from a potential move to Villa Park.

The attack on their play-off final opponents from last year was a savage one but the clubs could end up facing each other again soon unless Dean Smith’s men can find a way to go up.

Fulham were relegated from the Premier League on Tuesday evening following a woeful 4-1 defeat against Watford. It signifies one of the earliest relegations in the history of the division.

Here’s what Villa fans have been saying.

Talk emerged this weekend that Celtic’s soon-to-be out of contract defender, Dedryck Boyata, could be on the verge of signing a pre-contract with Bundesliga outfit, Hertha Berlin.

Reports on Mail Online (via Germany’s Bild newspaper (in German with subscription required) claimed that the Belgian international is poised to join the German club.

Their Hungarian coach, Pál Dárdai, will be hoping to take the club forward from a mid-table side, to one that can challenge for European spots, and obviously see the former Manchester City defender as the perfect fit for his defence.

But Neil Lennon, despite admitting previously that the player may have made his last appearance for the club, played down the talk, and insisted he is hoping to see the player remain in Glasgow.

Speaking of the news of a potential deal with Hertha, Lennon said: “‘I’m not aware of that.

“Dedryck was here at the game today.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if there is interest in him but we are still hopeful that we can persuade him to stay, which would be great for everyone.”

It would be a blow for Celtic to lose the Belgian, but by far, the biggest negative would be losing him for free.

That said, with a permanent manager still being sought — whether that is Lennon, or someone else — whoever is appointed is likely to be given transfer funds, which could be used to replace the defender.

But how big a loss would Boyata’s departure really be to Celtic?

He is a big player for the team… when he plays. And therein lies much of the issue.

Over the past three seasons, according to Transfermarkt.co.uk, injuries have been a problem for Boyata, and have caused him to miss 35 per cent of Celtic’s league games — not including a spell in the 2016/2017 season where he was simply left out of the squad after a previous injury.

This season alone has seen him miss 14 of Celtic’s 33 league games, working out at 42 per cent. In fact, injury has seen him on the sidelines for over a third of league fixtures in each of the last three seasons.

Due to the constant success of the club, it means they will always be playing in three domestic competitions, and European games too — whether Champion’s League qualifiers, group stages, or Europa League games — and that means high demands of players at Celtic Park.

So if a player is missing a huge chunk of games every year, then in many respects — regardless of his ability — he becomes something of a liability for the team.

With that in mind, we at the Tavern don’t think it would be as big a blow to Celtic in the long-term, as it may appear.

If they could invest funds into a suitable replacement — someone they could get a high percentage of games out of — the effects of Boyata’s departure would soon be forgotten.

As mentioned previously, the biggest annoyance is seeing the player leave for no fee, which is largely out of the club’s control.

What do you think of Boyata’s rumoured departure, Celtic fans? Would you see it as a massive blow? Or is no player irreplaceable? Let us know your thoughts…

It seems like only yesterday when Arsenal were the front-runners for Ivan Perisic.

The January transfer window saw the Inter Milan winger be linked constantly with a move to north London, and three months later the Croatian international has now been linked with a move West Ham.

According to Gazzetta dello Sport via the Sun, the Hammers are willing to meet the £35 million price tag Inter want for their 30-year-old winger, who is still being courted by Arsenal as well as Tottenham.

West Ham are braced for a big summer, with David Gold & David Sullivan likely to bolster the attack with the likes of Andy Carroll likely to leave the club this window, but Perisic isn’t the player the Hammers need.

The Croatian would no doubt be a big-name signing, and surprising one if that, but Perisic is simply just not what West Ham need this summer in terms of recruitment. The winger is no doubt a Premier League quality player, but he isn’t what Hammers should be targeting in this transfer window.

At 30, Perisic is heading into the winding-down years of his career, and in a league as fast as the Premier League the former Wolfsburg attacker will find it difficult to keep up with the speed of English football.

As well as age, Perisic’s nature to play on the left side of the wing means that star-man Felipe Anderson will have to be shifted around to accommodate the reported £35 million man, which could result in the Brazilian international being frustrated with playing out of position.

Perisic might seem like a good signing on paper, but with strikers leaving and fans preferring to see Anderson start on the left, the winger just doesn’t make sense for the Hammers as a summer signing.

West Ham fans, would you take Perisic as a summer signing? Let us know!

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Southampton outfought and outclassed Wolves on Saturday, and the Molineux faithful are fuming at Adama Traore.

There is always the danger of a team’s motivation dropping off after losing their last chance of winning silverware for the season, and that’s exactly what happened to Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this weekend.

After the devastating collapse at Wembley, Wolves travelled to St. Mary’s to take on a Saints side who despite losing to Liverpool last week are in fantastic form at home.

And the form book didn’t lie, as Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side went in front after just a few minutes through Nathan Redmond.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below…

Willy Boly equalised for the visitors, but Redmond found his second just minutes later, and Shane Long compiled Wolves’ misery with a second half strike to make it 3-1.

None of Nuno’s players will be particularly happy with their performance, but fans are focusing their dismay at Traore, who has done virtually nothing to justify the £18m the club paid for him last summer, a huge sum for a newly promoted side.

The young Spaniard was introduced as a second half substitute on Saturday, but in 30 minutes on the pitch completed a woeful 50 per cent of his passes.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, look away now Adama…

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Loads of Celtic fans have been reacting to a tweet from the club, as the Bhoys wished Kristoffer Ajer a happy 21st birthday.

It’s easy to forget Ajer is so young such is the quality and maturity of his recent performances, but not long ago the defender may have been heading towards the scrapheap.

After the Bhoys were knocked out of the Champions League, all of Brendan Rodgers’ centre back options were in fans’ bad books, but they have gradually redeemed themselves throughout the season.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

Dedryck Boyata was superb until his injury while Jozo Simunovic put in one of his best ever Celtic performances last weekend.

No one has impressed more than Ajer though, who is finally starting to fulfil the potential that convinced the club to sign him as a teenager back in 2016.

The now 21 year-old has made 39 appearances in all competitions this season, adding one goal and one assist, and his composure playing the ball out from defence is a breathe of fresh air.

After the club tweeted a birthday message to the young Norwegian international on Wednesday, fans were quick to heap praise on their rising star.

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

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Luke O’Nein has won Sunderland’s Young Player of the Year Award, after a stellar first season for the Black Cats, though the 24 year-old was surprised he was even in the running for the “young” player award at his age.

Sunderland fans however were quick to heap praise on the midfielder turned right back who has impressed since joining from Wycombe Wanderers in the summer.

O’Nein has gone on to make 34 appearances, scoring five times and registering six assists – these are very impressive numbers for a right-back and show that the Hemel Hempstead born defender is excelling in the new role Jack Ross has given him.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals why Tyne-Wear is a more intense derby than anything London can offer – check out the video below….

The fans are delighted that he won the award with one saying he is “exactly what the club needed this season” whilst another said: “We sussed you as a good lad on day one.”

His emergence as a quality right back has been perhaps the surprise package of the season, and while the versatile ace gets set to possibly enter the play-off gauntlet, fans are heaping praise on his development.

Take a look at the Twitter reactions down below…

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Wolves well and truly put themselves in the driving seat for a Europa League place against Fulham last weekend.

The club spurned a succession of chances but managed to drag themselves across the line with a 1-0 win over already-relegated Fulham.

Diogo Jota was again lively, proving to be a constant danger down the left-hand channel. He had numerous opportunities to score and really should have made Wolves’ victory far more comfortable.

However, there is a certain aspect of his game that needs to be cut out. Early in the game, the Portuguese star got past Cyrus Christie in the penalty area before throwing himself to the ground. The result? A booking from referee Jon Moss.

It was a clear attempt to deceive the officials and he was deservingly shown the yellow card.

There was also another occasion throughout the match where he went down too easily. Tim Ream stuck his leg out and slightly clipped the Wolves man as he was sent tumbling.

Jota is a fabulous talent and has become one of the most dangerous players in the league but his reputation is going to be severely damaged if he continues in the same light. Particularly after how bad the dive looked when pictured.

The 22-year-old clearly still has a lot to learn after this incident but there is no excuse for simulation. It was something that obviously annoyed Christie and will no doubt also have frustrated the Molineux faithful.

Jota has scored nine goals and claimed five assists in the league this term but this simply wasn’t his afternoon.

The striker on-loan from West Bromwich Albion has had a fantastic season for the Magpies, netting ten goals in the league and providing 7 assists for his teammates.

One of his former teammates Ben Foster, was quick to respond on Instagram to the big man’s achievements this season.

Foster played with the Venezuelan at West Brom for three years so he will be firmly aware of how good the striker can be on his day.

Foster also saw Rondon’s compassionate side last year when he accidentally broke James McCarthy’s leg, the 29-year-old broke down in tears and went to visit McCarthy in hospital after he had surgery.

It is Rondon’s on-field performances though that have enabled him to win NUFC’s Player of the Year award.

This is in fact Rondon’s best Premier League goal-tally and without him Newcastle would almost certainly have been relegated.

He has quickly become a fans’ favourite on Tyneside, not just because of his knack of scoring important goals but also due to the way he has taken Newcastle to his heart.

Rafa Benitez will surely want to get him signed up permanently after the season he has had on Tyneside.

His future will almost certainly be influenced by Mike Ashley’s prudence, so the Magpies faithful certainly won’t be banking on their new hero to remain at the club beyond the summer.

Manchester United set to renew interest in Leicester City defender Harry Maguire in a big summer spending spree

Sources have revealed to ESPN that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is ready to tempt Leicester City into selling Harry Maguire with a big money bid this coming transfer window.

It is genuinely no surprise that United are returning to the man Jose Mourinho identified months ago as one of his top transfer targets considering they have managed a pathetic seven clean sheets so far this season.

According to the report, United were priced out of a move last summer by Leicester who valued their World Cup hero at a mammoth £80 million, and Solskjaer will likely need to pay even more this season with Brendan Rodgers surely keen to keep hold of his star man as he looks to build for his first full season in charge at the King Power Stadium.

Should United successfully bid for Maguire, or any other targets including Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, it would likely mean one of their current defenders leaving Old Trafford.

On paper this may look like a disaster for the Leicester faithful who, should Maguire leave, will be left with Wes Morgan as their only starting centre-back. However, with such a huge sum expected to be splurged on the player from the United camp, Rodgers will have a strong financial foundation from which he can transform the team into one of his own.

Clearly, Maguire is good. But he’s not that good. Yes, the memories of England’s 2018 World Cup journey will always be there but it’s not as if the former Hull City ace is always dominating top-level strikers in the Premier League and has barely covered himself in glory this season.

Indeed, should Leicester play this one right, they could quite easily extort hugely inflated bids from the Red Devils this summer, who are desperate to change their fortunes. Surely that can only be a good thing, right?

Leicester fans, would losing Maguire to Manchester United really be that much of a disaster? Who and where would you like to see the money reinvested? Join the discussion by commenting below…

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According to WiwSports, Leicester are in the race to sign young winger Ismaila Sarr from Rennes this summer.

If the Foxes are able to bring him to the club then it would solve a major issue.

What’s the word?

Sarr has been exceptional in Ligue 1 this season so it’s no surprise that the Premier League is being touted as his possible destination should he leave.

He’s been in explosive form, scoring 12 times and also creating eight goals for his teammates in all competitions.

The 21-year-old has made a real impact after arriving two seasons ago but he could now be on the move once again. Transfermarkt value him at £24.3million.

Problem solved

Since Riyad Mahrez departed the King Power last summer Leicester have lacked goals from anyone other than Jamie Vardy and especially from the wide positions.

Neither Damarai Gray nor Mark Albrighton find the net on a regular basis whilst Harvey Barnes has only scored once since returning from a loan spell with West Brom.

It’s been a real problem area, not only for Claude Puel but also for Brendan Rodgers. However, the possible signing of Sarr would put those issues to bed.

His pace would be enough to frighten anyone in the Premier League and his goals record this season speaks for itself.

Sarr can play on either flank too so his versatility is another crucial aspect he could bring to the King Power.

The Senegalese still has a long way to go before he completes his development but with him and Barnes on the wings, Leicester would well and truly banish any thoughts still lingering over Mahrez’s sale.