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It promises to be an interesting summer at Newcastle United as the Bin Zayed group remain confident of completing the takeover of the club from Mike Ashley in the future. Should the deal go through, there should be plenty of incomings and outgoings as Rafa Benitez looks to give his squad a much-needed overhaul. With that in mind, here’s a look at the latest transfer stories involving Newcastle United…

Top scorer to La Liga

According to Cope Radio, Ayoze Perez is a transfer target for La Liga side Valencia. The Spaniard scored 12 Premier League goals last season, and appears to be excited about a switch to a Champions League side, but it remains to be seen if Newcastle will let him leave this summer.

Longstaff commits

Despite reported interest from Manchester United, Sean Longstaff has given Toon fans a boost by pledging his future to Newcastle. He is quoted by the Mirror as saying he is “100% committed” to the North East side and hopes to be back in the starting XI as soon as he is fully fit.

Mateta on radar

Newcastle have made a bid for Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, according to Sunday’s print edition of L’Equipe via Sport Witness. The initial offer is believed to be around €20-25m (£17.8-£22.25m), but the German side are holding out for an offer of €35-40m (£31.16-£35.61m). Southampton are also reported to be interested.

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It’s a rumour that has been in floating around for some time, but now it is looking likely that Daniel James will finally complete his move to Manchester United.

The Swansea youngster was a breakout star in the Championship this season, scoring five goals and assisting 10 as the now Wales international put his name on the map.

His form has seemingly won over Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, with John Percy of the Telegraph reporting that United are close to signing James.

Is the winger worth the hype and the money? Here’s what those in the know think.

Graham Potter – Former Swansea manager

“It’s just clear at a football level,” was what former Swansea manager Graham Potter had to say via BBC Sport when asked if James can go all the way to the top in the game.

The prospect was electric under Potter for the Swans, particularly in the second half of the season.

James impressed in both the Championship and FA Cup, and the now Brighton manager believes that James doesn’t look a beat out of place alongside some of the world’s best.

“He plays alongside Gareth Bale (for Wales) and doesn’t look out of place. You look at his attributes and how he influences games at Championship level. He causes teams real, real problems.”

Joe Allen – Stoke City and Wales midfielder

Winning praise from your peers is also a positive in sport, especially when it’s from those who play for a rival team. And Joe Allen wasn’t afraid to praise his international teammate when speaking to the Daily Mail.

The Stoke City midfielder claimed James’ performance against the Potters was one of the best he had ever seen as Swansea cruised to a 3-1 win back in April.

Allen said: “There, that was the day that probably sealed the potential Man United move. He scored and got two men sent off and caused carnage all game. It was one of the best individual performances I have ever seen as a fellow player.”

Ryan Giggs – Wales manager

One figure in the game who has been full of praise for James in recent weeks is Wales manager Ryan Giggs, who has been giddy with excitement on the prospect of seeing how the Swansea star’s career pans out.

The United legend believes that the 21-year-old is ready for the step-up to the Premier League but it’s not paramount for him to make the switch this summer.

Giggs said via the Manchester Evening News: “He was fantastic in the last six months for Swansea, putting in devastating performances and I think he can play at any level.

“He could play in the Premier League, but if he stays at Swansea for another year or two years I’d be equally as happy because he’s done so well there.”

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Former Celtic defender Jackie McNamara reckons Rangers’ summer arrival Jake Hastie will be out to replicate the season Ryan Kent has just had at Ibrox, as reported by Football Insider.

What’s he said?

With Kent heading back to his parent club Liverpool at the end of his season-long loan in Glasgow, Rangers have will be without one of their key attacking talents heading into the new campaign.

Manager Steven Gerrard has signed both Jordan Jones and Hastie on pre-contracts in an attempt to add some fresh talent to the flanks, but they both have a lot to live up to considering how popular Kent was with supporters.

McNamara believes Hastie has the talent to aim for those kind of performances though, telling Football Insider:

He could make the same impact as Kent, that’s what he’ll be looking for.

He has got pace, Kent’s got pace, I think he’s enjoying his time at Rangers when he was on loan, they’ve brought in Jordan Jones who’s got pace on that side, turning on his right foot similar to Kent.

Hastie’s different, he plays the other side for Motherwell, coming in on his left so maybe that’s, in certain games if they’re hoping to compete in Europe and in the league, then they’ll be hoping the players are able to push each other and build their squad.

Is Hastie the real deal?

The evidence is certainly strong that Hastie can make a big statement at Ibrox when he gets a chance in the team next season.

His burst of 2019 form at Motherwell caught most Scottish football fans by surprise but there’s no doubt he is now considered as one of the top emerging talents in the country.

Scoring 7 goals in 15 appearances, the 20-year-old has the power and pace to destroy defences in the Scottish Premiership and surrounded by better players at Rangers could be an absolute sensation in 2019/20.

He’s a different kind of performer compared to Kent but his athletic attributes are something the Gers don’t have right now. Adding that new dynamic to the first-team will be a major danger to Rangers’ opposition.

تحدث أحمد فتحي لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي بيراميدز الحالي والأهلي السابق عن طموحه مع فريقه الجديد والرقم الذي سيرتديه.

بيراميدز اعلن أمس عن التعاقد مع أحمد فتحي وقدمه في مؤتمر صحفي.

وقال فتحي في تصريحات إذاعية عبر أثير “راديو مصر”: “أرغب في تحقيق نجاح وطموح جديد، وأبذل قصاري جهدي، وأتمنى تحقيق بطولة مع الفريق الأزرق”.

وتابع: “بيراميدز ينافس بشكل قوي منذ عامين، وأعلم أن المنافسة ستكون صعبة”

وعن القميص الذي سيرتديه، قال: “أتمنى ارتداء رقم 24 مع بيراميدز، لأنه رقم يرتبط معي بذكريات كتيرة، وكنت أرتديه منذ أن كنت لاعبًا في الإسماعيلي ولو وافق اللاعب المرتدي هذا الرقم التخلي عنه لي سأرتديه بالتأكيد”.

وبشأن موقفه من طلب ارتداء شارة القيادة مع فريقه الجديد، قال: “بالطبع لن أطلب، وعبد الله السعيد هو قائد الفريق”.

وأكمل: “أنا لعبت في وسط جيل ذهبي والأمر لا يرتبط بشارة القيادة”.

واختتم: “أشكر جمهور الأهلي لأنه عظيم، وأتمني للنادي التتويج بلقب دوري أبطال إفريقيا، كما أوجه الشكر لمجلس إدارة النادي، ولم تكن هناك أي أزمة معه وكان هناك احترام متبادل، وهذا هو أسلوب النادي على مدار السنوات المنقضية”.

جدير بالذكر أن الأهلي سيواجه الزمالك يوم 27 نوفمبر الجاري في نهائي دوري أبطال إفريقيا لأول مرة في التاريخ.

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Rangers fans have taken to Twitter to heap praise on Scott Arfield, after the attacking midfielder netted a treble against Motherwell to help his teammates to a resounding 3-0 win.

The 30-year-old – who joined the Ibrox ranks last summer – grabbed his eighth, ninth and tenth league goals of the season to earn all three points for the Gers, where his link up with Jermain Defoe in attack was particularly impressive.

Check out Keith from C’mon the Hoops’ fascinating video on the origins of the Old Firm derby below…

The win sees Steven Gerrard’s side move onto 66 points for the season, although they are still someway behind bitter rivals and league leaders Celtic.

Specifically, however, Arfield’s performance was a display enriched by clinical finishing, whilst his all-round game and decision making up top helped contribute to a very easy-on-the-eye victory for the Gers.

Some fans may have been fearful of a result in the absence of Alfredo Morelos, but Arfield stepped up to the plate as Rangers’ star man missed out through suspension.

Let’s see what the Rangers supporters have been saying on Twitter about Arfield’s performance…

أعلن توماس توخيل، المدير الفني لفريق باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي، تشكيله لمواجهة مانشستر يونايتد الإنجليزي. ويحل الريد ديفلز ضيفًا على باريس، بملعب “حديقة الأمراء”، ضمن مواجهات الجولة الأولى لدوري أبطال أوروبا.تشكيل باريس سان جيرمان أمام مانشستر يونايتدحراسة المرمى: نافاس. خط الدفاع: فلورينزي، ديالو، كيمبيمبي، كورزوا. خط الوسط: دانيلو، إدريسا جي، هيريرا خط الهجوم: دي ماريا، مبابي، نيمار.

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Scotland were humiliated by Kazakhstan on Thursday afternoon, and Aberdeen’s Graeme Shinnie is getting absolutely crucified for his performance.

Scotland travelled to the Astana Arena in Nursultan for their first Euro 2020 qualifier on Wednesday, and let’s just say things didn’t go to plan for Alex McLeish’s side.

The hosts took the lead after just six minutes when Yuriy Pertsukh capitalised on some awful defending before Yan Vorogovskiy did the exact same five minutes later to make it 2-0.

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

Stuart Armstrong had the only notable chance for the Scots, forcing a good save out of the Kazakh goalkeeper, but Baktiyor Zainutdinov’s header made it 3-0 and completed the rout.

Of course, mounting injuries forced McLeish to deploy a makeshift squad, meaning Dons captain Shinnie got the nod at left-back with Andrew Robertson and Kieran Tierney both out.

The 27 year-old was at fault for the third goal and didn’t cover himself in glory during the early onslaught either, constantly caught out of position.

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

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More than 24 hours removed from the north London derby, Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal fans are still arguing.

This is perhaps nothing new but the tone of the argument pivots around one specific event at Wembley.

As Harry Kane rose to challenge for a header, Gunners defenders Shkodran Mustafi and Laurent Koscielny wrestled with the England striker in the penalty area.

Kane hit the deck and referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot.

However, the 25-year-old was offside when the ball into the area was played by Christian Eriksen and there has been much debate surrounding the officiating.

The law, per Sky Sports News, states: “If a player in an offside position is moving towards the ball with the intention of playing the ball and is fouled before playing or attempting to play the ball, or challenging an opponent for the ball, the foul is penalised as it has occurred before the offside offence.”

The debate since has circled around whether or not Kane was challenging for the ball at the time he was fouled.

Former referee Dermot Gallagher, per the aforementioned Sky article, claims the decision was wrong because Kane was challenging for the ball by attempting to head it. Spurs fans maintain that, because he had not headed it, he was not yet active and thus the foul comes first.

This is the chicken and the egg argument all over again and it needs to change.

The offside rule right now is a mess. There are too many shades of grey and the referee’s decision, ultimately, hinges on his understanding of the word “challenging”.

The penalty, of course, was given and Kane scored. Tottenham subsequently earned a 1-1 draw in a game they had been losing.

Were the offside rule to remove the ability to argue such trivialities, perhaps it would not have been given.

A player, at the end of the day, is either offside or he isn’t. If the rule was changed to state that a team cannot be penalised for fouling a player in an offside position, all arguments would be solved.

There is also the idea that there should be clear daylight between the defender and the attacker because the current rule has been reduced to a nitpicking anality.

With the introduction of VAR to the Premier League next season, perhaps these arguments will stop. Or maybe the offside rule will become even more convoluted, as the action is slowed to within an inch of its life.

Changing the rule would be a great first step to removing these debates.

Rangers central defender Joe Worrall came in for plenty of praise after his side’s 1-1 Scottish Cup draw away at Aberdeen over the weekend with the 22-year-old grabbing the Glasgow club’s equaliser.

“I thought Joe was outstanding,” Rangers manager Steven Gerrard told The Scottish Sun after the game. “It was a man-of-the-match performance and he will be a captain of whatever team he plays for.”

Gerrard’s words on Worrall’s suitability to be captain wherever he plays is a clear hint that the Nottingham Forest loanee is likely to return to and remain at the City Ground next season.

And if that turns out to be the case, Gerrard will undoubtedly need to bring in a new centre-half with Martin Skrtel a possible candidate to come in.

Skrtel, who was linked with a move to Ibrox last summer (via Daily Record), is set to leave Fenerbahce at the end of the campaign when his contract expires and would be a name who could bring so much to Gerrard’s side.

A strong tackler and dominant presence in the air, Skrtel has the sort of experience that would give Rangers a huge boost in any potential SPL title race against rivals Celtic.

Should Worrall return to England, then Rangers should look no further than Skrtel when it comes to bringing in a replacement.

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Loads of Rangers fans have been giving their verdict on Wednesday night’s momentous win over Aberdeen, and they’re absolutely delighted with the impact of Jermain Defoe.

Rangers kept the pressure on Celtic on Wednesday with a 4-2 win at the Pittodrie Stadium.

The Gers were the better side throughout most of the match, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for Steven Gerrard’s side.

Pl>ymaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he would have snubbed Tottenham for Arsenal if they’d come knocking in 2005…

Alfredo Morelos put the visitors in front when he pounced on a rebound from a Ryan Kent strike, and the Colombian international grabbed another courtesy of Kent to make it 2-1 after Sam Cosgrove had levelled for the hosts.

James Tavernier and Cosgrove then traded a penalty each, making the score 3-2, before both Morelos and Aberdeen’s Scott McKenna were sent off after kicking out at each other.

The ten-on-ten battle made life difficult for the Gers, but Defoe came on to seal the deal, finishing with aplomb when released late on by Tavernier.

Gerrard was clearly desperate to bring the 36 year-old to Ibrox in January and it’s not hard to see why, as he has already racked up three goals and four assists in a blue shirt.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, where fans are already in love with their new number nine.