On Unai Emery’s list of problems to solve over the summer, sorting out the defence will be near the top.
The Arsenal defence has yet again been a mess this season, throwing away games that have cost the Gunners important points in the league and giving neutrals endless hours of comedy gold on the behalf of the likes of Shkodran Mustafi and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Arsenal’s defence is in need of some serious work this summer, and it’s looking like that this is exactly what will happen as reports are emerging that the Gunners are targeting a defender.
According to the Sun, Arsenal are looking at a number of centre-backs to sign this transfer window from Harry Maguire to Toby Alderweireld to Djene Dakonam, as well as Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma.
With Arsenal in desperate need of a new centre-back and the Blues man looking like a possible departure from west London after two-years out on loan from Stamford Bridge, what would the potential consequences be of the Gunners signing Zouma?
Emery secures Mustafi replacement
Zouma would no doubt be a starting defender should he make the city move to Arsenal, meaning that a current Gunners centre-back will likely have to leave to make room for the French international.
With Laurent Koscielny the club captain, Sokratis being Arsenal’s defender and Konstantinos Mavropanos and Rob Holding looking like the future of the Gunner’s backline, Mustafi is the odd one out and will likely have to leave north London.
The German defender is one of the Gunners’ most error-prone players, so the signing of Zouma would only cast further doubt over Mustafi’s lack of a future at Arsenal.
No move for Maguire
In an ideal world, Arsenal have the funds to sign more than just one centre-back this summer, but with a budget of £40 million to play with it is highly unlikely Emery will be able to bring in more than Zouma, meaning Maguire’s wait for a move to a top-six side continues.
The England international has been waiting for a move to a bigger club since making a name for himself at Leicester and for the national team, and although it is possible Maguire can find a move away from the Foxes this summer, it won’t be to Arsenal, who simply can’t afford him.
It does appear plausible that Ayoze Perez will be attracting interest outside of Newcastle United in this summer’s transfer window following a glowing domestic campaign for the diminutive attacker.
Perez has managed 11 goals in 36 Premier League appearances for the Magpies this term, in addition to one strike in the FA Cup.
The 25-year-old has been with Newcastle since 2014, but there is a very real chance that he could leave the club at the end of the campaign.
Speaking to Cadena SER, Perez has hinted that he could be open to a move away from St James’ Park.
And a number of Newcastle fans have taken to social media to call for their club to sell the Spaniard if he does indeed want to leave.
Wolves Fan TV give us their outsiders take on the turbulent situation behind the scenes at Newcastle in the video below…
It would certainly be a loss to Rafael Benitez’s side if the 5 ft 10 ace moved on due to his quality and goal threat, but it would be far from the end of the world.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Newcastle supporters on Perez’s future can be viewed below:
Liverpool fans have taken to Twitter to respond after it was reported that RB Leipzig striker Timo Werner would prefer a move to Bayern Munich instead of Liverpool.
According to Suddeutsche Zeitung (via Tribuna), the German international is keen to move to the reigning Bundesliga champions instead of teaming up with Jurgen Klopp, although Leipzig want double the €30m on offer from Bayern.
Luis Suarez certainly had no qualms about celebrating against his former employers in the video below…
Werner has scored 19 goals this season and recorded 11 assists, and would be an excellent addition to a Liverpool side lacking quality backup behind the likes of Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Mohamed Salah.
However, despite that fact, a number of supporters on Twitter aren’t fussed about missing out on the 23-year-old, with many seemingly not a fan of his; they don’t appear to rate him all that much despite his impressive goal record.
Let’s see what the Liverpool fans on Twitter have been saying about the reported snub…
Judging by this post he seems to think keeping the Christmas tree up all year has helped to land City three trophies this year.
The 24-year-old was superb this season and has gone from rotation option to one of the first names on the team-sheet in the space of a single campaign.
The Portuguese international is sensational on the ball but his work rate and immense popularity saw him win Manchester City Player of the Year voted for by the fans of the club.
One of City’s most famous fans, Noel Gallagher, named Silva as his favourite City player at the moment, and it is easy to see why.
Be sure to check out the incredible story of the man who rose from a Tanzanian refugee camp to become one of Australia’s biggest football stars in the video below…
The diminutive midfield-schemer is one of Pep Guardiola’s hardest working players, making on average 1.4 tackles per game and 0.7 interceptions.
While going forward the former-Monaco man is deadly too – in 51 appearances he scored 14 goals and set up a further 13.
All of this, coupled with his infectious personality, strange quirks and now this latest little superstition, and it’s not hard to see why he is quickly becoming the out-and-out fan favourite at the Etihad.
Tottenham Hotspur need to spend this summer if they are to compete with their rivals in the Premier League.
Obviously reaching the Champions League final is a remarkable feat, however, everyone associated with Spurs will know new recruits are needed to help further strengthen their side and help them go the distance in a number of other competitions.
And, according to a report by The Sun, it appears Mauricio Pochettino’s side could be about to launch a bid for a talented player.
It is claimed that AFC Bournemouth’s David Brooks (and Callum Wilson) is on their radar this summer and it has to be said, he could be a quality addition for Tottenham.
The Wales international has been superb for the Cherries this season in the Premier League and has been instrumental in helping Eddie Howe’s side complete a solid campaign.
The 21-year-old notched up seven goals and five assists in the top-flight, however, what has been more remarkable is the level of his performances and the fact that they are of a consistent level.
With all due respect to Bournemouth, Brooks looks to be a player that is destined to play for one of England’s biggest clubs right now and a move to Tottenham could help him to develop further. He would only need to ask Gareth Bale about what Spurs can do for his career.
Obviously, times are different since the Wales captain was at White Hart Lane (the stadium for starters), but with Pochettino at the helm and the work he has managed to achieve with some of the country’s youngest talents, you would have to feel the Welshman would thrive under his guidance.
Brooks is more than willing to track back and work hard for the team which makes him seem to fit the bill perfectly and make him the type of player Tottenham want on their books.
Whether the reported £40million is enough to convince Bournemouth to part company with the 21-year-old after just a year remains to be seen, but Spurs and Daniel Levy should look to do all they can to bring him to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Tottenham fans, do you think Brooks would be a quality addition at the club this summer? Let us know your thoughts below!
Rangers are hoping to sign Liverpool winger Sheyi Ojo on loan this summer, according to The Daily Star.
What’s the story?
Ibrox boss Steven Gerrard has utilised his links with the Reds to land Liverpool players in the past, with Ryan Kent and Ovie Ejaria both signing up last summer on loan.
The paper say that Ojo is the latest Anfield talent ready to make the switch, but not before being handed a new long-term contract at the club.
They reckon he is highly rated by Jurgen Klopp and his staff and despite a disappointing season on loan at Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims they think he can benefit strongly from a year in Glasgow.
Does he have enough experience?
Rated as worth £1.8m by Transfermarkt, Ojo is still just 21 years of age and while he’s never been a regular starter across an entire season so far in his career he does already have a fair bit of experience at decent clubs.
He mostly played off the bench for Stade de Reims last term but before that had loans at Fulham and Wolves in the English Championship.
Don’t forget too he isn’t entirely a stranger to Liverpool action, making 13 senior appearances for the club to date, scoring once and assisting four times.
What does it mean for others at Ibrox?
If Ojo arrives in Glasgow then it could be curtains for one or two regulars in the Rangers team currently.
The one you’d think would benefit least is right-winger Daniel Candeias, whose status in the squad has already been put at risk by the capture of Motherwell talent Jake Hastie.
The Liverpool prospect can play on both wings and so could compete for places with Jordan Jones, Hastie and Candeias, but given the latter is not a new, fresh signing and has shown signs of regressing this season, surely it would be him that is in danger of losing out completely.
There’s also Gers youngsters like Glenn Middleton pushing for a place in the squad, so the Portuguese veteran could find himself squeezed out by youth when the squad meets up for pre-season.
Lightning can’t strike twice can it? Jürgen Klopp will certainly be doing everything in his power to ensure that it is a different outcome this time round. With the whole squad at his disposal, this is as good a chance that Liverpool and Klopp will ever get to finally win that first trophy together.
It is no easy feat, to beat a very competitive and unpredictable Tottenham side, but Klopp will feel that his side will have an edge on every area of the pitch, and after edging the Lilywhites on both occasions in the Premier League, all signs point towards the Reds come tonight’s kick off.
So, in order to ensure that it is a night to remember and not another Champions League final heartbreak, there are a couple of decisions we feel that the German has to make to his side, let’s take a look.
Stick with Divock Origi
Origi? Really? Yes. The 24-year-old, who is valued at £9 million (by Transfermarkt), has impressed Klopp and the Kop in recent weeks, especially after his incredible showing in the Champions League against Barcelona.
The big Belgian has done one hell of a job in ensuring that with Firmino’s absence, the front three of Liverpool have still been in free-scoring form. Having bagged three important goals for himself in that time, he really is showing why he has been involved instead of the likes of Xherdan Shaqiri and Daniel Sturridge.
Similar to the possible play Tottenham have with Harry Kane, leaving Firmino out of the starting line up and introducing the 27-year-old Brazilian half way through the game, may just be the scare that Liverpool have to give to the Tottenham defence.
Do not use Joe Gomez
In recent weeks we have seen Joe Gomez slowly return into the Liverpool fray, but is he really the man to come in for the final later today?
Disrupting what has been the solid defence of Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip may just be the undoing on Liverpool, something that Klopp cannot afford to do. The 22-year-old Englishman has been out with injury for the majority of the season and has seen his place in the side slowly ripped away from him — and rightly so.
It really feels like a no-brainer, Klopp must keep Gomez out of his starting line XI later today and use the ever dominant Matip in the defence for what will be a physical battle in the Reds’ defensive third.
Rangers manager Steven Gerrard has a lot of squad decisions to make this summer.
Last season may have been an improvement on previous years for the Ibrox side but it still wasn’t good enough for plenty of supporters, once again going trophy-less having gone out of cup competitions early and failing to sustain a credible title challenge.
One of his tasks will be deciding what kind of role his young, emerging stars will play over the course of next season.
Will he invest more time into their development? Should they be sent on loan? Are they good enough to feature heavily?
One such player is winger Glenn Middleton, who has experienced both exposure to first-team action and life on the fringes of the manager’s squad.
Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…
On the chalkboard
From a personal perspective, the 2018/19 season was a breakthrough one for Middleton.
Making his Gers debut, which happened to be his first senior career appearance, the teenager ended up impressing Gerrard enough to get a sustained run in the first-team, allowing him to experience UEFA Europa League group stage football and even thrill fans by scoring away at Spartak Moscow.
The sky seemed to be the limit in terms of potential and where his Gers career might take him next, but after the winter break he was frozen out of first-team action and played mostly for the reserve team.
Despite making 27 appearances in total, there are definite question marks about his future under Gerrard having not started a single match since December.
Is he good enough?
Effectively playing half a season, mostly from the bench, Middleton still pitched in with five goals and five assists, which isn’t a bad return at all for a rookie player.
For the reserves and youth sides he often shone too, with clips regularly appearing online of him doing wonderful things at that level.
There’s definitely still hope for him at Rangers despite the lack of action in 2019, but he needs regular football that will help him learn and make better decisions at a senior level.
Celtic have found success in this regard in recent seasons, allowing Ryan Christie to develop at Aberdeen and figure out how to become the main man in a starting eleven.
Middleton needs that kind of confidence to make the next step at Ibrox. If he can regularly score goals and win games for another club, it will prove to Gerrard he is ready to feature more regularly and can be relied upon.
To make it at Rangers, he might have to leave the club first.
Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a fairytale run to the Champions League final this season and managed to finish in the Premier League’s top four.
Champions League qualification is now deemed as something of an inevitability, with Spurs competing in Europe’s elite knockout competition in each of the last three seasons.
Reaching the final, however, was nothing short of a miracle. Spurs had just one point after three group games but then went unbeaten against Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV Eindhoven.
Qualification to the knockout rounds saw them drawn with Borussia Dortmund, who they duly dispatched 4-0 on aggregate, and then Manchester City, the champions of England. They won 1-0 at home and lost 4-3 away but because of VAR’s incredible intervention in the last minute of injury time, they progressed, with Raheem Sterling’s goal, City’s fifth, chalked off in dramatic circumstances.
Ajax in the semi-finals saw a 1-0 first leg defeat but a 3-2 second leg win; they were 3-0 down on aggregate at half-time before Lucas Moura stepped up to score a hat-trick and send Spurs to the final, his final goal coming in the last minute, again, of injury time.
Their luck ran out against Liverpool in the final – this was evidenced by Moussa Sissoko conceding a penalty after less than 30 seconds – but there remains hope that this was not a one-off and that the run can be repeated in 2019/20.
There needs to be some hefty investment, though, and some key players may have to leave.
Football FanCast takes a look at some suggested solutions as Spurs bid to return to the top table both at home and in Europe.
[snack_break title=”Replace Eriksen”]
Christian Eriksen came out on Wednesday and confirmed the worst-kept secret in north London: He wants to leave the club.
This isn’t surprising. The Denmark international has been with Spurs since 2013 and he has yet to win a trophy. A move to Real Madrid seems inevitable, particularly with his contract expiring at the end of next season.
But his exit does not have to be damaging. In fact, his performances this season have pointed to his departure actually improving Tottenham, provided a suitable replacement is brought in.
Giovani Lo Celso has been mooted as a target and the noises are only growing louder; the Daily Mirror have claimed that he is actively pushing to make the move happen.
He has a release clause of £88m but Spurs could put themselves in a position to afford that if they extract a huge fee for Eriksen.
Moving the Dane on and bringing in a player of the Argentine’s quality – he scored 16 goals in all competitions in 2018/19 – is something of a no-brainer and, if it is pulled off, Spurs could be stronger for his exit.
[snack_break title=”Axe Trippier and Aurier”]
Soccer Football – FA Cup Fourth Round – Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur – Selhurst Park, London, Britain – January 27, 2019 Tottenham’s Kieran Trippier reacts REUTERS/David Klein
Kieran Trippier has admitted that he hasn’t been good enough this season.
It’s an understatement of the highest order, really, given that he has gone from the heights of England’s run to the World Cup semi-finals to turning in execrable performances week after week in north London.
The problem with his disappointing form is that Serge Aurier, his understudy, simply isn’t up to the standard to replace him.
It appears that Pochettino does not trust Kyle Walker-Peters in the role so the solution is simple: Sell both Trippier and Aurier and replace them.
It will not be easy to find two elite right-backs, as that is what Spurs need, but getting rid of two players who lack basic positional sense and defensive ability should be a major priority this summer.
[snack_break title=”Find Kane’s understudy”]
Fernando Llorente is set to leave the club this summer when his contract expires.
He has struggled at the club but he played a key role in their run to the Champions League final – his goal against Manchester City will live long in the memory of every fan.
But he isn’t really very good.
Llorente scored one goal in the Premier League in 20 appearances in 2018/19.
Therefore, finding an adequate understudy for Harry Kane has to be a priority.
Kane is undoubtedly the club’s best striker – he is perhaps the best striker in the world when he is on form – but he needs help.
Signing an out-and-out goalscorer who is willing to sit on the bench will be tough but it needs to be done. The best clubs in England – Manchester City and Liverpool – have Gabriel Jesus and Divock Origi ready and waiting in the wings for whenever their first-choice forward picks up a knock.
Spurs need to ensure they have someone equally as adept in front of goal on the bench next season.
[snack_break title=”Wrap Winks in cotton wool”]
Harry Winks has struggled with injury throughout this season, missing nine Premier League games towards the end of the season due to a groin issue.
He made his comeback against Liverpool in Madrid and was the club’s best player until his substitution.
This is a truly exceptional midfield player who is excellent in possession, at tracking back and at making tackles.
When he is on it, so too are Spurs, and he allows Moussa Sissoko the freedom to roam further forward.
Keeping him fit throughout the entirety of next season will be key to the club’s chances of fighting on all fronts and the club have to ensure that he does not overexert himself during pre-season.
Keeping him fresh by wrapping him in cotton wool makes all the sense in the world.
[snack_break title=”Axe Lloris”]
Hugo Lloris is a sorry excuse for a captain and has long been out of his depth at the highest level.
He all too regularly makes mistakes in the biggest games – see Liverpool at Anfield or Chelsea at Stamford Bridge for evidence – and he appears to have absolutely no command of the backline playing in front of him.
Pochettino trusts him, that much is clear, given that he has the armband and he is indisputably the club’s number one.
But moving him on and replacing him with a goalkeeper who can actually catch the ball when a cross comes in, or genuinely kick a ball long, would go a long way to ensuring Spurs keep more clean sheets.
It remains to be seen if Pochettino would make such a decision this summer. But he certainly should.
[snack_break title=”Trust the process”]
Pochettino has built something really quite special at Tottenham.
They very rarely dip into the transfer market and when they do, they are always looking for a very specific profile of player.
That will be key this summer.
If Pochettino has told Daniel Levy to buy Tanguy Ndombele from Lyon, the deal needs to get done. Ditto Giovani Lo Celso. Ditto Ryan Sessegnon.
Trusting in what the manager needs is going to be fundamental to Spurs progressing on the pitch.
Levy, then, needs to back the boss and ensure that the squad is refreshed to Pochettino’s exact specifications this summer.
If it isn’t, Spurs and the manager face another season of near-misses.
Tottenham obviously experienced a rather eventful season last time out with the journey to the Champions League final, stadium move and top four finish well-documented.
Still, what did perhaps go under the radar may have been the performances (or lack thereof) of a certain Victor Wanyama towards the end of a campaign that will live long in the memory of the club’s fanbase.
Wanyama was brought to Tottenham in 2016 after proving an integral component of Mauricio Pochettino’s Southampton side and he immediately made an impact, slotting in next to Mousa Dembele in place of Eric Dier. Indeed, the Kenyan made 35 appearances for the club in a quite astonishing season, with only one coming from the bench. Impressively, Spurs finished the season in second, conceding just 26 goals, the least in the league by a fair margin of seven goals.
However, it has largely gone downhill for the former Celtic ace ever since. In fact, he has totalled just 31 appearances in the following two campaigns, 19 of which have been as a substitute. This came after a four-month lay-off at the start of the 2017-18 season, which Wanyama has described as the lowest point in his career. Furthermore, his return saw him way down the pecking order, with further injuries last season, that saw him miss a total of 21 games, hindering his progress further.
Wanyama made a surprise return to the team late this season, however. With Dembele leaving in January and both Harry Winks and Eric Dier struggling with injuries, he slotted in. Still, ultimately, a man once trusted with dominating the engine room looked a shell of his former self, with Ruud Gullit slating his performance in the first leg against Ajax while speaking on beIN Sports in April.
As per HITC too, a lot of fans on social media took to Twitter to slate the 27-year-old for his performance as a second-half substitute in May’s loss to Bournemouth too, so it was barely a strong end to the season, which culminated in him being left on the bench for the final in Madrid.
Several reports (this one from the Mirror) earlier in the window stated that Tottenham will listen to offers for 12 players this summer and Wanyama was indeed on the list. Going off his injury record and some of his performances towards the end of the season, he’d be no loss at all.
Tottenham fans, is Wanyama’s time at Tottenham up? Or did his spell late in the season give you any hope? Comment below.