[ad_pod ]According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona could rival West Ham United for the signature of Celta Vigo forward Maxi Gomez in this summer’s transfer window.West Ham were strongly linked with the 22-year-old last month, before ultimately being made to admit defeat in their pursuit of the Uruguay international.The Hammers are expected to return with a bid at the end of the season, but according to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona are eyeing the young forward as well.Indeed, the Spanish champions are in the market for a new forward with Munir El Haddadi leaving last month and Kevin-Prince Boateng’s loan spell unlikely to last beyond the end of the current season.Gomez has managed nine goals in 22 appearances for Celta this term, whilst he has 27 goals in 61 games for the Spanish side since arriving in 2017.
The West Ham fans have been offering their views on the suggestion that their club might have to battle Barcelona for the South American.
And a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
West Ham United produced a fine team performance to overcome Newcastle United by a 2-0 scoreline at the London Stadium on Saturday. Midfield pair Declan Rice and club captain Mark Noble provided the goals for the east London club.
Rice’s strike opened the scoring in just the seventh minute and marked the 20-year-old’s second career goal, having opened his account against Arsenal earlier in the campaign. He has been a revelation for the Hammers this season and has made himself a regular starter for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
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The midfielder has consistently impressed with his defensive awareness and discipline as well as his technical ability on the ball. The Irons will simply be desperate to retain his services for the long term, as interest in the £18 million-rated starlet has surely skyrocketed this year.
After the victory over the Magpies, plenty of West Ham fans took to Twitter to sing the young ace’s praises…
Crystal Palace host bitter rivals Brighton this weekend in what promises to be a fiery encounter, with tackles and emotions flying high – Seagulls boss Chris Hughton, though, has taken the opportunity to praise his Palace counterpart, in quotes reported by The Daily Mail.
Speaking ahead of the much-anticipated clash, Hughton expressed his admiration for Roy Hodgson:
“Roy is someone I know very well.
“He’s assembled a very good side. To still be doing it at this level, at his age, is exceptional. Credit to him.”
At 72 years of age, former England boss Hodgson, who recently became the oldest manager in Premier League, is well worthy of the praise afforded to him by Hughton.
Rest assured, though, niceties will surely be brushed to one side on Saturday. Last time the two sides met, Palace were beaten 3-1 despite the Seagulls having a man sent off in the first half.
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The Eagles, though, have been on an inspired run of form in recent weeks – they have taken 11 points from a possible 18 in their last six games and will have been buoyed by their win over Burnley at the weekend.
Brighton, meanwhile, picked up their first win of 2019 over relegation certainties Huddersfield last weekend – the Selhurst Park outfit will want nothing more than to knock them back down though, as a win would see them go six points clear of their rivals and most likely secure Premier League survival for another season.
The Liverpool Echo, after giving a lengthy statistical analysis, believe that Everton should look to avoid a move for loan star Andre Gomes on a permanent basis, amid reports that Barcelona will look to charge a fee of around £40m.
Whilst they justify their argument well and make it a convincing one, there is plenty to discuss as to why the Toffees should in fact splash the cash on the Portuguese international, who has impressed this season since arriving from the Camp Nou.
Why should they sign him?
Gomes keeps things ticking over nicely in the middle of the park alongside the perfect foil for his skills in Idrissa Gueye, who is more defensively-minded which allows the Toffees’ No.8 to focus on punching balls into the forwards and keep possession for his side.
Everton recently enjoyed an uplift in results after the 6 foot 2 midfielder was taken out of the starting XI, beating Cardiff before drawing with Liverpool, but last weekend’s capitulation against Newcastle proved that the Portuguese is not the underlying problem.
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You could argue validly that spending such a figure on Gomes wouldn’t be a smart idea, but whilst it may not look like an issue right now, the midfield areas could be severely depleted at Goodison Park in the near future.
Signing him could be hugely necessary
The aforementioned Gueye handed in a transfer request in a bid to force a move to Paris Saint-Germain back in January for a £25m fee, and one would assume that the Ligue 1 champions will come back in for the Senegalese international when the summer rolls around.
Additionally, the future of Morgan Schneiderlin could be deemed as unclear. Whilst the Frenchman has recently taken some big steps forward in turning his Toffees career around, he will turn 30 before the end of the year, which could perhaps signal Everton’s last chance to get a decent fee for a man that cost them up to £24m with very little in return.
Furthermore, Marco Silva will perhaps be hoping that the Spanish champions lower that fee somewhat, due to the two clubs having a good relationship after signing off deals for Barcelona duo Lucas Digne and Yerry Mina back in the summer.
As previously mentioned, with Gueye and Schneiderlin not looking like they can be relied on for the foreseeable future, a big-money move for Gomes, who has plenty of mileage left in the tank at just 25 years of age, would be a sensible move for Everton.
Eric Dier made his first Premier League start of 2019 on Saturday afternoon as Spurs suffered a 2-1 defeat away at Southampton.
What’s the word?
There was a time when Dier was regarded as one of the best young players in English football.
Combining a rugged hard-man attitude with a percentage-based approach to passing football, the midfield enforcer was regarded as a player with the potential to establish himself as the first-choice option in England’s pivot role.
His exciting development even prompted Premier League icon and serial trophy winner Xabi Alonso to label him as his favourite young English player in 2017, as per The Times, citing his versatility and composure as two defining characteristics of his game.
That a player of Alonso’s immense standing in the game chose Dier as his favourite young player spoke volumes about the enormity of the former Sporting Lisbon man’s reputation at the time.
But nearly two years on it’s fair to say that Dier has struggled to match the hype which surrounded the formative stages of his career.
Huge point still to prove
The 25-year-old, who is valued at £36 million by Transfermarkt, can be brilliant on his day. Every side needs a player to crunch into challenges and keep things ticking over between the lines of defence and midfield, but Dier has struggled to develop in the manner which many predicted him to.
Cutting-edge through balls are stashed away in his locker but not released regularly enough, while his lack of mobility often leaves him vulnerable in one v one situations.
Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko have established a formidable midfield partnership this season and Dier will face an uphill battle to win his place back when both players are fully fit.
And with Declan Rice staking the strongest claim to slot into Gareth Southgate’s midfield anchor role, it’s clear that Dier has failed to justify why Alonso singled him out for such esteemed praise in 2017.
Loads of Rangers fans have been reflecting on the weekend’s action, and more than a few are calling for Steven Gerrard’s head after yet another disappointing display.
Rangers were held to a 1-1 draw by Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Saturday, and if truth be told they really didn’t deserve anything more.
The Gers fell behind early when Conor McAleny raced right through the middle of the defence to latch on to a long ball and finish past Allan McGregor, five minutes after the shot-stopper had been booked.
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Gerrard switched things up at the interval by bringing on Eros Grezda and Borna Barisic, and they eventually drew level when Alfredo Morelos slammed home his 29th goal of the season.
Still, a 1-1 draw at home is simply not good enough, especially when it all but secures the title for Celtic.
Gerrard had an exciting start to his time in charge of the Gers, cruising through the Europa League qualification stages with plenty of drama along the way, but loads of fans have now had enough after this latest setback.
You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…
England take on the Czech Republic at Wembley in their first qualifier for Euro 2020 on Friday.
The two sides meet at a time when they are at differing ends of the international landscape.
England, of course, reached the semi-finals of the World Cup last summer, for the first time since 1990. The Czech Republic failed to qualify, finishing behind both Germany and Northern Ireland in qualification Group C.
They do have a hefty international pedigree, however, finishing second at Euro 1996 and reaching the semi-finals of Euro 2004, though those finishes have been the zenith of their run as an international team.
Friday’s encounter, then, promises to be an intriguing one. Football FanCast takes a look at where it could be won and lost…
The key battle – Kaderabek vs Sancho
Soccer Football – Bundesliga – Borussia Dortmund v Hertha BSC – Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany – October 27, 2018 Borussia Dortmund’s Jadon Sancho applauds fans as he is substituted REUTERS/Leon Kuegeler DFL regulations prohibit any use of photographs as image sequences and/or quasi-video
Jadon Sancho has been in electric form since his move to Borussia Dortmund. This season, he has scored eight goals in 26 Bundesliga appearances, while also laying on 15 assists.
He will come up against another Bundesliga star in Pavel Kaderabek at right-back. The Hoffenheim defender has been in excellent form this season, with his side currently ninth in the German top-flight.
Sancho will know his Czech counterpart well; they both scored when Dortmund and Hoffenheim played out a 3-3 draw earlier this season.
If the 18-year-old can find a way past Kaderabek consistently on Friday, England will have a trusted route to goal and that could well prove decisive.
The deciding factor – England’s defence
Can England maintain focus throughout the 90 minutes?
The Three Lions have kept one clean sheet since the World Cup, in a 0-0 UEFA Nations League draw with Croatia.
Even a thumping win over Spain, in which England took a 3-0 lead, saw the concession of two goals to La Roja.
If Southgate’s side, who also kept just one clean sheet in Russia, in the 2-0 quarter-final stroll against Sweden, can stop their backline from leaking, they should have enough up front to fire their way past the Czechs.
But that is no guarantee; England also conceded to Panama at the tournament. Yes, they were 6-0 up at the time, but it is a very real concern. The Three Lions simply have to stay tight at the back.
The impact subs – Callum Hudson-Odoi vs Matej Vydra
Hudson-Odoi is unlikely to usurp Raheem Sterling in the starting line-up but he has the ability to make a genuine impact off the bench.
His skilful dribbling and precision in the pass means he can hurt pretty much any team and he is primed for a go at international level.
He has worked his way into the Chelsea team and scored four goals in all competitions this season – he could make his international debut here and may well be the saviour if Southgate’s men need one.
As for the Czech Republic, Burnley striker Vydra is likely to be on the bench, with Patrick Schick set to start up front. He has scored just two goals all season and has not netted for his country since 2016.
Newcastle United fans on Twitter have been reacting to a hilarious award photo involving their star winger Matt Ritchie.
The 29-year-old was being recognised by the Premier League for 100 appearances and having been presented with a small accolade for his achievement, posed for the cameras at the club’s training ground.
However, as we can see, Ritchie was hardly beaming in the image with the award as there’s little doubt he could have looked a lot more happy, a century of games in the English top flight isn’t that bad after all.
Unsurprisingly, Magpies supporters were quick to jump on and troll the former AFC Bournemouth man in the wake of the picture emerging.
Comments such as “he looks over the moon” were quickly flying around the Twittersphere, as well as those of the “look at the sheer joy on his face” like and even one comparing the Scottish international’s appearance in the photo to that of famous Scottish chef and ex-footballer Gordon Ramsey.
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Check out those and the rest of the best comical reactions from the chirpy Toon Army, below…
It has now been eight games without a goal for Mohamed Salah. A man who managed to find the back of the net an astonishing 44 times in the previous campaign is currently sitting on less than half of that tally with 20 strikes to his name this season, and it appears to be getting to him.
In Liverpool’s last outing against Tottenham, the Egyptian was frustrated in front of goal yet again, taking a number of ambitious potshots at goal when his teammates were better placed.
He did, however, manage to force the issue after his effort led to Toby Alderweireld’s late own goal, although he was unable to claim it as his own.
What has he said?
Speaking to Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher after the final whistle, Salah said: “I didn’t score for a couple of games but there are some players who have the same number of goals as me but people are saying they are having the best season of their life.
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“There are three or four players and no one talks about them—they just say they have a good season and I’m the only one that has had a bad season.
“Aguero has two goals over me, just two goals, and this is one of the best seasons for him so far.
“So I don’t care too much. I just play, I want to win the Premier League—that’s the most important thing for me.”
Needs to do his talking on the pitch
To bring other players into the equation as a point of reference, and even mention Sergio Aguero by name, shows a bit of petulance from Salah and clearly suggests that his goal drought is affecting him.
Additionally, the fact that he goes on to say ‘I don’t care too much’ after going on a huge rant is equally revealing as it is telling that talk of his barren spell is winding him up a tad.
Liverpool fans will tell you that it has visibly been affecting him on the pitch as well. The Reds’ last two games against Fulham and Spurs have seen Salah pass up the opportunity to play in Sadio Mane for a simple chance, instead opting to try a wild shot from distance or slow the move down.
He needs to get away from the cameras, stop talking into the microphones, and just focus on making the right decisions at the correct time on the pitch to do what’s best for Liverpool’s title challenge.
Loads of Rangers fans have been reacting to the release of the post-split SPFL fixtures.
The final Old Firm of the season will be the penultimate game of the campaign, the club have confirmed.
The SPFL post-split fixtures were released on Friday, and the Gers will kick off with a trip to Hearts, before home clashes against Aberdeen, Hibernian and Celtic.
Finally, the season ends with a trip to Rugby Park to take on Kilmarnock.
Celtic meanwhile, who are well clear of the Gers after their Old Firm win, will travel to Hibs and Aberdeen either side of a home clash with Kilmarnock, before ending the season with that trip to Ibrox and a Parkhead showdown with Hearts.
It has to be said that the Hoops have quite a difficult task facing them with trips to Easter Road, Pittodrie and Ibrox all to come, so the Gers’ title hopes may not be dead just yet.
Take a look at the Twitter reactions down below, where fans are sharing their views on the fixture announcement…