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Former West Ham United striker Dean Ashton has tried to put ex-Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan in his place about Andy Carroll.Jordan described the Hammers forward as a “war horse†when Ashton tweeted that England were crying out for a player of Carroll’s ability.The discussion was raised following the Three Lions’ 2-0 victory over Lithuania at Wembley, which was not the most vintage performance from Gareth Southgate’s men.Jermain Defoe and Jamie Vardy were the scorers on Sunday, but England lacked an aerial threat, which Carroll can possess in abundance.Jordan was not having it, though, as he responded to the ex-footballer’s tweet with a very different view.

Ashton fired back by posting a picture of Carroll scoring a spectacular bicycle kick against Crystal Palace at the London Stadium in January.

Carroll was overlooked once again by the national side, despite scoring six goals so far this season in 15 Premier League appearances

The problem for the striker, though, has been injuries, particularly at the start of the campaign when he missed around 16 weeks with a knee injury.

Carroll also recently picked up a groin problem, which kept him on the sidelines for two games.

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Manchester United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has picked Chelsea midfielder N’Golo Kante as his Premier League Player of the Season ahead of the official announcement of the final shortlist by the PFA on Thursday.

The 26-year-old was a key part of Leicester City’s incredible title-winning campaign last term, and he has taken that form into this season with Chelsea after moving to Stamford Bridge for a fee of £32m last summer.

The Blues are currently seven points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the top flight standings and they look on course to reclaim the title that they lost to the Foxes in 2016.

If Antonio Conte’s men do come out on top, it will be the second successive season that Kante has lifted the famous trophy, and he has once again played a starring role.

The France international has once again shown the amazing stamina as he pops up all over the field, while he has made 67 interceptions and 43 clearances in 30 Premier League appearances this term.

With 69 successful tackles and a pass accuracy of 89% from a total of 1,821 passes, the Frenchman has shown that he is a vital part of Antonio Conte’s 3-5-2 formation in the middle of the park.

Neville told Sky Sports: “When you watch him in games he’s infectious – he’s all over the pitch.

“His impact upon the two teams – Leicester and Chelsea – he’s had over the last two seasons has been absolutely incredible.

“He’s been amazing for two seasons and he deserves it this year.”

Chelsea will look to go a step closer to winning the title when they face Manchester United and former boss Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

It’s been a fine season for Everton striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgium international has been tipped to reach world-class levels of netting prowess since his teenage years but has taken an almighty step towards that quality bracket this season, leading the Premier League’s scoring charts with 21 goals in 29 appearances.

He’s now just four goals short of setting a new personal best across all competitions, currently standing at 25 from 2015/16, with plenty of football still yet to play.

At the end of March, the 23-year-old picked up the first Player of the Month award of his career after claiming four goals and two assists in just three Premier League appearances, highlighting how his form is only further hotting up as we reach the business end of the campaign.

And the towering striker has now revealed why he’s emerging as arguably the best striker in the Premier League. He feels he’s improved on every aspect of his game, most particularly the quality of goals he’s now scoring.

Lukaku, speaking to EASPORTS.com, said; “I think I’ve proven that I’ve improved every part of my game. I have always been scoring goals and now the quality of goals I am scoring is better. I can now create chances to score for myself, and I have scored a free kick this year too. I have been scoring a lot more headers and my overall finishing has improved a lot. My overall play has improved but I want to give a lot more as I go through my journey in football.

The Everton man also stated; “Physically we’ve been working really hard this year and I feel my fitness levels have been improving throughout the year. I ensure I am focused throughout the game whether that is making a chance for myself or receiving the ball from a teammate to score.”

Romelu Lukaku was speaking to EASPORTS.com at the presentation of the EA SPORTS Player Of The Month Award. To read the full interview, go to https://www.easports.com/fi

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When Newcastle United were relegated from the Premier League last season, there were genuine fears over what the future might hold for the Magpies.

Head coach Rafael Benitez ultimately remained at St James’ Park, however, and the club are well-placed to bounce straight back into the top flight for the 2017-18 campaign.

Indeed, Newcastle currently sit second in the Championship table – 10 points clear of third-place Huddersfield Town entering the business end of the campaign. It would take a remarkable collapse from his position to pass up the chance of promotion, although they face a tough game at home to Leeds United on Friday night.

Paul Dummett, who came through the youth ranks at Newcastle, has admitted, in quotes carried by the Shields Gazette, that it was far from ideal being relegated last season, but the 25-year-old has claimed that dropping down to the second tier could ultimately be “a blessing in disguise”.

“You obviously don’t want to be relegated. Even if we had stayed up and the manager had stayed, I think he would have sorted out what needed to be done anyway, but you can look about it both ways, really.

“So in a way us being relegated could be a blessing in disguise. I suppose it has helped the club sort things out and turn things round. Hopefully, we can be on the up now.”

Dummett has started 39 of Newcastle’s 41 Championship fixtures this season, impressing at left-back for his boyhood team. It has been a difficult period in the history of the Magpies, although it does appear that the club will be back in the top flight for the new campaign.

Manchester United look set for yet another massive summer. Jose Mourinho’s now had a year to fully assess the squad he inherited from Louis van Gaal and will almost certainly act accordingly in the transfer market, offloading those surplus to requirements whilst bringing in players who fit his philosophy.

Earlier this week, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio claimed there are two central midfield options currently in the Red Devils’ transfer thoughts – Real Madrid’s Toni Kroos and Monaco ace Fabinho.

Both have performed exceptionally this season and both are currently involved in the Champions League semi-finals, with Los Blancos and the French outfit winning and losing their first legs at home respectively.

With that in mind, we asked United fans earlier this week which midfielder they’d prefer to sign this summer and although the result of our poll was pretty close, Kroos edged it with 59% of the vote. Will that encourage Mourinho to bid for the German World Cup winner this summer?

As reported by The Sun, Tottenham Hotspur are plotting a move for one of the brightest young prospects in Britain, Fulham’s Ryan Sessegnon.

What’s the story?

Mauricio Pochettino is no stranger to pulling a player from relative obscurity and moulding them into an elite talent. We saw with Dele Alli that the Argentinian has an eye for a player and the magic touch to help them realise their potential.

Now he’s seeking his next young superstar and doesn’t need to leave London to find him.

The Sun say he’s weighing up a £12m move for Fulham wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon, a player who has been a star on their left flank all season.

With Liverpool also hovering and willing to invest in the left-back, the race is on to sign the talented teenager.

Is he that good?

Initially breaking into the Fulham side as a left-back, he’s shown the versatility and attacking prowess to play up and down the entire left hand side.

With seven goals and three assists in 30 appearances, ten of which have been from the bench, it’s clear he is making quite the impact in the English Championship.

He needs first team football most of all if he’s to progress and develop into an elite player and even if Spurs can’t quite offer that next season, he’s still worth investing in. They could always loan him back to Fulham for another season or another suitable club.

Getting in early on his future could be key to secure a 17 year old who has all the attributes to be a roaring success at a top Premier League club.

According to Manchester Evening News, Manchester United dropped their interest in Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann in order to pursue Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale this summer.

What’s the story?

It appeared almost certain that Griezmann would be heading for Man United in an £87m deal this summer, but after Atletico failed in an appeal to have their transfer ban overturned, talk of a move for the Frenchman ended.

It is understood that Griezmann could now sign a new contract at Atletico after Man United ‘cooled their interest’, but according to Manchester Evening News, Bale was a key reason in the English giants switching their focus away from the Atletico forward.

It is understood that the Red Devils have been given a boost in their pursuit of Bale, who started the 2017 Champions League final on the bench after missing the last month of the La Liga season with a calf problem.

The notion that Bale is unsettled in Madrid as he continues to play second fiddle to Cristiano Ronaldo has strengthened once again, and it has been claimed that Man United, who would have to spend £100m, are confident of signing the player that they missed out on in the summer of 2013.

Why would Real Madrid sell the Welshman?

Before Saturday night’s Champions League final, Bale had managed nine goals in 26 appearances for Real Madrid during the 2016-17 campaign.

The Wales international has struck 67 goals since arriving at the Bernabeu, including 22 in his first campaign in Madrid, before finding the back of the net on 19 occasions last term. This season, however, has been interrupted by an ongoing calf problem.

Real Madrid paid close to £80m to bring Bale to the Bernabeu in September 2013, but the attacker would now command a £100m transfer fee from Man United, which would bring a healthy profit.

The presence of Isco and Marco Asensio has also led to suggestions that Real Madrid are a better team without Bale, whilst Ronaldo is showing no signs of slowing down as he continues to produce on the biggest of stages.

Man United’s long-standing interest in the Welshman is not a secret, and it would be some coup for Red Devils boss Jose Mourinho if he could land the 27-year-old this summer.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is reportedly set to start David Ospina in goal for the FA Cup final against Chelsea on Saturday after Petr Cech picked up an injury in training.Early reports in The Guardian suggested that the Czech stopper had been dropped in place of Ospina, who is likely to be making his final appearance for the Gunners before leaving the club this summer, but now it appears the former Chelsea man has received a knock meaning he isn’t able to start.However, further fuel has been added to the fire by the fact that Cech is still expected to be named on the substitutes’ bench as the north London outfit look to win a record 13th FA Cup.Arsenal supporters were quick to have their say on the news via social media, and they believe it is a baffling decision that could ensure that they are beaten by Chelsea.Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Last week, Manchester United fans received some rather disappointing news. After endless months of speculation, it was revealed that the club had cooled their interest in Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann to focus on a more conventional, out-and-out centre-forward. Not so coincidentally, the French assassin later pledged his allegiance to the Spanish giants.

Which all begged the inevitable question of who United should target this summer to fill that centre-forward void. We put that exact question to our Red Devils readers earlier this week, giving them a straight up choice between two prime targets – Everton’s £100million-rated front-man Romelu Lukaku and Torino’s rising star Andrea Belotti.

Both are supremely talented strikers who’ve scored for fun this season but according to our poll, twice the number of United fans would prefer Jose Mourinho to sign the 23-year-old Italian international this summer following a campaign which saw him net 26 times in Serie A.

WIN! Take our survey below for a chance to win your favourite club’s new 17/18 home or away shirt…

Leeds United assistant manager Pep Clotet announced on his official Twitter account on Friday that he was leaving the club, and he was confirmed as the new Oxford United boss on Saturday morning.

The 40-year-old worked under Garry Monk at Elland Road last season as the club narrowly missed out on a Championship play-off position, and his future was in doubt as soon as Monk resigned and went to Middlesbrough.

Thomas Christiansen was appointed as the new Leeds manager last month and it was an arrival that saw Clotet start to look for a new challenge – something that has come at the Kassam Stadium.

Leeds supporters were quick to respond to the message from the Spaniard via social media, and it was easy to see what a respected figure he was during his time with the Yorkshire outfit.

While many praised him for being a ‘class act’, others were quick to say that he would always be welcome back at the club.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…