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Wrexham owner Rob McElhenney was blown away by MK Dons' stadium but the Always Sunny star also aimed a cheeky jibe at their League Two rivals.
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Barcelona are considering manufacturing and distributing their own kits with their Nike deal due to expire in 2028.
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Crystal Palace are interested in signing Watford winger Ismaila Sarr, according to a report from French outlet Jeunes Footeux.
Following the Hertfordshire club’s relegation from the Premier League, it’s widely anticipated that the 24-year-old will be the subject of plentiful interest during the summer transfer window.
Having previously garnered the attention of Liverpool, the Senegal international is expected to attract offers, with mega-rich Newcastle United also being heavily linked with him in recent days.
It now appears as though Palace manager Patrick Vieira could be about to make his own intentions known in the transfer market…
As per Jeunes Footeux, the Eagles are said to be ‘especially’ interested in Sarr, whilst also citing interest from Everton, an unnamed German club and indeed Newcastle.
It is claimed that Vieira ‘greatly appreciates’ the 39-cap forward, who could be available for less than €35m (£29.8m) this summer.
The report added that Watford won’t stand in the way of Sarr, who was praised by Hornets team-mate Ben Foster for his pace and his “off the cuff” style of play, if an ‘interesting’ offer is forthcoming.
While the Selhurst Park ranks are blessed with skilful wide players in the shape of Wilfried Zaha, Michael Olise and the versatile Jeffrey Schlupp, adding Sarr would be a superb piece of early summer business from Palace.
Despite Watford’s relegation and his own trouble with injuries, the Senegal star ended the 2021/22 campaign with a respectable return of five goals and two assists in 22 appearances.
Boasting impressive dribbling and finishing abilities (WhoScored), at 24 he certainly has the ability to move onto the next level, and Vieira should relish the opportunity to bring the best out of a player whose pace and penalty box prowess are evident.
In other news, this Palace stalwart may leave in the summer
Manchester United had a rather disappointing 2021/22 Premier League season despite ultimately finishing in a European place.
With 38 games played, the Red Devils won 16, drew ten and lost 12, scoring 57 goals and conceding 57 along the way.
To put that into perspective, United scored fewer goals than the likes of West Ham United and Leicester City and conceded more times than the likes of Brighton, Wolves and Burnley.
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One figure that barely got a look in throughout this campaign was defender Phil Jones.
With just four league appearances to his name, the Englishman only completed the full 90 minutes on one occasion which came during United’s 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Old Trafford back in January.
Having been described as being “annihilated” by his injuries in the words of his former teammate Rio Ferdinand, the former United star also claimed that Jones should have been removed from the club a long time ago, dubbing him a “waste of time.”
Now that this dismal season has ended and the summer transfer window is around the corner, this could give the club the chance to finally get rid of the 30-year-old.
Should getting rid of Jones end up on Erik ten Hag’s to-do list for the summer, one figure that the club have been linked with recently that could be a suitable replacement for him is Alessandro Bastoni.
The 23-year-old joined Inter back in the 2017 summer transfer window from fellow Serie A side Atalanta. Since then he’s gone on to make 118 appearances for the club, chipping in with three goals and eight assists along the way.
To highlight his defensive capabilities, the £54m-rated centre-back ended the recent Serie A campaign in the top five of Inter’s squad for the average of tackles (1.4), interceptions (1.1), clearances (1.8) and blocks (0.4) made.
Labelled as a “phenomenon” by Serie A expert Conor Clancy, Bastoni clearly has the defensive talent to be a solid addition to United’s creaky backline.
If strengthening and refreshing the defence is going to be one of Ten Hag’s priorities for United this summer, then getting rid of Jones and bringing the Inter star to Old Trafford could be a good way to start.
However, with teams such as Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City reportedly having their eyes on Bastoni as well, this could be a big issue for the Red Devils as those two teams would be able to offer the centre-back the chance to play in the Champions League, which could then put United at a disadvantage.
Reach PLC Journalist Sean McGinlay has been left shocked at Steven Gerrard’s latest move to bring Neil Critchley to Aston Villa.
Gerrard brought assistant Michael Beale with him from Rangers when he took over at Villa Park back in November. However, Beale has now been appointed as the new manager of QPR, penning a three-year contract with the Championship side.
Villa haven’t wasted any time in bringing in Beale’s replacement, with Blackpool manager Critchley next to pen terms in the Midlands. The Villa Park outfit have of course been impressively busy in these last few weeks, securing deals for Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos.
Critchley and Gerrard crossed paths at Liverpool’s academy, with the latter describing Critchley as his ‘number one choice when looking for a new assistant head coach’.
McGinlay, a Blackpool reporter for Lancs Live, took to Twitter to share the news and his reaction.
He said he ‘can’t quite believe’ that Critchley has left his post as Blackpool boss to become Gerrard’s assistant, with fans echoing McGinlay’s reaction, saying it’s a big ‘shock’ and ‘absolutely wild’, while talkSPORT called it a ‘surprise’.
Critchley has plenty of experience as an academy manager and a first-team manager, with Villa set to be his first assistant position.
The 43-year-old was seemingly persuaded by Villa’s long-term plans to leave a managerial role for a number two position, and you’d expect that this could be a real coup for the club.
Villa have already made a number of exciting additions on the pitch and have acted quickly to replace Beale, showing plenty of positive signs ahead of Gerrard’s first full season in charge.
In other news: Villa and NSWE now want to sign ‘stand out’ forward after Suarez; Gerrard not hanging around.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be looking forward to his first full pre-season and summer transfer window as manager of Rangers, although he does have some work ahead of him.
The Ibrox club won the Scottish Cup last month for the first time in 13 years but lost the Europa League final, while their Glasgow arch-rivals won the Premiership title, so the onus is on the Dutchman to improve the squad in order to wrestle back domestic supremacy.
There are several areas of the squad which require strengthening, with a right winger being particularly sought=after by Van Bronckhorst, having missed out on Andreas Skov Olsen in January.
Rangers have now been linked with Rabbi Matondo, with German outlet WAZ claiming that he could be on the move from Schalke 04 ahead of next season as he only has one year left on his current contract in Gelsenkirchen.
The Welshman was on loan at Cercle Brugge last season, scoring 10 goals and grabbing two assists, but the Belgian clun have opted not to sign him on a permanent deal for €3.5m (£3m) ahead of the summer window.
This could leave the door ajar for Rangers, who face competition from Celtic, to secure his services and add a right winger to their squad.
The Gers need some pace on the right-hand side. Van Bronckhorst deployed Ianis Hagi, Scott Wright and even Scott Arfield in the wide right position on numerous occasions during the 2021/22 season, to varying degrees of success.
Former Wales manager Ryan Giggs previously praised Matondo’s speed, saying: “Just like Dan James he has electrifying pace.”
With Ryan Kent occupying the left-wing position and being one of the club’s most prized assets, they now need someone on the opposite flank to do a similar job.
A duo of Kent and Matondo could be a dream for Van Bronckhorst, and their pace and trickery would surely give opposition defenders nightmares.
If the Rangers boss harbours ambitions of success next season, a move for Matondo would appear a shrewd one to make.
Manchester United are interested in signing Brighton & Hove Albion forward Leandro Trossard, according to reports in Belgium (via Sport Witness).
Following the official appointment of Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford, United have been linked with a plethora of players in the ensuing weeks.
Most notable are the links with a move for Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong, however, the Dutch manager is expected to take a close look at every department of the squad.
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In order to bolster the attack, the 52-year-old could be about to make a surprise attempt to prize a bring a rather under-the-radar Premier League star to Manchester…
As per a late-night report from Voetbalkrant, translated by SW, the Red Devils are believed to be keen on the 27-year-old attacker.
It’s claimed that Ten Hag is ‘interested’ in signing Trossard – who was described as an ‘underrated player’ by journalist Alessandro Schiavone this week in the wake of a brace against Poland in what was a stunning 8.4/10 rated display with a 100 per cent pass success rate (Sofascore).
The report makes no mention of a fee but having been signed for £15million (Sky Sports), Brighton would likely demand a profit on their ace despite the Belgian international’s admission of a desire to take the ‘next step’ in his career.
Capped on 17 occasions by Belgium at the senior level, Trossard certainly appears to be entering the peak of his career right now.
Last season, the supremely versatile forward scored eight times and provided three assists in 32 Premier League outings for a side that struggled to score for the most part. He was also man of the match, per Whoscored, destroying his new suitors in the Seagulls’ 4-0 thumping of Ralf Rangnick’s United.
Capable of operating as a centre-forward, number ten and on either wing, adding the former Genk man would be a smart move from Ten Hag, particularly following the departure of Juan Mata, who was equally useful at carrying out numerous roles.
Heading towards the final 12 months of a deal on the south coast and sharing stylistic similarities with Jonathan Ikone, Said Benrahma and United’s own Jadon Sancho (Fbref), making a genuine move the diminutive forward would be an affordable and worthwhile venture.
In other news, Erik ten Hag could be key in luring this star to Old Trafford
Liverpool winger turned striker Sadio Mane is now ‘on the verge’ of completing a move to Bayern Munich, as Sky Sports News shared the ‘big breaking news’ live on Friday morning.
The 30-year-old has been one of the Reds’ longest-serving players in the Premier League since joining from Southampton back in 2016, but with his contract at Anfield expiring next summer, a move away from Merseyside is now inevitable.
After Jurgen Klopp’s men suffered defeat in the Champions League final to Real Madrid last month, the Senegalese sensation made it clear that he wanted to leave the club and make the switch to the German giants.
FSG have already rejected two bids for their man and refused to let him go for less than their asking price, but now it appears as though a deal is very close to being done.
On Friday morning, Sky Sports News (via Football Daily), started their live broadcast by saying ‘now this is big breaking news’, before going on to confirm that Mane is now ‘on the verge’ of sealing a move to Bayern.
The SSN presenter stated that the Bundesliga outfit are ‘preparing an improved offer’ for the 89-cap international that is in line with Liverpool’s valuation, which stands at £42.5m.
Mane’s looming Liverpool exit now looks to be edging ever closer, and he is a character that will go down in the club’s history books as being a true Reds hero.
During his six-year spell with Jurgen Klopp’s side, the £200k-per-week gem netted 120 goals and provided 48 assists in 269 appearances, via Transfermarkt, and has been an outstanding asset in the final third, especially signing in a central striker role this season.
He played nearly the entire Premier League run-in through the middle, providing an incredible 14 goal contributions in 18 games there.
Part of the original infamous front three alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, Mane will be hugely missed, but after the recent arrival of Darwin Nunez, it’s now time for the top-flight giants to start preparing for an exciting new era.
In other news… Liverpool now look set to unveil their third signing of the summer after a transfer target has signed paperworks to join the club.
Nottingham Forest are eyeing up a swoop for Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos as Steve Cooper looks to add to his attacking options ahead of the Premier League season.
That’s according to Portuguese outlet Record, who claimed that Forest are keen on signing the Portuguese gem.
This was translated by journalist Jacque Talbot, who tweeted: “Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Newcastle, and Nottingham Forest are interested in Benfica’s 20-year-old forward Gonçalo Ramos. Club are open to selling for around €40million and Jorge Mendes is leading the negotiations.”
The Reds are duly set to battle it out with several European heavyweights in order to sign the £34m-valued (€40m) striker.
With Forest approaching their first Premier League campaign in 23 years, Cooper will be looking to add some quality and depth to his playing squad to cope with the demands of top-flight football.
Ramos could well be a shrewd investment, and not only for immediate success – at 20 years of age, he is still a few years away from hitting his peak.
Having been dubbed “incredibly prolific” by football scout Jacek Kulig, his goalscoring figures are exceptional. He has notched nine goals in 15 appearances for Portugal under-19s, 14 goals in 18 matches for Portugal under-21s and 14 goals in 59 senior appearances for Benfica.
He could be a massive upgrade on Lyle Taylor, who at 32 looks set to be past his peak and was loaned out to Birmingham for the latter part of the 2021/22 campaign.
Although they had similar returns in terms of goals and assists last season, it’s Ramos who statistically comes out the better player. The 20-year-old took 3.02 shots per match last season compared to just 2.04 for Taylor, while also having more shots on target compared to the Forest striker (24 to 20).
The Benfica dynamo wasn’t afraid to shirk his defensive duties either, winning nine tackles compared to five for Taylor and making six interceptions (three for Taylor).
If Cooper manages to pull off this prospective signing, it will surely be hailed as a masterclass. It could well be an exciting time to be a Forest supporter, considering the calibre of player with whom they’re now being linked.