Southampton full-back Cedric Soares has been labelled as an Inter Milan flop by Italian media outlet Calciomercato despite only making four appearances for them following his loan move during the January transfer window, which doesn’t bode well for the summer for his parent club.
What’s the word, then?
Well, Saints offloaded the Portugal international to the Serie A giants last month with the 27-year-old among the high-profile such as like Manolo Gabbiadini and Wesley Hoedt to go through the exit door.
However, Tuttomercatoweb only reported on February 5 that the Euro 2016 winner was simply a stop-gap addition until the summer, and Calciomercato’s latest thoughts only go to back that idea up even further.
Cedric was largely left on the sidelines by Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl following his arrival at St Mary’s, with youngster Yan Valery often preferred at right-back or right wing-back instead of his experienced teammate.
Bad news for the summer
The south coast outfit’s first priority in the next few weeks will be to stay in the Premier League – something that looks in doubt right now given they are in the relegation zone and face Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in their next four top flight matches.
In this era of ‘big 6’ dominance, has finishing 7th become as good as winning a trophy? The Pl>ymaker FC squad have their say in the video below…
Whether they survive or not there will surely be a huge squad overhaul in the summer after two successive relegation battles, and it looked as though Cedric might be one of the players they could get rid of easily for a reasonable transfer fee.
However, the fact that he has supposedly been written off at Inter already suggests that a summer exit to them is off the cards, and that could make what is already shaping up to be a tough summer for Southampton even tougher.
The consistent performances and determination shown by West Ham United striker Javier Hernandez have probably not received the full credit it actually deserves.
And, while the club is currently enjoying a good run of form with much more solid showings than at previous stages this season, it might be a good time to state that Hernandez might be little underrated.
West Ham’s current successes have been down to a number of positive factors which have finally given the Hammers fans some reason to optimistic about what manager Manuel Pellegrini can achieve in the future.
But, that success can largely be narrowed down to what Hernandez has brought to the team since joining the east London club in 2017.
On Saturday evening, the Mexican led the line of attack for West Ham in their 2-0 win over Newcastle United at the London Stadium.
The all-round team performance on the night might not have been that great but Hernandez was playing on a different level than his teammates.
His commitment in the match was unprecedented, putting his body on the line and throwing himself at every opportunity to get to the ball or reach a cross or long ball.
It was quite surprising to see him being substituted in the 70th minute by the manager, given that he was one of the club’s best hopes of finding another goal, but in the moment ot probably made sense because he was replaced by a player like Marko Arnautovic, able to carry the game in a much more physical way.
It is also quite clear that Hernandez is a player who has been at the summit of the Premier League and have reached the ultimate success their is, winning the league title twice during his spell at Manchester United.
For West Ham, he should be a player that drives the team forward in the coming seasons and be at the heart of the goals the club sets out to achieve.
Everton still remain in with a chance of securing seventh place this season, something that will again allow them to play European football.
After missing out last season, the Toffees will hope to finish best of the rest, like many others sides as well.
Marco Silva and his side have suffered from inconsistent performances all season long and that’s a worrying sign for the supporters in attendance.
For a long time. they haven’t seen Everton be successful but they have always pushed themselves to at least finish high up the table.
To achieve that next season, they need to make some improvements to their team and the first player on their mind should be Hull City winger Jarrod Bowen.
Bowen, (who is valued at £7.2 million on Transfermarkt) has set the Championship on fire so far this season, making waves and hence inviting teams – both the Toffees and Tottenham were linked with a move in the Mirror some months ago – to take up an interest in acquiring the 22-year-old.
As a young, English prodigy coming through the ranks, Bowen already has vast amounts of experience on his side and that can be looked at by Everton as a positive.
With 16 goals to his name in 33 appearances this season, he has already outdone his total of 15 goals in 44 appearances from last year.
That alone proves that one, he is not a one-season wonder and two, is that he is getting better.
Wingers generally are the more inconsistent players and that would definitely apply to the likes of Theo Walcott and Bernard this season.
Adding strength and depth is what the signing of Jarrod Bowen would bring to Goodison Park and it would be an exciting deal for Everton to ponder over.
The colossal fall of Manchester United in the wake departing club legend Sir Alex Ferguson was unparalleled, unpredictable, unprecedented, and shocking.
First fans were faced with David Moyes, the so-called ‘Chosen One’: a successful manager in his own right, thanks to his heroics at Everton, but no way near the calibre required to pull United through the immediate post-Ferguson unrest.
Then there was Louis van Gaal, a Champions League winner, and the self-proclaimed ‘Special One’ Jose Mourinho: one of the most decorated coaches of all time.
But what were they missing?
Easy: not one understood what made Manchester United so great; their immense history of tragedy and success; the culture of nurturing their own, and the uncompromising entertainment; a global profile that reaches out to the far corners of the world.
United lost its identity in the midst of the manager merry-go-round madness. It became a servant, kneeling to the pressures of the individuals just passing through.
Indeed, as successful as he may have been, Jose Mourinho was one of the main culprits. And it was this negativity and stubbornness that permeated pure negativity throughout the club. The slandering of players, the conservative style of football, the transfer activity – it was all wrong.
Conversely, this is why Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been so good; he understands the Manchester United, he has enjoyed success and commiserated in defeat, he has lived it all.
More importantly, Solskjaer knows he is a cog in the machine; nothing more, nothing less; an essential part of its immediate history, but by no means the end of it. And it shows his style and approach.
Manchester United fans and neutrals alike can now enjoy watching the likes of Paul Pogba, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial strut their stuff without fear of being monumentally bored by conservative tactics.
There is a feeling that the players are just sent and told to enjoy themselves, like kids on a playground. And it shows.
There is a legitimate sense of competition now; that Manchester United deserve to be where they are through merit and not boring, fail safe tactics.
The game against Paris Saint Germain, for example. United had no right to go there and do that. No one has ever overturned a two-goal deficit in that fashion, and Solskjaer’s men did it missing key players, ending the match with three teenagers on the pitch.
It is football in its purest form. And that is why people have returned.
Manchester United fans, do you think your club is finally back? Join the discussion by commenting below…
After another season where Crystal Palace have found themselves in the relegation mix, Roy Hodgson is likely to strengthen his squad in the summer.
And if reports are to be believed, one area the Eagles boss will look to improve is midfield.
The Breakdown
According to the Daily Star, Crystal Palace are keeping an eye on Newcastle United’s Mo Diame with the 31-year-old’s contract set to expire in the summer should the appearance clause for an extended year in his current deal not be triggered.
Whether that happens or not, though, the south London club should not be targeting the Newcastle man.
In midfield, Diame is able to provide a lot of power and energy. However, in Luka Milivojevic and Cheikhou Kouyate, Crystal Palace already have that.
Rather, Hodgson should be looking at midfielders who can bring a bit of a spark and some creativity to the middle of the park. But again, in Max Meyer, it is something the Crystal Palace manager also has at disposal.
With that in mind, Hodgson should be looking to utilise the Germany international instead of buying more of the same.
Diame would not be a terrible acquisition, but you cannot help but think he is not the profile of midfielder Crystal Palace should be looking at in this moment of time.
Crystal Palace fans, do the Eagles need Diame? Join the discussion by commenting below.
Wednesday night just shows how far Jurgen Klopp has brought Liverpool. Battering Bayern Munich 1-3 away from home truly is a memorable result. What. A. Win.
Dominance over one of the Champions League favourites is one thing, but Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool fans alike still want the double. The German manager has not put all of his eggs in one basket and is optimistic for a historic season for the Reds, truly riding the crest of a wave.
Still, with a game against Fulham later today, and a chance to take back top spot, we take a look at some of the changes the Reds boss could make. Indeed, a win later could put the club back on top while Manchester City play in the FA Cup, potentially providing them with a psychological boost.
With that in mind, here’s a closer look.
Drop James Milner
With the pile up of games coming up towards the end of the season, especially with the push for another Champions League final, it’s time for squads to find out just how much depth and quality in that depth that they have.
With this in mind, James Milner may be looking over his shoulder, with Adam Lallana coming back to fitness it looks as though it may be time on a regular starting spot for the Englishman.
Klopp and Kopites alike should be full of confidence that if Milner is to be dropped later on today, the space will be filled with quality, a problem that Liverpool have had in previous seasons.
It truly is time to get excited if you are Red.
Start Adam Lallana
Coming back from injury and hitting full fitness at a perfect time, Adam Lallana has been thrown straight into the deep end of the title race and Champions League. Since being introduced into the first eleven again, the 30-year-old has adapted to the circumstances well and put in solid performances for the Reds.
Lallana will be eager to get another start against Fulham, after putting in a man of the match performance in the 4-2 home win over Burnley.
No matter who plays, Anfield is sure to bring more special atmospheres to games for the rest of this season, will there be any silverware to show for it at the end? We can’t wait to find out.
The Birmingham Mail have released a detailed questions and answers piece on the futures of Salomon Rondon, Dwight Gayle and Jacob Murphy.
What’s the story?
As well as providing updates on the situations of both Gayle and Murphy, the article from Joseph Chapman has some worrying comments on Rondon, at least as far as Newcastle fans are concerned.
Asked if Rondon’s loan deal could be made permanent, Chapman said: “Rafa wants it, the player wants it but do the hierarchy?
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“The biggest problem at the moment is United’s transfer policy – a decree from Mike Ashley – is not to make serious funds available for a player aged over 27.
“That’s why the deal wasn’t done in the summer, because Benitez wasn’t going to be given £16.5m in addition to the sizeable wages and long contract to broker a permanent deal.
“Behind-the-scenes, we’ve heard all season that a permanent deal is unlikely for this reason.”
Sounds ominous
Ashley’s transfer strategy has taken plenty of stick over the last few years, and rightly so.
The infamous Magpies owner’s “under 27” policy has actually paved the way for some brilliant signings though, with the likes of Miguel Almiron, Jamaal Lascelles and Ayoze Perez all sure to be worth far more than they were when they joined the club.
This represents smart business, but it does not necessarily equate to success on the pitch.
And until Ashley learns that the results on the pitch are just as important as the ones in the boardroom, then Newcastle fans should be very worried indeed.
It sounds like the Rondon deal that fans are so desperate for could be off the table, so where should the Magpies look for alternatives? Newcastle fans, let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
Former Liverpool player Dominic Matteo has called for what would be the signing of the summer from the Reds – Gareth Bale.
It’s beginning to look increasingly likely that Bale will leave Madrid this summer, as the Welsh international is constantly linked with a move back to the Premier League.
The 29 year-old’s agent recently called the treatment he gets from Real Madrid fans a “disgrace”, per the BBC.
And while Spurs and Manchester United are the two teams most strongly linked with his signature, Matteo, who played for the Reds between 1992 and 2000, thinks Anfield would be an appropriate landing spot.
What did he say?
“It would be a big signing. If he was coming back to England, I’m sure that everyone would take him,” Matteo said on Stadium Astro’s Youtube channel.
“With Bale, when Madrid beat Liverpool in the final, he had that bit of X factor. Liverpool could maybe do with one more X factor player to score in the finals.
“That’s what we’ve lacked that bit of X factor to get us over the line.”
Stick or twist?
In fairness to Matteo, he is not wrong about Liverpool missing an “X factor”. As soon as Mohamed Salah went off in Kiev, the Reds looked totally devoid of any superstar power, the type of superstar power that Bale displayed on that very night to be specific.
Looking at the bigger picture though, where would Bale fit at Anfield? The Salah at striker experiment didn’t really work, meaning the Egyptian will keep his place on the right wing, and Roberto Firmino is crucial to the way Jurgen Klopp sets his team up.
That just leaves Sadio Mane, who has been strongly linked with a move to Real Madrid, with former Southampton teammate Oriol Romeu even saying the Senegalese international is ”ready” to go to the Bernabeu.
Given that Zinedine Zidane is clearly a huge fan of Mane, swooping for Bale will only mean one thing – Los Blancos returning with a bid of their own for Mane, perhaps even one that is too good to be rejected.
The Reds basically have the option here to stick or twist, and fans would surely rather stick with the red-hot Mane over a misfiring Bale.
[ad_pod ]In today’s football discourse, knee-jerk reactions are inevitable. Barely a day passes without seeing players and managers alike decried as “frauds†or lauded as “world-class†with little evidence to substantiate those claims other than one 90 minute slice of football.One club often guilty of this – there are many, and to list them all would take up half of this page – is Arsenal. The club spawned an entire genre of football criticism, fans ranting or raving outside a ground into a microphone, while rivals on Twitter lap up every last second – Spurs supporters, in particular.Yet something perhaps a little strange has happened at the Emirates in recent months and there appears to be a case of mass delusion going on.Fresh from the #WengerOut hashtag that followed every embarrassing Gunners defeat in recent years, there is now a blanket lauding of goalkeeper Bernd Leno, regardless of the facts.
Leno is clearly a fine goalkeeper. He joined the club in the summer after a number of successful seasons at Bayer Leverkusen and has made the No.1 spot his own after Unai Emery’s initial resistance to playing the Germany international.
Fans have taken to him. A replacement for Petr Cech, who is retiring in the summer, was long overdue and Wenger seemed to have a particularly dangerous blind spot when it came to recruiting stoppers. Cech, even he may admit, joined the club after his peak.
Leno is good and is capable of the spectacular, as a double save against Tottenham Hotspur proved. In that game, he blocked Christian Eriksen’s close-range volley with his shin before reacting almost immediately to a fizzing Moussa Sissoko drive on the rebound. He failed to keep a clean sheet – he conceded to Harry Kane’s penalty as Arsenal drew 1-1 – but the save tipped the scales amongst Gunners fans.
They took to Twitter to laud the stopper, with many insisting that his performance proved he belongs in the world-class echelon of ‘keepers, alongside the likes of David De Gea of Manchester United and Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak.
The statistics, however, prove them wrong.
Per the Premier League’s official website, Leno has made three errors leading to goals this season; only Everton’s Jordan Pickford has made more. Leno has also kept four clean sheets in 2018-19. That’s 13 fewer than Alisson, 10 behind Ederson of Manchester City and seven behind Chelsea’s Kepa Arrizabalaga. He has the same number as Burnley’s Joe Hart and Hart hasn’t played since December.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Southampton v Arsenal – St Mary’s Stadium, Southampton, Britain – December 16, 2018 Arsenal’s Bernd Leno looks dejected as he applauds the fans at the end of the match REUTERS/David Klein EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact your accou
Of course, the majority of professional goalkeepers are capable of sublime saves in the moment but boiling down one’s assessment of a player’s talent to two saves is ridiculous.
Leno is, as mentioned, a good goalkeeper. He is young, too; at the age of 27, he has another decade in the top-flight awaiting him and he will surely improve.
But the statistics show that he is not yet the exceptional stopper many Arsenal fans seem to think he is.
He became the first goalkeeper to stop Manchester United from scoring in an away game this season in the club’s most recent Premier League outing and was widely lauded. United, it should be remembered, hit the post twice in that game.
He will, of course, turn in excellent displays throughout his Arsenal career. Even the worst players manage to muster a handful.
But perspective is needed. Leno is still adjusting to life in England. He has not yet completed a full season in the Premier League and is still ironing out the mistakes.
That will come and Arsenal will end up with an exceptional stopper.
As it is, they have one who needs to be allowed the freedom to breathe and improve without being lauded as world-class every time he makes an above average save.
Watford and Wolves meet at Wembley Stadium this weekend, where one’s dreams of an FA Cup final will be realised and the other’s dashed in heartbreaking fashion. Both sides got huge wins – over Fulham and Manchester United, respectively – under their belts in the midweek fixtures and will be heading into this weekend on a high.
The Hornets’ emphatic 4-1 win over the Cottagers has given Javi Gracia a big decision to make, though, with luxury in depth likely to mean one player undeservedly misses out.
What did Gracia say?
Well, speaking ahead of the highly-anticipated clash, the Spaniard said:
“All the time I have to take difficult decision. If you ask me about Andre Gray, it was the same after he scored important goals at home. He has always played well and I know he is a very important player for us. He is helping the team and I think he’s only focused on the way to help the team.
“For the next game, we’ll see what happens. I have to take difficult decisions. After his performance [on Tuesday], I have to think about that. I always try to choose the best option for the next game.
“When I choose the XI, I am always thinking what is the best for the team. But not only the 11 – it is difficult to put some out of the list when they deserve to stay. It is not easy but it is my job.”
Harsh either way
Indeed, former Burnley man Gray was excellent off the bench in the second half at Vicarage Road last time out, teeing up both Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia – his sixth and seventh goal contributions of the campaign.
The 27-year-old looked a man possessed having entered the fray and was clearly keen to show Gracia that he should get the nod in the upcoming cup game – the speedster’s display has given the Hornets boss every football manager’s favourite dilemma.
Watch the video below to see the most insane overhead kick you will see this week…
Deeney surely cannot give way for such a big game so, if Gray is to start, then he must replace Gerard Deulofeu, who has been equally impressive up front; another option is that the former Barcelona man is shifted back out wide, although this would seem a waste considering he has netted seven goals and registered five assists playing mainly as a striker.
Whatever Gracia chooses to do in the end, he will be unable to avoid being extremely harsh on one of the two.