According to reports in The Telegraph, Chelsea are close to completing the £15m signing of Tottenham Hotspur target and Everton midfielder Ross Barkley, and Spurs fans have been quick to have their say on the news.
The north London outfit have long been linked with a move for the England international and were keen to sign him last summer, but they look set to lose out to their neighbours from the capital with The Telegraph reporting that chairman Daniel Levy was hoping to sign the 24-year-old on a free transfer at the end of the season – when the player’s contract is due to run out – rather than this month.
It remains unclear whether Spurs could still make a last-gasp bid to try and bring the player to Wembley given that manager Mauricio Pochettino is a long-term admirer, but it seems unlikely as things stand.
Tottenham supporters took to social media to give their thoughts on the rumour, and while one said that he ‘feels sorry for Poch’, another said that he was “completely flabbergasted” that that the club are seemingly ready to allow him to join Chelsea.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez would have viewed the home clash against the Premier League’s bottom side Swansea City on Saturday as a must-win – at least in private – game, but once again the Magpies came up short.
The Tyneside outfit had the chance to move five points clear of the relegation zone and increase their advantage over the Swans in the standings to nine points, but instead they lie three points above 18th-placed Stoke City and six above the Welsh club.
Benitez and the St James’ Park faithful would have been fearing the worst when Jordan Ayew finally made the breakthrough for the visitors in a nervy constest on the hour-mark – especially given some of the Toon’s recent results on their own patch – but Joselu hit back just eight minutes later to give the hosts a much-needed share of the spoils.
While it wasn’t a disastrous result, it could be two points dropped that they live to regret come what May.
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Newcastle would have hoped that they could make St James’ a fortress this season in order to help them in their bid to survive, but it hasn’t proven to be the case thus far.
It certainly looked as though it could be a possibility when they took 10 points from their opening five Premier League matches at home – including wins against West Ham United, Stoke City, Crystal Palace and a draw against Liverpool – but things have gone downhill quickly since that point.
They have only taken two points from the next seven fixtures on Tyneside, and according to Soccerstats.com their record of 12 points from 12 home games is the second-weakest in the division – only bottom side Swansea’s is worse.
Things started to go wrong at the end of October when it was announced that owner Mike Ashley had put the club for sale, with a proposed takeover – which fell through on Tuesday – grabbing the headlines and perhaps providing a big distraction to the players on the pitch.
Newcastle looked set to get a point at home to a struggling Bournemouth side at the beginning of November as the game went into injury-time, but Steve Cook scored a 92nd-minute winner for the south coast outfit to give them a crucial three points.
Including that loss against the Cherries, the Magpies went on a run of only taking one point from eight Premier League matches, which included devastating reverses on their own patch against Watford, Leicester City and Everton – all games that Benitez would have believed his side could get points from even though he clearly is unhappy with the strength in depth he has in his squad.
A narrow 1-0 defeat against runaway leaders Manchester City then followed on December 27, before Newcastle were faced with back-to-back home matches against Brighton and Hove Albion and Swansea as they looked to hopefully get six – or at least four – points on the board to move them away from trouble.
If a goalless draw against the former was frustrating, the result in the latter would have been a devastating blow for Benitez, who may be unable to strengthen his squad as he would have liked in the remainder of the January window with no takeover on the cards as things stand.
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With three home wins from 12 games and just 21 goals in 23 Premier League matches in total, Newcastle are in big danger of an instant return to the Championship as things stand right now, and the supporters will be nervous when they look at their team’s remaining home fixtures.
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While they have potentially winnable and hugely important home fixtures against Burnley, Huddersfield Town, Southampton and West Bromwich Albion to come, they also welcome Manchester United, Arsenal and then Chelsea to St James’ Park on the final day.
The Tyneside outfit can’t afford to slip up against the former four like they have against Watford, Bournemouth, Brighton and Swansea previously and their players need to step up, because if they don’t the club will be in real danger of going down.
Benitez’s men still have time to turn things around and four wins from four in those upcoming winnable home games would probably save them, but if they fail to do so they will look back at their mid-season form on their own patch and realise that it cost them.
Everton are reportedly considering a slight structural change at the club.
According to The Mirror, the Merseyside outfit are in talks with PSV Eindhoven’s director of football Marcel Brands.
Steve Walsh was appointed to carry out that role at Goodison Park in July 2016.
The report claims that if Brands does come on board, he will work alongside Walsh and provide a ‘global dimension’ to the club\s recruitment policy.
The 54-year-old has been working at PSV since 2010 and has been responsible for bringing in around £200m in transfer revenue.
Prior to joining the Eredivisie leaders, Brands worked as director of football at AZ Alkmaar, where he helped bring in Louis van Gaal as manager.
The former Manchester United boss spent four years at the club between 2005 and 2009, and won the league title in that time.
Everton have not been shy in the transfer market having spent more than £100m players last summer.
In this window, the club have recruited Cenk Tosun from Besiktas and Arsenal star Theo Walcott, but they are yet to address the problems at left-back.
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Following news of Everton’s reported interest in Brands, fans have had their say on Twitter.
Having arrived in north London just a few days before last weekend’s clash with Liverpool, and obviously too late to be registered in Tottenham’s FA Cup clash with Newport County the weekend prior, also ruling him out of Wednesday’s replay, Lucas Moura is still awaiting his Spurs debut following a Deadline Day move from PSG.
But there’s little doubt the 36-cap international is an impressive signing for the Lilywhites, having netted 32 times during his final two full campaigns with the French giants and only lost his regular starting berth to Neymar and Kylian Mbappe – two of the most expensive signings in the history of football.
So with Spurs now preparing to face bitter rivals Arsenal on Saturday, is the coming North London Derby the ideal occasion to finally bring Moura into the first-team fold? He’d certainly give the Gunners a new kind of problem to think about, and his blistering pace could have a massive impact on the vast Wembley pitch.
Would you start the 25-year-old winger this weekend, Tottenham fans? Let us know by voting below…
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Writing in his column for The Daily Record, Rangers legend Barry Ferguson has called on Graeme Murty’s side to put Celtic under serious pressure this weekend with a win against Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.
What’s the story?
The Gers host Hearts at Ibrox on Saturday ahead of Celtic’s massive trip to Pittodrie on Sunday and a win would see them move to within six points of the reigning champions.
Having suffered another heavy defeat in Europe and returning from a long, gruelling trip to Russia, the Hoops are arguably as vulnerable this Sunday as they have been all season.
A win for Graeme Murty’s men would only put more pressure on their Sunday match and a former title winner at Ibrox believes it’s their last chance to spark a title race.
As quoted by The Daily Record, Ferguson said:
Realistically, their game against Hearts tomorrow afternoon represents their last chance to lay down a marker to Celtic ahead of Brendan Rodgers taking his team to Aberdeen 24 hours later.
If Rangers win and Celtic slip up against the Dons, they could be just six points behind the reigning champions heading into the business end of the season.
Nine points may sound an insurmountable gap, but you’re talking to a guy who won a title in 2005, our famous Helicopter Sunday, when we were five points behind our biggest rivals in April with just four games left to play.
Can the Light Blues really move to within sight of Brendan Rodgers’ side this weekend?
What are their chances against Hearts?
Craig Levein’s side have proven to be tough to beat this season and Rangers know that fine well having already drawn with the Jam Tarts 0-0 at Ibrox earlier in the season.
The Edinburgh side come into this weekend’s match on a six-game unbeaten streak and have conceded less goals in the league this season than every team in the top-flight apart from Celtic.
They’ll be a tough nut to crack and given Rangers’ inability to find consistency at home this season, it’s fair to say three points against Levein’s eleven are not guaranteed.
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With the promise of putting pressure on Celtic though, perhaps the Light Blues can find it within themselves to produce a stellar performance.
There was a lot of pressure on Josh Onomah’s shoulders when he joined the starting lineup for Aston Villa in Tuesday night’s Championship game against Preston.
Manager Steve Bruce selected the 20-year-old to play in the number 10 role as a replacement for Jack Grealish, who missed out with injury.
Onomah played in support of Scott Hogan, but he failed to impress the home fans at Villa Park.
The Midlands outfit went a goal down shortly after the half-hour mark, but Lewis Grabban managed to come off the bench to rescue a point for the team.
The forward, who is on loan from Bournemouth, stepped up to take a penalty in the 66th minute and converted from the spot.
Villa have now dropped five points in their last two games following a seven-game winning run.
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The absence of injured pair Grealish and Albert Adomah has been heavily felt, but the club remain third in the table, one point adrift of the automatic promotion spots.
Plenty of Villa fans were disappointed in the result, and Onomah, who is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, took the brunt of the blame.
Everton centre-back Ramiro Funes Mori has declared himself fit to face Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.
Funes Mori has not represented Everton’s first team for almost 12 months due to a serious knee injury.
The Argentine returned to action for the club’s Under-23 side against Arsenal last month, however, and also turned out for the second team against Swansea City on Monday night.
Funes Mori, who is believed to be on £40,000 a week at Everton, played the full 90 minutes at Goodison Park, and has now insisted that he is ready to return to the first-team picture.
Funes Mori told Everton’s official website:
“It felt good to play back in Goodison, to feel the pitch, the stands – I really miss it so I’m very happy.
“I’ve been training good these past weeks. Even though I wasn’t playing for the first team, I’ve been playing for the Under-23s to get the rhythm, get the tempo. I’m 100-per-cent fit to play and I’m ready for Saturday.”
Everton will be without the services of Ashley Williams against Brighton after the centre-back was sent off in the latter stages of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Burnley.
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Funes Mori, despite a long spell on the sidelines, has been included in the Argentina squad that will take on Italy in a friendly later this month.
Liverpool’s Dejan Lovren says the Reds are ready for their huge showdown with Manchester United this Saturday.
Jürgen Klopp’s side travel to Old Trafford on Saturday in fine form, having secured qualification to the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
The Reds are currently two points behind their old foe, but would of course leapfrog the Red Devils with a win on Saturday. Lovren insists they are up to the challenge.
“At the moment, when you see the run we’re on – we’ve had fantastic results over the last six or seven games with four or five clean sheets – I think everyone within the squad feels comfortable and full of confidence,” the 28 year-old said on Liverpool’s official website.
“It’s a massive game for us, for the fans, for everyone. We will maybe not have so many chances [as other games], but when we have the chances we need to score them.
“We also need to be patient – we don’t need to score in the first five minutes, of course everyone would like to but we have 90 minutes.”
Liverpool have been criticised in the past for not being able to break down deep lying teams, a tactic Jose Mourinho may well employ on Saturday even at Old Trafford. But Lovren is confident the Reds can do the business.
“We will not go there and just sit back. We are an attacking team and I am really confident we can take something.”
The Croatia international has endured plenty of criticism since joining Liverpool from Southampton, but seems to have formed a real understanding with new signing Virgil Van Dijk, and is expected to partner the Dutchman on Saturday.
“It’s always a big game, so you never know what to expect, but at the moment we feel ready.”
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Liverpool’s confidence is sky-high going into the clash at Old Trafford, and a win for either side would have massive implications in the top four race.
Liverpool fans, do you think you can win on Saturday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
West Ham United striker Jordan Hugill has sent a warning to Southampton on whufc.com ahead of their potentially season-defining clash against the south coast outfit at the London Stadium on March 31.
The £10m January addition from Preston North End – who the fans have already labelled as a pointless signing – has only played 12 minutes of Premier League football for the Irons so far, but he opened his goalscoring account for the club with a goal in the 3-1 friendly win against Dagenham & Redbridge on Wednesday night after starting the game in the absence of Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez, who are both on international duty.
The 17th-placed Hammers – who have slipped down the standings following three successive defeats by a three-goal margin – host the 18th-placed Saints next in what is a massive six-pointer for both clubs.
David Moyes’ men know that a fourth successive Premier League defeat would leave them in the relegation zone with just seven matches of the campaign remaining, and they will be keen to avoid the trouble on and off the pitch that further marred their 3-0 reverse against Burnley at home earlier this month.
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Speaking following his goal and looking ahead to the game against Mark Hughes’ side, the 25-year-old centre-forward told whufc.com: “I’ll keep plugging away and plugging away and, when my time comes, I’ll be ready for it.
“I’m really excited for the Southampton game, which is a massive game for the club and one that, if I play my part in it, I’d be delighted.
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“It’s a massive game so hopefully we can come out on top.”
Southampton will be looking to pick up just their second win in 18 top flight matches when they make the trip to east London, although they would have been buoyed by the 2-0 triumph against Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium last weekend that saw them set up a FA Cup semi-final clash with Chelsea at Wembley next month.
Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League took a potentially fatal blow on Sunday in the most humbling of fashions, losing to Tottenham at Stamford Bridge for the first time in the top flight since 1990.
Indeed, it was a telling moment for the outgoing champions, who have fallen some way behind the majority of their divisional rivals this season – Arsenal being the only real exception.
While that inevitably adds to the debate over Chelsea’s recruitment process and the speculation over Antonio Conte’s future, let’s not overlook the fact the Blues simply weren’t as good as Spurs on the day.
Alvaro Morata scored early on but his influence continually waned throughout the match, the usually-dependable Cesar Azpilicueta, who Transfermarkt value at £36million, lost concentration for the first goal and Cesc Fabregas struggled for impact in central midfield.
So, Chelsea fans, who do you think let the side down most vs Tottenham? Let us know by taking part below and giving each player a performance rating out of ten…
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