Arsene Wenger is reportedly looking at making an audacious bid to bring out of favour Manchester United winger Nani to Arsenal in January, the Daily Mail reports.
The 26-year-old Portugal international has fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford after a bust up with United chief Sir Alex Ferguson and failing to secure a contract extension.
He is currently out of action with a hamstring injury but hasn’t played for the Red Devils since being substituted after a disappointing performance in the 3-1 Champions League victory at Braga in early November.
It has been a largely frustrating career for Nani at Old Trafford but he displayed the quality he possesses in an excellent 2010-2011 season where he scored nine goals and provided 18 assists in the league, helping United on their way to the title.
Wenger is keen to bolster his squad as his inconsistent side continue to fight on all fronts for glory this season. With the increasingly likely departure of Theo Walcott in January, Wenger could view Nani as an ideal replacement.
The winger is contracted to United until 2014 but it seems his relationship with Ferguson is becoming increasingly strained and that Nani has privately conceded his future lies elsewhere.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Zenit St Petersburg and Paris St Germain among others have been said to be interested in him but it is believed that he would prefer to stay in England, which will give Wenger hope if he is to pursue his interest in the player.
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.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
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.
When Mesut Ozil arrived at the Emirates for a club-record £42million last summer, it was meant to be a watershed moment for Arsenal.
Arguments were made that the German international’s sheer presence in north London would give an enormous boost to the club, awakening the Gunners from their dormant state in the Premier League title race and signifying Arsenal’s re-emergence at the elite end of the transfer market, whilst his world-class quality, well proven in the Bundesliga, La Liga and internationally, brought the starting XI to a whole new level. It was dubbed by many, including myself, as ‘the Ozil effect’.
Fast forward just twelve months however, and the 25 year-old is verging upon boo-boy status at the Emirates. He’s rarely shown form worthy of the third-largest transfer fee in Premier League history and his anonymous performance against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday evening has particularly drawn criticism from the fans.
I don’t wish to make excuses for Ozil. He’s been at nowhere near his best since arriving in England and has never shown the leadership qualities assumed of a marquee signing; nobody expects the diminutive playmaker to be the loudest voice on the pitch, but amongst the largest sources of frustrations surrounding him is that he’s yet to embrace significant responsibility in attack. Rather, that kind of talismanic role was adopted by Aaron Ramsey last season.
Yet, in my opinion, Arsene Wenger has played a significant role in the German international’s plight that cannot be ignored, especially from a tactical perspective.
The obvious point to make in this regard is that Ozil’s best performances for Real Madrid most commonly – but not exclusively – came at No.10, rather than the wide-right role which witnessed him burst onto the scene at the 2010 World Cup. That position saw the 25 year-old claim 47 league assists during his three campaigns at the Bernebeu, making him the most proficient creator in Europe’s top five leagues along with Lionel Messi.
He found nine assists last year, a decent return for an inaugural Premier League campaign, but featuring more frequently on the right flank than in his central berth for Arsenal, Ozil hasn’t been able to affect games in the same way.
Wenger’s decision to utilise the German out wide is continually bemusing; Ozil is more part of the midfield than a wide prong of a front three – as he was occasionally for Real – and unsurprisingly, he’s struggled to cope with the added defensive responsibilities. He also lacks the power and pace of conventional Premier League wingers, such as Alexis Sanchez on the opposite flank.
A prevailing factor, in my opinion, is that Wenger doesn’t want to surrender Arsenal’s shape in midfield, and admittedly, compared to other Premier League players of the same role, Ozil doesn’t offer much protection at No.10, especially fronting two forward-thinking box-to-boxers in Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey.
Yet, that conundrum could have been easily resolved this summer if Wenger had addressed perhaps the most notable and fatal flaw in Arsenal’s squad; the perpetual absence of a physically intimidating, defensively-assured holding midfielder. A William Carvalho, a Lars Bender, a Sami Khedira or a Morgan Schneiderlin would offer the Gunners a more consistent, less open structure in the middle of the park, compensating for the gaps Ozil would inevitably leave behind him.
One could argue you must earn such an integral role, especially in an Arsenal side blessed with incredible quality and depth in midfield. Take Gareth Bale’s coming-of-age season at Tottenham for example, or Yaya Toure at Manchester City. Ozil’s been given more an enough opportunities to impress, albeit from out wide, and thus far simply hasn’t taken them.
But this isn’t just any No.10 we’re talking about – this is one of the best No.10s in world football, who just won a World Cup with Germany, playing as their No.10 in all seven tournament fixtures. His output, one goal and one assist, may have been largely underwhelming, considering Joachim Lowe’s side bagged 18 goals throughout, but the 25 year-old’s influence at the hub of midfield was crucial.
Upon returning to the Emirates however, he’s reduced to being a sideshow instead of the main act. I’m sure that’s not what Ozil envisaged when Wenger invested £42million in him. I’m sure that’s not what Arsenal fans envisaged when their record-signing lifted the World Cup this summer, or when Cesc Fabregas claimed Wenger refused to buy him back because his position was already filled by the German international.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
For that kind of money, you’d expect a team to be built around you, rather than being asked to perform a role that infringes upon your natural strengths. The argument comes full circle yet again; Ozil’s performances are yet to justify a crucial role and the greatest players should always be able to adapt. That’s certainly become a bit of a botch on the midfielder, compared to his many counterparts throughout the Premier League and Europe.
However, never treating Ozil like a club-record signing remains Wenger’s biggest mistake. He’s had a fantastic opportunity to create a starting Xi around one of the best in the world in his position, whom, at just 25, could conceivably remain in north London for the majority of the next decade.
Ozil will never look like a £42million player out wide; quite clearly, he doesn’t have the natural requisites, or more importantly, the heart for it. Wenger needs to reconfigure and create a role that suits the German international better, but as previously stated, the key to that remains a holding midfielder.
So Marouane Fellaini has finally revealed his future, he’s staying at Everton…That is if they gain Champions League football this season.
Apart from how this announcement may harm morale at the club there is of course the question of how Fellaini’s declaration may affect the future of Everton football club.
There’s no doubt about it that Fellaini has been one of the best players in the Premier League this season. His height and strength is his obvious attributes however he is also capable of getting the ball down and playing passing football.
He is very versatile, with David Moyes in the past preferring to use him as a shield for the back four. This season he has been pushed further forward and the Toffee’s have reaped the rewards because of it.
Despite all the benefits though, he is not irreplaceable. Moyes and Everton have had to deal with the loss of their star player on many occasions before. One sale everyone will remember is Wayne Rooney and despite his departure Everton managed to finish fourth in the following season.
Other big names include Mikel Arteta and Joleon Lescott but these departures still haven’t stopped Everton from consistently overachieving.
And right now I think Everton are well prepared to deal with a departure as they have one of their strongest squads in recent memory.
If Fellaini does request a transfer I am confident that club will get a good return on the £15 million pounds that it took to bring him to Goodison from Standard Liege four years ago.
Moyes drives a hard bargain and with rich clubs like Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and even Real Madrid being linked with a move, some pundits are predicting that we could get as much as double what we paid for him.
An example of selling not necessarily being a bad thing would be the sale of Jack Rodwell in the summer. By selling him the club freed up funds to help refresh the squad and Moyes used them well bringing in Kevin Mirallas. I would even go as far as saying that the sale of Rodwell is one of the reasons for Everton’s good start to the season.
I was watching Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday at the weekend and Paul Merson said that if Fellaini is allowed to leave he can’t see the point of being an Everton fan. Basically what he meant was that if you sell your best players, it’s signifies a lack of ambition at the club.
Now apart from the fact that it’s Paul Merson saying these things, I have to disagree with this statement.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
You have to be realistic and look at the financial situation at the club. As a fan I’d rather we were financially secure with a healthy transfer budget than struggling
Even if we get only £20-25 million for Fellaini, I still won’t be too disappointed and have faith that Moyes can unearth another gem. Whenever Moyes has some money to play with, more often than not he signs the right player. Therefore depending on how much of the transfer income Moyes is allowed to spend, the sale of Fellaini could in fact allow the club to reach the next level.
Tottenham Hotspur have reignited their interest in Croatia international Ante Rebic, according to Bild, via The Express.
The Express’ report says that a fee of £26.3million would convince the German club to sell the winger to Spurs, with the London club looking to bolster their squad for the upcoming campaign.
The Croatian winger impressed against Nigeria in the first round, and capped off a brilliant performance against Argentina with a terrific volley in Croatia’s 3-0 win yesterday.
Rebic has been a consistent performer for his club side Eintracht Frankfurt. He played 25 games for the Bundesliga side last season, scoring six goals and contributing three assists to a side that went on to win the German Cup.
Spurs fans seem to think he is a steal at just over £25m, and they are not holding back in their excitement surrounding the Croatian on the back of his brilliant performances at the World Cup.
[ad_pod ]
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Here’s how fans expressed their excitement on Twitter…
[brid playlist=”4766″ player=”12034″ title=”World Cup 2018″]
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.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
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.
Since the 2011/2012 season when Sam Allardyce took over West Ham after their relegation to the Championship, the former Bolton manager has come under heavy scrutiny from the fans, despite guiding them to promotion and keeping them in England’s top flight for the third season in a row. Quite a feat with the managerial merry-go-round an unpredictable theme, year after year, not just in the Premier League, but in all four divisions in the country. But with calls for Big Sam’s head being made from all four corners of the Boleyn Ground and a vast amount of managers available, why are the owners ignoring the demands of the fans?
With the 2014/2015 Premier league season well and truly under way, a more attacking style and attractive brand of football was instructed by the club’s board in order to bring the famous traditions back and please the club’s fans. However, this is not Allardyce’s philosophy, and has never played passing football while he had spells at the Trotters, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers. Asking a manager to play attractive football on the deck which is not in his nature is an absolutely stupid ultimatum to make. With the season only just kicked off, sacking Allardyce wouldn’t be the worst decision to make.
With the dreaded international break in full swing, dismissing Big Sam would allow a new manager to put plans in place, and get to know the squad ahead of their away trip to Hull City in two weeks. One man that most would like to take to the helm at Upton Park is former Everton and Manchester United gaffer David Moyes. Despite his unsuccessful spell with the Red Devils last season, Moyes’ credentials and achievements at Goodison Park are good enough to convince most people associated with West Ham that he would be a vital asset. On a low budget, and playing quality football, Moyes took the Toffees to fourth place and into the Champions League qualifying round in 2005, were they lost to Villarreal. This is exactly what West Ham need ahead of their anticipated move into the Olympic Stadium in time for the 2016/2017 season. However, getting rid of Allardyce is harder than most people think.
Allardyce is in the final year of his contract at West Ham, but would be eager to sign an extension considering how much he is earning – a staggering £2.95m a year. In 2013, he was the 13th highest paid manger in the world, earning the same amount as current England gaffer Roy Hodgson, and earning more income than Napoli chief Rafa Benitez, Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone and Germany national team coach Joachim Loew. On that sort of salary, Allardyce is not going walk out on his own free will, getting him sacked would mean paying off the rest of his contract, and with over £25m spent on bringing new players to club, it wouldn’t be sustainable or financial healthy. For a manager, whose only expectation is to keep his club in the top flight, Big Sam is driving the Hammers into the middle of nowhere.
For a club, that is based on bringing home grown players from the famous ‘Academy of Football’ whom are taught from a young age to play football on the floor, Allardyce has completely ignored what has been with the team for years, even failing to convince academy director, Tony Carr MBE to stay in his role. A man who has served the club with great distinction and produced players like Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard is no longer in a position to produce more players of the same calibre. When was the last time the Hammers brought through a youngster from the academy into the first team?
David Moyes, who brought through Wayne Rooney and bought the likes of Mikel Arteta and Leighton Baines to the club, this is a man who can lead West Ham to success especially when the Hammers move into the Olympic stadium.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
West Brom continued their strong start to the season with victory over Wigan at the DW Stadium.
The Baggies have began well under new boss Steve Clarke and their first away success under of the season keeps them fifth in the table.
Peter Odemwingie was a surprise exclusion from the visitors starting lineup, despite scoring both goals in the win over Southampton on Monday, with Romelu Lukaku preferred up front.
It proved to be a shrewd move as they easily beat the Latics who continued their jekyll and hyde form, failing to build on last weeks excellent performance at Tottenham.
And Roberto Martinez will be unhappy with the manner in which they fell behind in the 31st minute against the run of play. Chris Brunt delivered a pinpoint cross into the penalty area and James Morrison ghosted in to plant a header past Ali Al-Habsi.
More sloppy defending followed two minutes before the break as the away side doubled their advantage, Billy Jones seeing his effort heavily deflecting of Gary Caldwell after he charged into the box.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
But there was hope for the hosts as Arouna Kone converted Jean Beausejour’s superb low cross from six-yards to halve the deficit on the stroke of half time.
However there wasn’t to be an equaliser for Wigan as Boaz Myhill, making his first start of the season, was rarely troubled in the West Brom goal, and it was infact Al Habsi at the opposite end was busier of the two keepers making an outstanding save to thwart Lukaku from 12-yards.
Unai Emery would have known that his Arsenal career would not be easy, but he would have hoped to have an easier start to the season.
The Spaniard will kick off the 2018-19 Premier League campaign with arguably the toughest match-up of the opening weekend.
Emery will host his first top-flight game at the Emirates against the reigning champions Manchester City on August 11.
It will not get any easier after that as they travel to Stamford Bridge to take on Chelsea, so theoretically, Arsenal could be six points behind their rivals after the opening two weeks.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255610″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five England World Cup games you totally forgot happened”]
Of course, there is no reason why they will not earn maximum points, but it is not the ideal way for Emery to ease into English football.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Pressure will be heavy on the manager’s shoulders as he tries to eradicate two previous disappointing campaigns that ended in failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Once the fixtures were announced, the fans were automatically drawn to the opening two games.
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.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With the promise of putting pressure on Celtic though, perhaps the Light Blues can find it within themselves to produce a stellar performance.