Saturday, 20 November 2021
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Arsenal ready to replace big-name with exciting €50million transfer
Arsenal are reportedly eyeing up a potential €50million transfer deal for Real Sociedad striker Alexander Isak as Alexandre Lacazette looks set to leave.
The highly-rated young Sweden international has been hugely impressive in his time in La Liga, and it seems inevitable that he’ll soon earn himself a bigger move.
Todo Fichajes’ latest report states that Arsenal are ready to make their move for Isak as it now seems increasingly clear that Lacazette will not be staying at the Emirates Stadium.
The Frenchman is coming towards the end of his contract with the Gunners, and a new signing up front will surely be a priority for Mikel Arteta now.
Lacazette has been an important squad player and his departure could leave Arsenal short of depth up front.
On top of that, Isak could be a useful long-term replacement for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who has not looked at his very best for some time now.
The post Arsenal ready to replace big-name with exciting €50million transfer appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Chelsea and Man City leading chase for potential €80million transfer
Chelsea and Manchester City are reportedly both leading the chase for the potential transfer of Lazio midfielder Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The Serbia international, who is expected to cost around €80million, is looking likely to be too expensive for Juventus, so could be more likely to be heading to the Premier League instead, according to Todo Fichajes.
The report names Chelsea and Man City as two leading candidates to sign Milinkovic-Savic, who has had a superb career in Serie A so far and who looks like he’d strengthen a number of elite clubs around Europe.
Chelsea already have a long list of quality midfielders such as N’Golo Kante, Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, but there could perhaps be room for someone to give them something a little different in that position.
Milinkovic-Savic would surely give the Blues a player with more quality with his passing and an eye for goal from the middle of the park, but then he’d also block the progress of talented young midfielders Billy Gilmour and Conor Gallagher, both of whom are currently out on loan.
City also have plenty of competition in their squad, but might do well to freshen things up a bit by replacing ageing duo Fernandinho and Ilkay Gundogan.
Milinkovic-Savic looks like he could be a fine fit for Pep Guardiola’s style of football, and he’d surely fancy his chances of winning major silverware at the Etihad Stadium.
Despite Chelsea’s recent rise to Champions League winners and genuine Premier League title contenders, many top players would surely still view a move to City as the safer path towards success.
The post Chelsea and Man City leading chase for potential €80million transfer appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Former Manchester United star tips club legend as future Red Devils manager
Former Manchester United star Park Ji-sung has tipped Red Devils legend Wayne Rooney to be a future manager of the club.
Rooney has endured a difficult start to his coaching career with Championship strugglers Derby County, and it remains to be seen if he can realistically steer the club out of trouble after their points deduction.
Still, it seems Park rates Rooney highly and feels he could one day be a contender to take over as Man Utd boss, which would undoubtedly be popular with the club’s fans.
Rooney is one of the greatest players ever to pull on a United shirt, and it would be emotional to one day see him in the Old Trafford dugout.
Park and Rooney were team-mates for many years and the former England international would surely be pleased to get this glowing recommendation from the South Korean.
“I believe Wayne can make it,” Park told Goal. “He had great experiences from his very young age and he also had many difficult moments in his career that he overcame eventually.
“For sure, he has great leadership skills as well. So, I believe he can be United’s manager in the future.”
Still, United might also do well to look at their current situation, with their decision to hire another club legend in the form of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer not really working out.
MUFC would probably do well to go down the route Chelsea chose when they sacked club legend Frank Lampard to bring in Thomas Tuchel, who delivered instant success to Stamford Bridge.
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Former Liverpool star explains the one thing Arsenal need to do to give themselves a chance at Anfield
Former Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson has explained how Arsenal could work themselves into the game at Anfield today.
The Gunners face a very difficult challenge at Anfield, though their recent strong form perhaps gives them some hope of coming away with something.
Liverpool have also struggled lately, dropping a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 with Brighton, before suffering a surprise 3-2 loss at West Ham.
Johnson thinks if Arsenal can keep the LFC front three quiet, they have every chance of getting something from the game.
Overall, however, the ex-Red is still backing his old club to edge this one.
“We know that Liverpool struggle to score if their front three don’t score,” Johnson told William Hill.
“If Arsenal can be organised, stick close together and keep the front three of Liverpool quiet, then they can play themselves into the game.
“I think if they’re too confident and go in all-guns blazing, it will leave too much room for Liverpool’s attack, and they’ll get picked off.
“It’s about Arsenal’s back four containing Liverpool, but I do think Liverpool will eventually win. I’ll go 2-1 to Liverpool and Mohamed Salah to score.”
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Manchester United legend suggests current players are “scared of upsetting each other”
Manchester United legend Bryan Robson has suggested that his current club are struggling due to looking too afraid of shouting at each other and upsetting each other.
The Red Devils have gone through a difficult period since the retirement of the legendary Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013, and Robson is clearly unimpressed with how his former side is looking at the moment.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future will be in some doubt after the club’s recent poor form, but Robson is concerned about the way some of the players seem to conduct themselves.
The former Man Utd captain was initially speaking more broadly about players in the modern game, but he went on to make it clear it was an issue at Old Trafford in particular, as he told the Telegraph about how he and his team-mates would deal with things in the old days.
“What I always try to say to people is, ‘Listen, I’m not having a go at you just to have a go at you. I’m doing it to try to make you better and us as a group better’. I don’t know why it is, but I don’t see that any more,” Robson said.
“Players just don’t do it. It’s like they’re scared of upsetting each other.
“We had our major success at this football club with players like Peter Schmeichel, Steve Bruce, Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Eric Cantona: all of them had opinions. We had some right rows in the dressing room at half-time.
“Sometimes it was great for Sir Alex [Ferguson], he’d just stand back, let us get on with it, have a cup of tea and grin. And then he’d step in and say, ‘Right you’ve had your opinion, now listen to me’.
How MUFC fans would love a captain like Robson in their side right now!
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Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano indicates how long Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could last at Manchester United
Fabrizio Romano has spoken exclusively to CaughtOffside about a host of issues, including the future of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at Manchester United.
The Norwegian tactician has struggled in recent times, with Man Utd surely in need of a change after recent embarrassing home defeats to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City.
Romano now admits he can’t see Solskjaer remaining with the Red Devils for the long-term, though he suspects he might stay in the job until the end of the season.
Watch our full interview below as Romano also offered his insights into Tottenham’s hiring of Antonio Conte and the future of the European Super League…
Man Utd fans will surely be hoping a club legend like Solskjaer can turn things around, even if many will be losing faith in his ability to do so.
Still, if the club haven’t made a change by now, it’s hard to see that change coming particularly soon, with Romano’s instinct probably the right one – that he’ll probably be the manager until the end of this campaign, but probably not for longer than that.
The post Exclusive: Fabrizio Romano indicates how long Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could last at Manchester United appeared first on CaughtOffside.
Tottenham leading race for surprise Manchester United transfer raid
Tottenham are reportedly one of the clubs leading the race for the transfer of Manchester United misfit Jesse Lingard.
ESPN claim Spurs are serious contenders for Lingard’s signature as it looks like the England international has decided not to stay at Man Utd.
Other transfer rumours point towards Lingard being more likely to move to West Ham this January, but it remains to be seen what final decision the 28-year-old will take.
Antonio Conte will no doubt be keen to put his own stamp on this Tottenham squad, and the signing of Lingard could be a good start.
Spurs have been linked with other big names such as Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, but Lingard has the advantage of being proven in the Premier League.
Lingard has fallen out of favour at Old Trafford and surely deserves to be playing regularly at the highest level.
His loan spell at West Ham last season was a big success and he has shown he could be an asset for either the Hammers or for Spurs.
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Video: Fabrizio Romano gives interesting take on potential Super League revival
Fabrizio Romano has spoken exclusively to CaughtOffside about the European Super League, offering his thoughts on what might happen next with the controversial plans.
The Italian journalist was clearly unimpressed with how the first attempt at the Super League was communicated, though he won’t rule out something similar happening again in the future.
Romano seems convinced that a rebranded effort could come about at some point, but he insists it will have to be a longer process with better communication in order for football fans not to reject it as emphatically as they did last time.
See below for our chat with Romano in full, including his Super League thoughts…
Romano points out that VAR was once not considered a realistic change to the game, but that is in place now and it perhaps seems inevitable that we’ll see other sweeping changes to the sport in the near future.
The post Video: Fabrizio Romano gives interesting take on potential Super League revival appeared first on CaughtOffside.
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'Cruel' article from leading newspaper puts shameful boot in on Solskjaer
As if Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t have enough to deal with, a reputable national newspaper has developed a Premier League manager ranking system that is almost designed to put the boot in.
The Telegraph’s Thom Gibbs has taken it upon himself to rank all 20 PL bosses based on his own arbitrary and matter-of-opinion criteria.
‘There is a league table and Wikipedia’s list of honours if you want a basic way of doing this,’ Gibbs explains.
‘Instead, this ranking attempts to order the Premier League managers by asking one question: How happy would you be if this manager was appointed tomorrow by your club?
‘To attempt a somewhat objective answer we have given each manager a score out of 50 defined by six important factors.’
This would still be arbitrary if Gibbs had surveyed fans, but it would seem he has just decided himself to allocate the scores for the six categories – the level of excitement generated by their football, how inspiring the manager is, current team performance, career achievements, do they give a good interview and how much would you enjoy a pint with them.
And, lo and behold, almost as if the reporter could be a Liverpool fan, Solskjaer comes last of the 20 bosses whilst Jurgen Klopp comes first.
The Telegraph is supposed to be an intelligent newspaper so it is a surprise to find this sort of journalism – which perhaps hardly deserves even to be called journalism – within its pages.
Apart from the obvious agenda, who on earth judges a manager based on whether you would like to have a pint with them?
‘It is starting to feel a little cruel to draw attention to the Manchester United manager’s shortcomings, but he comes out of this analysis poorly,’ says Gibbs. Yes, Thom, it is cruel, but you go ahead anyway.
‘No other Premier League club would be upgrading with Solskjaer and most in the Championship would also be concerned. When things are going awry for his team as they do with startling regularity, he has the unfortunate habit of looking on as if witnessing the Hindenburg Disaster.’
Feel better for having imparted that brilliant piece of reportage, Mr Gibbs?
The writing is probably on the wall for Solskjaer and most United fans, whilst loyal to the man, have reluctantly come to the conclusion that the job has ultimately proved too challenging for him.
But unnecessarily vindictive articles such as this are disappointing and disrespectful.
The post Article in The Telegraph puts the boot in on Man United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appeared first on Man United News And Transfer News | The Peoples Person.
Newcastle United rival Chelsea & Juventus for ambitious January signing
Newcastle United are reportedly among the clubs vying for the signature of Real Madrid misfit Eden Hazard in the upcoming January transfer window.
The Belgium international has struggled to show his best form in his time at the Bernabeu, despite previously being a world class performer in a legendary spell at Chelsea.
According to the latest transfer rumours emerging from Spain, Hazard could now be going out on loan in January after completely falling out of favour in Madrid, and Newcastle are in the mix to snap him up.
Hazard’s old club Chelsea are also said to be interested in a surprise move to re-sign their former star, though that seems an unnecessary gamble that could risk spoiling his Stamford Bridge legacy.
Newcastle, by contrast, would surely love a signing like Hazard to get their new era off the ground.
The Magpies now have money to spend after their recent Saudi takeover, and they’ll surely be in the market for some world class players this winter.
Even if Hazard is no longer at his best, he would surely still have it in him to add something to Eddie Howe’s side.
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Jurgen Klopp sends clear message to Liverpool ace amid loan transfer talk
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has sent a clear message to young defender Neco Williams over his future.
It seems pretty obvious that Klopp is not keen to send the Wales international out on loan at the moment, even if he’s not had much playing time at Anfield for a while now.
Williams faces plenty of competition for a place in this Liverpool side, and Klopp insists that’s just part of being at a club like Liverpool.
Speaking at his press conference, as quoted by the Daily Mirror, the German tactician said: “We are really short of players. The last thing I’m thinking about is who could go on loan in the winter.
“In Neco’s case, I can 100 percent understand that my colleague from Wales [Page] said he thinks it would make sense that they play.
“But they are nearly qualified or can qualify for the World Cup with a lot of players who are not first choice in their teams.
“Just going on loan, you never know where they will end up – not Neco, but in general.
“First and foremost you have to make sure you fight where you are, because if you don’t sort your problems where you are, you will carry them with you to the next club as well.
“I’ve said before, it’s not easy to be first-choice player constantly at Liverpool, we have a really strong squad.
“But Neco is developing, Neco is improving, and that’s why Neco could play how he played for Wales. Not only against Belgium, but as well against Belgium. That’s it.”
The message to Williams seems very much to be that he should stay and fight for his place, rather than just looking for any loan move that offers him more playing time.
It will be interesting to see how the player himself responds to this, with the 20-year-old surely not likely to have completely unlimited patience on this issue.
Williams has played well at international level and seems like he could make an impact for a number of Premier League clubs, so he’ll surely want something to change pretty soon.
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