According to reports, Liverpool are front-runners to secure a summer swoop for Norwich City’s breakout star James Maddison.
What’s the story?
Norwich City playmaker James Maddison has told a source close to Anfield Edition that he “expects” to move to Anfield this summer.
The 21 year-old is close friends with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and has drawn interest from plenty of Premier League clubs.
The report also claims Liverpool are entering crunch talks to secure the signing of Fulham wonderkid Ryan Sessegnon.
Smart move to Merseyside?
Before the arrival of Andy Robertson, Liverpool fans would probably turn their noses up at relatively cheap signings from Championship clubs, but the success of the Scottish full back has earned Jürgen Klopp some transfer leeway.
Fans now trust that the German manager will work his magic with whatever young star he sets his plans on, so why not Maddison?
Maddison has impressed with the England Under-21 side this season, but has been quite simply remarkable for his club.
Playing mostly as an attacking midfielder, the 21 year-old has registered an incredible 14 goals and eight assists in a struggling Norwich side.
One has to think his arrival would mean the end of Adam Lallana’s Liverpool career, which would be a serious upgrade for the Reds.
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.
[ad_pod ]
Maddison is faster and fitter than Lallana, and has already proven he has better end product in his brief career so far.
Liverpool fans, would you like to see a summer swoop for Maddison? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below…
In six of the last nine Champions League finals, a Spanish team has won.
Indeed, since 2001, the only times in which a La Liga team has lost in a Champions League final was when Atletico Madrid lost to the team who will be Liverpool’s opponents later this month, Real. On both those occasions, a Spanish team had to lose.
And when Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in 2010, or when Chelsea beat the German giants in 2012, both times Barcelona had been sensationally ousted from the competition at the semi-final stage by teams who would go on to win the competition.
That’s the scale of the dominance Spain has over Europe: when their teams don’t win the Champions League, everyone seems to agree the best team didn’t win.
But that could be about to change.
Liverpool are the team tasked with stopping Real Madrid from becoming the first side to win the competition three times in a row since Bayern Munich in the 1970s. But stopping this Real Madrid side looks like it is shorthand for stopping Spanish dominance in Europe.
Liverpool may have already done that.
A period of English resurgence was foretold after the Premier League’s recent media rights riches made their clubs much wealthier than their European counterparts. Leicester City, West Ham, Southampton and Everton all made the top 20 of the 2018 Deloitte Money List.
In that research, 14 of the top 30 richest clubs are English, and the biggest number of clubs any other league can boast in the list is five, from Serie A. They have the money, the players, and the coaches to make a serious impact.
And yet, so far that hasn’t happened. Despite Liverpool making the final, only Manchester City joined them in the quarter final stage, as the others had all been knocked out before then.
But the final Liverpool eventually made won’t just be a shootout between Madrid and Liverpool, Spain and England – it will also, on some level, probably decide the Ballon d’Or, too.
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.
Mohamed Salah is picking up awards left, right and centre, but if Madrid win the Champions League again it will surely be Cristiano Ronaldo who bags another golden ball. But if Salah is in the final three – and especially if he wins – he’ll have proven something which could change how we view football over the next few years: that you don’t have to be at Real Madrid or Barcelona to land a Ballon d’Or.
Up until Neymar left Barcelona for PSG, it appeared that way, and the pair’s dominance over the top continental competition seemed to solidify that belief. But if Salah can do it from a team who finished fourth in the Premier League last season and scraping qualification into the play-off stage of this year’s Champions League then that fact alone surely proves the cracks in the dominance of the El Clasico clubs are ready to burst open.
Leeds United ended what was yet another disappointing Championship season in the bottom-half of the table on goal difference following their 2-0 win against Queens Park Rangers at Elland Road on Sunday.
It was just their fourth win of 2018 – all of which came on their own patch – meaning they ended the campaign on 60 points, with 20 defeats from their 46 league fixtures.
It was certainly a case of what might have been for the Yorkshire outfit given they started so well back in August and topped the standings for a time in September, but a dreadful run of form since then saw then gradually drop down the table.
Paul Heckingbottom struggled to make too much of a positive impact from February until May having replaced Thomas Christiansen, and it remains to be seen whether he will stay or go, although he certainly deserves his chance to stamp his own foot on this squad during the summer transfer window.
The Whites certainly need to make some big changes over the close season seeing as a number of their players once again consistently underperformed, while more often than not they didn’t look like a team and were far too easy to break down.
The failings of the likes of Pierre-Michel Lasogga – who will return to Hamburg following his loan spell – Caleb Ekuban, Jay-Roy Grot and Pawel Cibicki up top mean that finding a decent replacement for Chris Wood this summer should be a priority, but the midfield needs some work as well.
Kalvin Phillips and Eunan O’Kane have been the first-choice central midfield for much of the campaign – especially under Christiansen – but while Phillips clearly does have some ability, neither of them showed it on a consistent basis in what was one of the key areas where Leeds struggled the most.
Someone like Ronaldo Vieira – who was something of a regular under Garry Monk last term – has failed to hit the heights that he did then and hasn’t pushed O’Kane and Phillips for a spot in the XI as much as he perhaps should have done, while the situation with Mateusz Klich was strange.
[ad_pod ]
The Poland international was signed from AZ Alkmaar last summer, but for whatever reason he was barely picked in league games despite showing his quality in the EFL Cup win against Burnley at Turf Moor, with his relationship with Christiansen seemingly not good.
Despite the Yorkshire outfit’s woes in the middle of the park, the arrival of £4.5m-rated Adam Forshaw from Middlesbrough during the January transfer window saw Klich sent out on loan to FC Utrecht just days before Christiansen was relieved of his duties – and he has impressed.
The 27-year-old has scored one goal and provided a further three assists in 14 appearances from the middle of the park, with one of those assists coming in the draw against Heracles where he also made a remarkable 11 key passes.
While most of his outings for the Eredivisie outfit have come from the right-hand side, he has shown the quality that he has in his locker and the ability that he was never really given an opportunity to show for Leeds.
The Whites need to ensure that they bring the Polish midfielder back to the club and get him involved with pre-season under Heckingbottom – or whoever else – because he is proving why he should be starting ahead of the likes of Phillips, O’Kane and Vieira in the centre next term if the Yorkshire club are to challenge for promotion.
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.
That isn’t the only change that must happen, either.
Adam Forshaw
Forshaw has been one of Leeds’ best and most committed players on the pitch in the second-half of the campaign, and he has shown the leadership skills that he has.
Whether Heckingbottom stays or not, the 26-year-old needs to have the captaincy ahead of Liam Cooper – who is often a liability because of his lack of discipline during games – next season, in order to drive this underperforming club forward.
Forshaw’s tenacity next to Klich’s quality in the centre of the park for Leeds could prove to be crucial, and it could be a partnership that helps finally takes them into top-six contention – minimum.
Southampton are on the cusp of preserving their Premier League status following their crucial 1-0 win against Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium on Tuesday night.
Saints came into the clash in 17th position and only above their opponents on goal difference, and they knew that in reality they had to pick up all three points given they host Manchester City at St Mary’s on the final day, while the Swans welcome already-relegated Stoke City to south Wales.
The south coast outfit have hovered in and around the relegation zone for much of the season, but when they surrendered a two-goal lead against Chelsea with just 20 minutes to play – eventually losing 3-2 – it seemed that they were down and out despite the arrival of Mark Hughes a few weeks beforehand.
That loss to the Blues left them five points from safety with just five fixtures left to play, and with one victory to their name since the end of November the St Mary’s faithful were quickly losing hope.
Luckily for them, their team has turned things around and showed the fight that needed to under Hughes to take eight points from a possible 12 available since then, to leave them on the verge of survival.
Barring a 10-goal swing between them and Swansea on Sunday, they will be playing Premier League football again next season, and it will be a lucky escape in what has been a disastrous campaign for a club that other similarly-sized ones used to be envious of and look up to.
Ever since Ronald Koeman left for Everton in 2016, things have gone downhill for the south coast outfit, and much of that is to do with poor decisions at board level.
Vice-chairman Les Reed and chairman Ralph Krueger chose Claude Puel as the man to take the club forward following Koeman’s departure, and while the Frenchman led them to an eighth-place finish, his rotation and overall negative style of play meant that he wasn’t popular with the fans, or the players.
The failure to get out of a Europa League group that they should have done – they failed to score away in three matches – was particularly disappointing, and one of the reasons Puel was relieved of his duties at the end of the campaign.
Southampton hadn’t been used to getting decisions like that wrong having had Alan Pardew, Nigel Adkins, Mauricio Pochettino and then Koeman at the helm previously, as well as striking lucky with their recruitment when their best players moved on to the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
[ad_pod ]
Krueger and Reed needed to get the next appointment right seeing as they finished in eighth but were just six points above 17th, showing the fine margins between the sides outside of the top six in the top flight.
The feeling is that they thought they would attract better managers than they perhaps did for the role, and in the end they took a risk by bringing Mauricio Pellegrino to St Mary’s following an above average season with newly-promoted Alaves in La Liga.
It was a disastrous decision, but perhaps what was even worse was the arrogance from Reed and Krueger not to admit their mistake and get rid of the Argentine manager sooner than they did, when it was clear things weren’t getting better.
He could have easily gone after the 4-1 loss at home to Leicester City in December, the 5-2 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight later or the 2-1 reverse at home to fellow strugglers Crystal Palace at the start of January – a perfect chance to get in a new manager while the transfer window was still open.
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.
Instead, they dithered and dithered and in the end they made another terrible decision just before deadline day as they let Pellegrino bring Guido Carrillo in from Monaco on a club-record deal.
That was an unforgivable error given that the manager was sacked little over a month later, and the quality and mentality of the striker has perhaps been best highlighted by the fact that he has often struggled to make the matchday squad since Hughes took over in March.
Not sacking Pellegrino earlier was a decision that almost cost Southampton their Premier League status, and a change in tact in terms of transfers that has seen them buy players that are out of favour with big clubs rather than buying the best from other leagues hasn’t worked out either.
Reed and Krueger may think that they are sitting comfortably if Saints do – as expected – stay up, but the supporters showed their discontent on Twitter when the former was linked with a role for England last month, and owner Gao Jisheng shouldn’t be at all happy either.
The duo – Reed especially – may have done good jobs in the past, but they have failed the St Mary’s faithful over the course of the last two seasons and it is time for a change – otherwise the south coast outfit could find themselves in a similar situation in 12 months’ time.
As reported by The Scottish Sun, Rangers are close to bringing defender Martin Skrtel to Ibrox this summer.
The Light Blues have already completed deals for Allan McGregor, Scott Arfield and Jamie Murphy in the close-season, but have not yet addressed the glaring problem of the central defensive area.
Rangers conceded more goals than any other side in the top six of the Scottish Premiership in 2017/18, a key hindrance to their title ambitions considering they ended up scoring more goals than Celtic.
Martin Skrtel could help address that and having just completed a season at Fenerbahce, is still playing to a high standard at an excellent level.
Fans are certainly excited about potentially signing him, believing he’d be an upgrade on their current options, which includes the likes of Bruno Alves.
Can the Slovakian international Gerrard sort out one of the club’s biggest problems?
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.
Supporters took to Twitter to share their thoughts…
The future of Mousa Dembele has been a talking point for some time, and it appears that the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s future will not be resolved just yet.
The 30-year-old, who moved to the North London club from Fulham in 2012, put in some impressive performances in the middle of the park last season.
The Belgian international has struggled with fitness issues, but in the latter stages of the campaign, he was crucial to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
Dembele’s current contract ends next summer, but there does not seem to be any development with regards to signing fresh terms.
[ad_pod ]
Calciomercato recently cited Sport Italia as saying that AC Milan hold an interest in the midfielder, but have had every one of their offers rejected by Tottenham.
The Premier League outfit face a predicament where Dembele is concerned as the Belgian is not getting any younger and has had numerous injury problems.
The fans have been debating the situation, and some think that he has a price.
Card
Card
Card
Card
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.
Tony Yeboah scored 24 Premier League goals in 47 appearances for Leeds United between 1995 and 1997 before being sold to German outfit Hamburger SV.
Yeboah was a goal machine during his time at Eintracht Frankfurt between 1990 and 1995, and Leeds had to pay just shy of £3.5m to sign the forward in January 1995.
In his second season at Leeds, he was voted Player of the Year. He netted a total of 32 goals in 66 appearances for the English club, and is still regarded as a cult hero at the club.
There was that terrific volley against Liverpool, and that goal versus Wimbledon.
Yeboah left Elland Road too early in the eyes of a number of Leeds fans, but there was a personality clash with George Graham at the club, and the centre-forward was sold to Hamburg in 1997 – where he would spend four years.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”214750″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five astonishing milestones since Leeds were in the Premier League”]
Yeboah also scored 29 times in 59 appearances for Ghana during his professional career, and there is absolutely no doubt that he was terrific value.
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 former striker turned 52 on Wednesday, and Leeds’ official Twitter account was on hand with a birthday message.
That prompted the Leeds fans, who have also recently commented on the speculation surrounding Abel Hernandez, to reveal their feelings on Yeboah, and a selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:
Javier Hernandez was a part of the Mexico side that recorded a 1-0 win over Germany at the 2018 World Cup on Sunday afternoon.
[ad_pod ]
And he played a key role in the victory having set up teammate Hirving Lozano for the only goal of the match in the first period.
Hernandez entered this summer’s tournament off the back of a frustrating season at West Ham United, with Marko Arnautovic taking his spot in the team in the latter stages of the campaign.
The 30-year-old still managed eight Premier League goals during the 2017-18 season, however, and there are suggestions that new West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini wants the striker to be a key part of his team next season.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”256266″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Three reasons we love to hate… Spain”]
The West Ham fans have been discussing Hernandez on social media, and many still cannot understand why the striker was left out of the starting XI for periods of last season.
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.
That said, there are also those who feel that Arnautovic is the better option at centre-forward due to his overall game, which is superior in the eyes of many.
A selection of the Twitter reaction from the West Ham supporters can be seen below:
Nottingham Forest boss Aitor Karanka is attempting to shape a team that can challenge for Premier League promotion this season.
Numerous transfer targets have entered the fray, and one of those was Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton, who was due to become a free agent next month.
[ad_pod ]
For months it seemed that the defender’s time at Villa Park was coming to an end, which appeared to have alerted Forest.
The Nottingham Post reported on Tuesday that the Reds had offered Hutton a two-year contract, and all indications were that a deal could go through.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”255610″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch Five England World Cup games you totally forgot happened”]
However, in a big twist on Thursday, Villa announced via their official website that the full-back has signed a one-year contract extension.
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.
This means that Forest are back to square one, but the blow was softened by the news that Portuguese pair Joao Carvalho and Diogo Goncalves have put pen to paper.
Some fans, though, were left frustrated by the failed Hutton pursuit, while others feel that it is no great loss.
According to ESPN, West Ham are one of many teams interested in signing Huddersfield Town midfielder Aaron Mooy this summer. The midfield ranks at the London Stadium were lacking in sufficient quality for much of last season, and they may have just received a boost in their quest for the Australia international as reports suggest that Manchester City will not seek to re-sign the 27-year-old.
The Breakdown
Ultimately, reports earlier in the week suggested that Pep Guardiola’s side were considering triggering a buy-back clause in Mooy’s contract to lure him to the Etihad Stadium this summer, but that now offer seems to be off the table.
And with West Ham clearly in need of greater options and quality in the middle of the park, the door has been left open for manager Manuel Pellegrini to seal a deal for the £9 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt), who would undoubtedly be an upgrade on Cheikhou Kouyate.
Ultimately, the Senegal international struggled for form for much of the 2017/18 Premier League season, although the lack of genuine alternatives saw the 28-year-old turn out 33 times in the league for the East London club.
And while Pedro Obiang spent a decent chunk of the campaign out with injury, he offered a great deal more in the middle of the park then Kouyate when fit, while Mark Noble’s consistency in the midfield seriously helped a Hammers side that were fighting relegation for much of the season.
Thus, it’s clear that further strength is needed in that department, and Huddersfield’s Mooy would certainly bring just that.
Is this the best World Cup ever? Give us your thoughts here
The 27-year-old has embarked upon a wonderful two years at the John Smith’s Stadium, first of all in helping them win promotion to the Premier League, and then playing a vital role in keeping David Wagner’s side in the top-flight against all the odds.
And following a decent World Cup with Australia, even though they bowed out of the competition in the group stages, the midfielder continues to underline his incredible ability in the middle of the park – there’s a reason City were reportedly keen on luring him back to the North West.
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.
And having played as a number ten earlier in his career before slowly but surely finding himself flourishing in deeper roles, it is in Mooy’s nature to try and get forward and show his class in the attacking third of the pitch as well, alongside his ability to break up play in front of the back four – thus, he’d add a huge amount to the Hammers midfield.
As such, with Kouyate struggling for form for much of last season, Pellegrini simply must seek an upgrade on the 28-year-old, and reports that City aren’t seeking to re-sign Mooy has thus left the door open for West Ham to bring the Australian star to the London Stadium.