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Aston Villa could rival West Ham United for €25m attacker with 13 goal contributions
Aston Villa are keeping tabs on the contract situation of Manchester United forward Jesse Lingard, who is currently on loan at West Ham United, Football Insider claims. Lingard hardly played for the Red Devils during the first half of the campaign, but he has revived his career since his move to the Hammers in January. The 28-year-old has been exceptional in the league with nine goals and four assists from 10 matches, which sees the club in the Champions League mix. It was recently reported that the Hammers need to pay around €25 million to sign Lingard permanently, but it appears that they could face competition from Villa. The coaching staff at the Midlands outfit believe he is a ‘Villa-type player’ and would make a huge impact for Dean Smith’s side with his versatility. Sportslens ...
West Ham chairman hires agents to sign 23-year-old star with 26 goal contributions
West Ham United co-chairman David Sullivan has hired agents to push through a summer deal for Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard, Football Insider claims. The Hammers parted ways with Sebastien Haller in January but could not land a replacement before the winter transfer deadline. Hence, the club have been left with only Michail Antonio as the specialist striker in the squad, but he is currently out with a hamstring injury. The London outfit will land at least one striker this summer and have their sights on landing Edouard from the Hoops. The Frenchman could be available for between £8-10 million with his existing contract due to expire in less than 15 months. Leicester City have also been linked with the 23-year-old, but they appear to have cooled their interest after the renaissance of...
Celtic managerial target’s brilliant response when asked about Tottenham job
Celtic managerial target Eddie Howe has reacted to the Tottenham Hotspur links, hinting that he is not particularly keen on the job. The former Bournemouth manager has been linked with succeeding Neil Lennon at Parkhead over the past few weeks. Celtic largest individual shareholder Dermot Desmond and Howe have reportedly held talks in London, but a deal is yet to be struck as the 43-year-old wants to wait until the end of the campaign. Spurs parted company with Jose Mourinho yesterday, and the name of the former Cherries boss has been thrown into the mix. When asked about who could be the perfect man to succeed the Portuguese at the north London outfit, Howe opted not to confirm or deny that he would be interested in the job, tipping former Spurs manager Tim Sherwood for the gig instead. “...
Chelsea planning to withdraw from European Super League
Chelsea have reportedly prepared documentation to withdraw from the proposed European Super League. On Sunday evening, it was announced that Chelsea were part of controversial plans to form a new European Super League, alongside 11 of Europe’s top clubs. These included fellow Premier League sides Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City, and three clubs each from Italy and Spain. Florentino Perez and Andrea Agnelli have been at the heart of the negotiations The announcement was met with widespread outrage throughout the footballing world. Fans protested against the proposal, while pundits voiced their displeasure at the agreement. Meanwhile, several of football’s governing bodies threatened participating clubs and players with bans from major tournaments...
Report shows that Liverpool and Arsenal fans lead the charge as ESL farce collapses
Supporters of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur were left devastated by their club’s decision to join the European Super League (ESL). Many fans took to Twitter to vent their frustration and their efforts appear to have paid off, with Chelsea and Man City already having second thoughts about the breakaway. A survey by Compare.bet has now highlighted the strength of feeling, with fans across the ‘Big Six’ united in their disgust at the proposals. The study looked at over 319,000 tweets between April 17-20 which tagged each club’s official Twitter account. The results were as follows: Team Negative Tweets Positive Tweets Neutral Tweets Liverpool 80% 9% 11% Arsenal 79% 10% 11% Tottenham 79% 10% 11% Manchester City 77% 14% 9...
Brendan Rodgers comments on Tottenham links
Brendan Rodgers has played down speculation that he will be replacing Jose Mourinho at Tottenham Hotspur. Mourinho was suddenly dismissed as Tottenham boss on Monday morning, just a few days before the club’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester City. Reports insisted that this was due to reasons on the pitch, and not linked to the European Super League announcement. Mourinho left Spurs after a 2-2 draw against Everton RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann has been heavily linked with the job, as well as Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers. For now, former player Ryan Mason will take charge on an interim basis. Rodgers has responded to the rumours linking him to the North Londoners, insisting that he is happy at Leicester. Speaking in a press conference ahead of his side’s clash against West Brom...
Potential summer exits of 10 Spurs star reportedly forced Levy to sack Mourinho
According to Eurosport, Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy feared that up to 10 first-team players could demand exits when the summer transfer window opens if Jose Mourinho had remained in charge. The Portuguese was sacked yesterday as the Spurs chief decided too much was at risk to continue with him as head coach. The prospect of three of those players – Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Gareth Bale – leaving brought the most fear, and Levy was not ready to risk their potential exits. Sportslens View Kane reportedly will push to leave Tottenham if they miss out on Champions League football next term (bearing in mind that decision was before the announcement of the European Super League), but he could change his mind should a more attacking manager is appointed, even if they finish outside the...
New Spurs manager comments on Harry Kane’s availability against Man City on Sunday
Tottenham’s interim manager Ryan Mason has suggested that Harry Kane could still be fit for the Carabao Cup clash with Manchester City on Sunday. Kane went off injured in the clash with Everton last Friday, where the two sides played out a 2-2 draw. The manner of his injury worried Spurs and England fans alike, with the Carabao Cup fast approaching, as well as the European Championships. However, interim boss Ryan Mason has suggested that Kane could be fit for the clash with Manchester City on Sunday. ‘It’s one of those cases where we’re taking it day by day,’ Mason explained, as quoted by the Daily Mail. ‘He didn’t train today. We’re still not sure about the weekend yet but what we do know is that Harry is working extremely hard to get over this injury.’ SL View – Could Kane actuall...
‘It is not sport’: Pep Guardiola speaks out on Manchester City’s Super League inclusion
Premier League manager Pep Guardiola has broken his silence on Manchester City’s inclusion in the proposed European Super League. It was announced on Sunday that Manchester City would be one of the founding members of the European Super League, which has been met with plenty of resistance. Manchester City fans protested against the move on Monday, placing banners outside the Etihad. Now, Pep Guardiola has commented on the plans for his team to join the Super League. “It is not sport when the relation between effort and success, between effort and reward, doesn’t exist,” Guardiola explained, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News. “It is not a sport if success is guaranteed or if it doesn’t matter when you lose. I have said many times I want the best competition, as strong as possib...
Report suggests VIlla are ready to spend big this summer, 24-yr-old on their radar
Aston Villa are thought to be keen on signing the Werder Bremen winger Milot Rashica this summer. The 24-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to Villa Park for months now, and Football Insider claims that Rashica remains on the club’s shortlist of attacking targets. The Premier League outfit held talks with the Bundesliga club last summer, but the two parties did not secure an agreement. Villa are in the market to sign two quality attackers who can play in the wide areas and are prepared to spend big this summer. SL View: Rashica would be a good signing for a reasonable price Rashica has been in mixed form in the Bundesliga this season, but he has previously shown his quality and could prove to be a quality addition to Dean Smith’s attack. The Kosovo international is a wide forward...
How the EPL reacted to Leeds’ decision to stage ESL protest against Liverpool
Leeds United held Liverpool to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road last night, with Diego Llorente’s late header cancelling out Sadio Mane’s first-half opener. While the Premier League clash was an interesting one despite the few goals, conversations pre-match and post-match were mainly about the European Super League. Liverpool have joined Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur as part of the big-six English top-flight clubs to have pulled out of the European Club Association to form the breakaway league. Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, Inter Milan are the other 12-club founding members of the Super League, and Leeds made their displeasure known pre-match. The Yorkshire giants wore shirts that bore the slogan “Champions League: Earn i...
Gary Neville suggests what Liverpool man has done with his latest comments on ESL
Gary Neville has been vocal about some of Premier League clubs’ desire to be a part of the European Super League. Twelve clubs – including the Premier League’s so-called ‘big six’ – are planning to form a breakaway competition. Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has made it very clear that he and his players do not support the club’s vision. There have been talks that he would resign, but Klopp has insisted he would try to “sort it somehow” with Fenway Sports Group. “The team has nothing to do with it,” Klopp said, as quoted by The Guardian. I don’t like it, and I don’t want it to happen.” According to reports from The Guardian, the Reds boss was only informed of FSG’s plans on Sunday. Gary Neville, the popular Sky Sports football pundit, said yesterday that Klopp’s comments about t...
